The greatest British or Irish album of the last year has been awarded the Mercury Prize, which went to London-based Nigeria/British rapper Little Simz.
The 28-year-old is the 31st winner of the Mercury Prize, one of the most prestigious awards in music.
According to reports, she won £25,000 for her fourth album, Sometimes I Might Be Introvert, a hip-hop coming-of-age story told with cinematic sweep.
She told the ceremony in London on Tuesday she was “very overwhelmed and grateful” to receive the honour, while paying tribute to the other nominees, who included Self Esteem, Wet Leg, Harry Styles and Sam Fender.
“We all made incredible albums,” she said on stage. “We all changed people’s lives with our music, and that’s the most important thing.”
Little Simz adds the Mercury to the Brit Award she won earlier this year. That was for best newcomer, despite the fact she released her debut album seven years ago.
But she has grown in stature and acclaim with every release, and was also nominated for the Mercury for her last LP, Grey Area, in 2019.
She said there were times when she wasn’t sure whether she would finish making the album
Sometimes I Might Be Introvert reached number four in the UK album chart when it was released a year ago, and topped a BBC News “poll of polls”, which combined the results of 30 critics’ end-of-year lists for 2021.
Singer-songwriter Arlo Parks won last year, while other recent holders include Michael Kiwanuka, Dave and Wolf Alice.
