Beating out the likes of David Bowie (for his final album, Blackstar), Radiohead, Laura Mvula, Bat for Lashes, Radiohead and The 1975, grime musician Skepta picked up the Mercury Prize on Thursday for his fourth album, Konnichiwa. The London musician said in his speech, “Thank you to everybody who was there for me when I was going through depressed times. I want to get into people’s heads but I’m not signed, I’m still independent.”“It’s really DIY,” he said. DIY is the future.”Singer Jarvis Cocker, one of the judges on the panel, said the choice had come down to Bowie or Skepta (real name Joseph Junior Adenuga), but they felt if Bowie “was looking down” on them, he would have wanted Skepta to take the prize. The Mercury Prize is awarded to British and Irish acts, with a particular flavour for independent artists.

Source: National Post September 16, 2016 15:21 UTC