Ed Sheeran – You need me, I don’t need you.

Hot on the heels of his airwave hogging, summer smash ‘A-Team’ , singer/songwriter Ed Sheeran releases new single ‘You need me, I don’t need you.’

It’s a far, far cry from the melodic folk pop of the first single, Ed Sheeran’s shedding atmospheric ambience for a frenzied, vocal formed beat that lays the tone for the track, an aggressively witty look at his rise to fame and an open letter to the fickle music industry he is now a prominent part of.

Where the song really stands out is Ed Sheeran’s rather accomplished rapping. Lyrics such as ‘I sing, I write my own tune, I write my own verse, hell/ don’t need another songwriter to make the songs sell,’ ensure that is not a subtle nudge but a profound statement of just what he has gone through to get to where he is.

It’s in this vain that one might liken Ed Sheeran to Wimbledon’s acclaimed musical raconteur Jamie T, whose work shares much in common with a track that is so stripped back, raw and poetic.

Whilst not a stand out, ‘You need me’ is a welcome slice of carrot topped, hip hop, showcasing the artist’s individualism and variety as well as providing a strong lead up to his debut, full length album ” + ” , released in a couple of weeks time.

What else you got Ed?

‘You need me, I don’t need you’ is out now via Asylum/ Atlantic Records, available everywhere.

“+” album release ‘ 12th September 2011

3 out of 5.

By James Stapleton
Twitter.com/realJstapleton