‘Touch Me Like a Gangster’ by Jessie Murph - Lyrics & Meaning

On June 3rd, rising star Jessie Murph announced that her new album, Sex Hysteria, is set for release on July 18th - and it already has summer soundtrack potential.

Promising to be her ‘rawest and realest era yet’, Jessie had been teasing the new single ‘Touch Me Like a Gangster’ on her socials, so the hype around the track was already significant. This new release is a follow-up to her previous hit singles, ‘Gucci Mane’ and ‘Blue Strips’.

The boundary-pushing artist’s gritty debut album, That Ain’t No Man, That’s The Devil, saw her looking at life pretty introspectively, but if the Sex Hysteria singles released so far are anything to go by, this album will see Jessie confident, powerful, sexy, honest and ultimately - feminine.

Jessie debuted ‘Touch Me Like a Gangster’ at the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Show in Miami on May 31st, allowing us the first glimpse of the new track. Singing of her bold and unfiltered embrace of her desires, she’s pushing against the shame and stigma that inevitably comes when women are loud, sexual or emotionally honest - this is Jessie’s moment, that’s for sure.

After the release of ‘Gucci Mane’ and ‘Blue Strips’, the sound of Murph’s new album was already pretty solid. On ‘Touch Me Like a Gangster’, her newly developing style just keeps on coming.

The track sees Murph’s uniquely raspy vocals at a higher pitch at times as she draws out and leans into the songwriting. Some strings add to the tension throughout the song, building up the sound, and a percussive backbeat keeps it moving forward. That beat brings in an old school vibe too, a vintage style making one more addition to Jessie's genre explorations.

The song moves around in intensity, with the outro seeing Jessie syncopate her words with the some percussive string sounds - something that feels a little Ariana Grande in style. Perhaps she’s finding her inspiration in other pop stars right now?

“Hey baby

Now I know we ain’t been talking for too long but

There’s some things I feel like you just don’t know about me

Do you want to know a secret”

Acting as an intro to the song, one we heard a few times on Jessie’s social media channels, this confident woman is on the phone, talking to someone who’s seemingly pretty new in her life. But as the conversation goes on, it’s not going to take long for them to realise just how much honesty is in store. As Jessie’s made clear, a woman being direct and saying exactly what it is that she wants doesn’t go down well - there’s a lot of judgement that comes with it - but this time, her secret is going to be told. As the sexy single continues, that honesty intensifies and heats up.

“Walk with me

Follow me baby come talk with me

I love how tender you are with me

But I got a side that you oughta see

Baby”

As the track ramps us, she’s ready to show this guy another side to her - the wild side. Whilst she loves “how tender he is with her”, she’s hoping that he’s got a wild side just like her - and that this might be a night (or longer) to remember.

“I like whips and chains

I like being tied to things babe

I like some pain

Turn me upside down on swings babe”

There’s no holding back as Jessie throws herself into the chorus - none at all. This woman knows exactly what she wants and she’s not ashamed to say it. Whips, chains and pain - she’s asking for it all. From this point, it’s clear that this is Jessie’s most sexually honest track so far - a theme that might be running through the album.

“I’d like to know

How far you gon’ go

How far we gon’ go”

She wants to know if he’s prepared to go along with her desires, if he’ll take it as far as she wants. Going back to the phone call intro, these two haven’t known each other that long but after her confessions, is it gonna keep going?

“I’ll tell you this my love

I do not give a fuck

I want you on your worst behavior

Touch me like a gangster

Ride me baby boy give it hell

This bed ain’t gon’ break itself”

It seems like she’s not looking for connection, this isn’t a relationship story - this is a female empowerment, pleasure-seeking statement. She doesn’t care about this guy doing the “right” thing, the formalities or the niceties - she’s just looking for a wild time. After all, “this bed ain’t gon’ break itself”.

“You look like you like whips and chains

Won’t you do something insane babe

I want that strange

What stay hidden in your brain babe”

With a spin on the previous chorus, it now looks like she’s not the only one that likes a wild time - maybe she’s found her match. It seems like nothing is ‘too far’, she wants the insane and the strange, and apparently ‘the gangster’. We know that she’s spilling her secrets, but this time she wants what would normally “stay hidden in your brain” - is he prepared to spill his secrets too?

“Lock that door

Want that on the floor

How far we gon’ go

I’ll tell you this my love

I do not give a fuck

I want you on your worst behavior

Touch me like a gangster

Ride me baby boy give it hell

This bed ain’t gonna break itself

This bed ain’t gonna break itself

This bed ain’t gonna break itself

This bed ain’t gonna break itself”

In comparison to the bold statements of ‘Touch Me Like a Gangster’ and Sex Hysteria, Jessie seems to have kept it pretty low-key in terms of promo. Posting a clip of her performance at the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Show in Miami during release week, she simply captioned it “Touch me like a gangster”. The performance itself sees her in complete control of the stage in a 60’s style pink plastic mini dress, silver heels and a whip in hand.

Alongside the announcement of the album’s release, a video teasing those first few lines appeared on her social media - the comments almost all read along the lines of “Incoming album of the summer!!”, “ICONIC”, and “So excited!!”. A fair few people were picking up on comparisons between Jessie and Amy Winehouse with her big hair and infectious confidence, and we’re wondering if this is intentional - could Amy’s influence be heard on the album? We’ll find out on July 18th.

Hopefully we’ll hear a little more from the powerhouse about the track and the album as we get closer to the release date.

“Hey, baby
Now, I know we ain't been talking for too long, but
There's some things I feel like you just don't know about me
Do you want to know a secret?

-

Walk with me
Follow me, baby, come talk with me
I love how tender you are with me
But I got a side that you oughta see
Baby

-

I like whips and chains
I like being tied to things, babe
I like some pain
Turn me upside down on swings, babe
I'd like to know
How far you gon' go?
How far we gon' go?

-

I'll tell you this, my love
I do not give a fuck
I want you on your worst behavior
Touch me like a gangster
Ride me, baby boy, give it hell
This bed ain't gonna break itself

-

This bed ain't gonna break itself
This bed ain't gonna break itself
This bed ain't gonna break itself

-

You look like you like whips and chains
Won't you do something insane, babe?
I want that strange
What stay hidden in your brain, babe
Lock that door
Want that on the floor
How far we gon' go?

-

I'll tell you this, my love
I do not give a fuck
I want you on your worst behavior
Touch me like a gangster
Ride me, baby boy, give it hell
This bed ain't gonna break itself
This bed ain't gonna break itself
This bed ain't gonna break itself

-

This bed ain't gonna break itself
This bed ain't gonna break itself
This bed ain't gonna break itself

This bed ain't gonna break itself”

For more on Jessie Murph, see below: