Congratulations go out to British rapper Dave who has been awarded the coveted Mercury Prize for his outstanding debut album “Psychodrama.”
The talented 21-year beat out tough competition from a wealth of British and Irish, including Little Simz, NAO and Slowthai.
On their selection, the judging panel which includes artists Jorja Smith and Stormzy released a collective statement on their selection.
“Psychodrama is the musical equivalent of a literary masterpiece: a conceptual album about Dave‘s experience of growing up in South London, structured in the form of a therapy session, which takes a deeply personal story and gives it universal relevance. Psychodrama is a moving, musically sophisticated work that tackles complex themes of identity, class, relationships and politics and demands total attention from the listener. It will have lasting relevance for a generation and underlines the importance of the album as an art form, making it the perfect winner of the 2019 Hyundai Mercury Prize.”
Psychodrama” has been hailed as the “boldest and best British Rap album in a generation” and went straight to #1 on it’s release in March 2019. The award, which also comes with a £25,000 cheque is the latest in a long line of awards for the musician. Dave this year has already won 2 AIM Awards, and a GQ Award.
If you have not already, then we would recommend you to give “Psychodrama” a listen. A courageous and exceptional debut, that we will no doubt be talking about in years to come.