“Cross Me” by Ed Sheeran (ft. PnB Rock & Chance the Rapper)

To “cross” someone is a slang term synonymous with irritating them considerably. And in that regard, the artists are warning others against offending the ladies in their lives, or else they will get ‘crossed’ about it. Put simply, offending their ladies will get them so infuriated that they will counterattack. 

PnB Rock handles the chorus alongside Ed, and the female he is specifically referring to appears to be his daughter. However, both Ed Sheeran and Chance the Rapper, who are responsible for the actual verses, are speaking of their wives.

One outstanding feature of this song is that Chance presents his woman as being more than capable of defending herself, given the circumstance. In other words, he does not try to come off like a tough guy.  Rather he is enlightening the audience to the fact that she is a tough girl, karate skills and all, as well as stating that in order to be his friend you have to respect his wife also.

Another aspect of this track that needs to be mentioned is that in a roundabout way it actually reads like a love song. For instance, both Ed and Chance begin their verses by stating “she ain’t messing with no other man”, referring to their wives. So they make it somewhat clear that their defense of their women is not founded in maintaining machismo but rather the strong respect and affection they actually possess for them.

Facts about “Cross Me”

• On 24 May 2019, “Cross Me” became the second single released from Ed Sheeran’s forthcoming No.6 Collaborations Project via Atlantic Records. On that same project appears Ed’s collabo with Justin Bieber titled “I Don’t Care“.   
• “Cross Me” marked the first time either of these artists collaborated with each other. 
• Ed Sheeran teased the team up via Instagram a few days before the track was officially dropped by posting an image of himself wearing a ‘number 3’ baseball cap (the symbol of Chance the Rapper) and spelling out PnB Rock’s name in emoji form.
• The three artists (Ed, Rock and Chance) wrote “Cross Me” alongside the track’s producer, Fred Gibson.