Just today people were talking aboutbig money bets coming in for Speech Debelle to win the Mercury Prize, and what do you know, the British rapper rode Ladbrokes' 4/1 odds and the votes of the Mercury High Council Of Accomplished Elders to bag the coveted, Barclays-sponsored music prize. When she won everybody yelled "Speech!" but it was unclear if they were cheering her on or telling her to address the ballroom. Speech's Speech Therapy edged out a worthy nominee in Bat For Lashes' Two Suns. Oh, and everybody else I guess? (Everybody else includes Florence & The Machine, La Roux, the Horrors, Kasabian, et al.) Debelle collected the award at a ceremony tonight in London featuring performances from most of the 12 nominees (Glasvegas had to cancel for illness.) And as for Speech, well she's a 26-year-old south London native whose whole world just got a little more interesting. Here she is in action in the video for "Better Days," with (the completely snubbed) Micachu.
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Speech Debelle (Feat Wiley) - "Better Days" (MP3)
Congrats, Speech.
And from the event, Bat For Lashes:
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