Skepta, known for his self-confidence and drive, has catapulted himself and his music into mainstream success. In a 2014 mini-documentary featuring his freestyle, “That’s Not Me,” Skepta stated that his goal is to win everything he does. The lead performance of the documentary was shot by Tim and Barry, legendary UK underground music filmmakers. The video they shot went on to win Best Video at the 2014 MOBO Awards, even though the duo weren’t aware that it was even up for an award. Speaking to NME, Barry said, “Shooting that video was great because it continued to put our visual identity to the scene, the music and the wider world. You can see the knock-on effect today, with so many live streams using blue screen and green screen technology, so I think we had a large impact on the scene visually.”
The success of “That’s Not Me” helped to elevate grime music into mainstream media. The Adenuga brothers’ collaboration contributed to the transformation of the sound that grime musicians were trying to make into something that could be popular. The track defied expectations by making grime music, that was already underground, even more deeply ingrained in its roots. The song’s nostalgia was a characteristic found in other Grime 2.0 tracks of the time which became the defining sound of the 2010s.
Skepta stated in a 2015 interview with Crack that he wanted to put out a video that made people feel like it was made back in the day and to pay homage to the strength of the grime scene he had grown up with. He did just that and saw the song soar to Number 21 in the UK’s Official Album Charts, set the blueprint for his 2016 Mercury-winning album “Konnichiwa”, and reaffirm the importance of authentic roots in the grime genre. To this day, “That’s Not Me” is still viewed as one of the tracks that redefined how grime music should sound and what it stood for. Anything other than authenticity – that’s not them.
The “That’s Not Me” video might not have cost much to produce, but it went on to make waves and become a staple of the grime era. It serves as a reminder that taking risks and sticking to one’s roots can have rewards that last a lifetime. The Adenuga brothers’ collaboration was one of the defining moments of the mid-2010s mainstream explosion of the grime sound. It’s a perfect example of how sticking to one’s guns can often result in success beyond one’s wildest dreams, especially when it comes to art
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