Skepta's Mercury Prize Win Is a Milestone for Grime
The London-based MC scoops this year’s prestigious music prize.
Flying the flag for London’s insurgent grime scene, Skepta won the 2016 Mercury Prize — an annual award for the best album from the United Kingdom and Ireland — last night, with his album Konnichiwa beating offerings by the likes of David Bowie, Radiohead and The 1975 – as well as fellow grime MC Kano – to get the judges’ vote. Having sealed the victory, Skepta performed hit single “Man” after acknowledging the late and great David Bowie and former winner Amy Winehouse in his acceptance speech.
Full list of nominated albums here:
Skepta – Konnichiwa
ANOHNI – Hopelessness
Bat for Lashes – The Bride
David Bowie – Blackstar
Jamie Woon – Making Time
Kano – Made in the Manor
Laura Mvula – The Dreaming Room
Michael Kiwanuka – Love & Hate
Radiohead – A Moon Shaped Pool
Savages – Adore Life
The 1975 – I Like It When You Sleep, for You Are So Beautiful yet So Unaware of It
The Comet Is Coming – Channel the Spirits
