JME in Bristol review: Central Warehouse shutdown with grime's best MCs
We sent Laviea Thomas to Bristol's Central Warehouse to check out JME's show.
Date published: 25th Apr 2024
Some people say there’s only one national anthem for the UK, but truthfully, there are two: ‘Talking the Hardest,’ by Giggs, and ‘Man Don’t Care,’ by JME.
Returning to Bristol with his iconic Grime MC FM event on Saturday night, Boy Better Know legend, JME, revived the OG grime scene with some of its most iconic faces. Playing a sold-out show, JME rounded up a crew of some of the UK's most pivotal MCs and DJs in the grime scene, including Mez, SOX, Frisco, Flirta D, Seps, Jammer and more.
All images credit: Nu:Motive (Facebook)/@ashvisual
A long queue stretched outside the venue and halfway down the street, as people waited to be let in. On stage, a playful Y2K-inspired backdrop of DJs and MCs in the grime scene hung behind the MCs, with glitchy OG video footage.
Hours before the show, JME had shared to his Twitter, “If you wanna reload your riddims at pass the aux, get the djay app beforehand and put your songs on your phone or in your files app.” For the first two hours of the night, eager MCs showed off their riddims and creative lyrical flair as they freestyled on stage.
Grime artist and BBC Radio 1xtra presenter, Manga St Hilaire, proudly took to the stage, spitting over a backing track of Boy Better Know’s ‘09 classic ‘Too Many Man.’ Almost every track he spat on top of was scratched with a menacing reload, which ramped up the energy massively.
Announcing his arrival, Jammer bellows “Murkle man,” before belting into the crowd, “Oi Bristol, what’s going on, make some fucking noise.” Not the shy type, the MC went straight into spitting some of the hardest lyrics of the evening whilst critically acclaimed DJ, Logan Sama, paid homage to OG grime instrumentals on the decks.
With the event officially announced with ‘Special Guests,’ it’s fair to say the excited response from the audience as each new act approached the stage was as honest as it gets. “Bristol are you ready for the grime MC, make some fucking noise,” a voice announces. JME arrives on stage in his staple look, (a black puffer jacket and durag) - despite it already feeling like a hundred degrees in the venue. Getting straight to it, the MC slammed into a remix of his famed release ‘Man Don’t Care,’ followed by another banger, ‘I Spy.’ Sampling a remix of Tyler the Creator’s ‘NEW MAGIC WAND,’ whilst he freely spits over it, JME effortlessly reminds the audience of the true versatility of grime with this unexpected moment.
From there onwards it was nothing but straight-up cuts, as JME spun into goated releases ‘Integrity,’ and ‘Serious.’ Quickly joined by the rest of the line-up, the MCs jumped uncontrollably on stage as the hype and adrenaline running through each reload and verse became too much. What had originally started as an organised setlist had now turned into a party on stage with MCs throwing out trademark ad-libs. DJs took to the decks with garage undertones, weaponry bass lines and subtle dubstep tendencies chopped and skewed into their mixes. By this point, the energy in the room was wild. Plenty of shout-outs to OG Boy Better Know members were thrown out by the MCs and rows of gunfingers appeared in the air.
Originally forming the iconic Grime MC FM event in 2020 in alignment with his fourth studio album Grime MC, for the first time in a year, fans got to experience a special moment as JME revived his iconic Grime MC FM event, this time in a brand new location: Bristol’s Central Warehouse.
Over the years, grime has become one of the most versatile and kaleidoscopic music genres in the UK. It’s no thanks to platforms like Channel U, SBTV, The Grime Show and Grime Radio who have each paved the way for the artists this incredible scene has created today.
Celebrating the legacy of pirate radio and rave culture across six hours of nonstop tunes with an incredible line-up of the greatest MCs and DJs in the grime scene - it’s fair to say any fans that came to Central Warehouse on Saturday night definitely left with a newfound love and appreciation for the evolution of grime.
For more gigs from across the UK, check out our UK Gig Guide Inspire Me page.
Check out our What's On Guide to discover even more rowdy raves and sweaty gigs taking place over the coming weeks and months. For festivals, lifestyle events and more, head on over to our Things To Do page or be inspired by the event selections on our Inspire Me page.
