Dave wins the Hyundai Mercury Prize 2019
19 September 2019, 22:17 | Updated: 20 September 2019, 11:42
The winner of the 2019 Mercury Prize has been announced, which celebrates the best in British and Irish records of the year.
Dave has been crowned the winner of the Mercury Prize 2019 for his album Psychodrama.
The London rapper - full name David Orobosa Omoregie - beat out stiff competition from the likes of Foals' Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost - Part 1, IDLES' Joy as an Act of Resistance, The 1975's A Brief Inquiry into Online Relationships and Anna Calvi's Hunter to take home the gong.
Dave thanked his friends and family, dedicating his award to his brother, who is in prison: “Even though you can’t be here today, I know you’re watching this bro. I’m so grateful.”
Psychodrama was released in March this year and followed two acclaimed EPs - Six Paths and Game Over. The debut album entered the UK charts at Number 1 and the Mercury judges called Psychodrama "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."
The star-studded awards ceremony, which took place at the Hammersmith Eventim Apollo on Thursday (19 September) included performances from the winner as well as Anna Calvi, IDLES, The 1975 and Foals, who were joined by former Maccabees guitarist Felix White after their frontman Yannis injured his hand. The band also held up a banner that said "No music on a dead planet"
During his performance, award nominee slowthai punched the air with a dummy mask of Prime Minister Boris Johnson before screaming "f*** Boris" and adding "there's nothing great about Britain".
Watch Foals reveal who they wanted to win the Mercury Prize:
See the full list of nominations for the 2019 Hyundai Mercury Prize Albums of the Year below:
Anna Calvi - Hunter
Black Midi - Schlagenheim
Cate Le Bon - Reward
Dave - Psychodrama - WINNER
Foals - Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost - Part 1
Fontaines D.C. - Dogrel
IDLES - Joy as an Act of Resistance
Little Simz - Grey Area
NAO - Saturn
SEED Ensemble - Driftglass
slowthai - Nothing Great About Britain
The 1975 - A Brief Inquiry into Online Relationships
