In a shock win, South London MC Speech Debelle was awarded the 2009 Mercury Prize for her debut LP ‘Speech Therapy’.
The 26 year old beat out the likes of Florence And The Machine, La Roux, The Horrors, Kasabian, Bat For Lashes, Friendly Fires and Glasvegas and accepted the award humbly saying: “Thank you to the panellists, to my band, thank you so much to my mum, to my fans.Thank you to whoever’s name’s on the cheque. I’ll be here all night – thank you very much, good night.”
As we’ve previously stated the Mercury Prize affords Speech Debelle undeniable proof she’s better than Radiohead a year’s worth of bragging rights, £20,000 cash and a spike in media coverage and album sales.
Check out some of Speech’s work below…
