Speech Debelle won the Barclaycard Mercury Music Prize last night, pipping hot favourites Florence and the Machine. The south Londoner won some rave reviews for her debut album “Speech Therapy”, much of which dealt with the things she encountered after leaving home at 19 and moving around London’s hostels.

That sense of urban narrative allied to some gentle musical touches make for an album with lyrical bite but accessible musicality, a  combination which found favour with the Mercury judges.

Whether the likeably cocky Londoner can shrug off the weight of expectation which sunk previous hip-hop winner Ms Dynamite, remains to be seen.

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