Last night (Thursday) the Streatham rapper was announced as the overall winner for the 2019 Hyundai Mercury Prize by guest presenter Annie Mac.
The event was hosted by Lauren Lavern at the Eventim Apollo Hammersmith and featured performances from many of the artists shortlisted for the 2019 Album of the Year.
Anna Calvi, black midi, Cate Le Bon, Dave, Foals, Fontaines D.C., IDLES, Little Simz, NAO, SEED Ensemble and slowthai all performed at the show, but the night ultimately belonged to Dave.
While Dave collected the winner’s trophy and cheque for £25,000, he invited his mum onstage and paid tribute to his fellow shortlisted artists as well as his family and friends.
The evening was concluded with a performance of Psycho from the winning album Psychodrama.
The Hyundai Mercury Prize Albums of the Year celebrate and promote the best of British and Irish music with official broadcast partner, BBC Music, providing live television and radio coverage of the event on BBC Four and BBC Radio 6 Music.
The judging panel said: ‘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.’
The event was hosted by Lauren Lavern at the Eventim Apollo Hammersmith and featured performances from many of the artists shortlisted for the 2019 Album of the Year.
Anna Calvi, black midi, Cate Le Bon, Dave, Foals, Fontaines D.C., IDLES, Little Simz, NAO, SEED Ensemble and slowthai all performed at the show, but the night ultimately belonged to Dave.
While Dave collected the winner’s trophy and cheque for £25,000, he invited his mum onstage and paid tribute to his fellow shortlisted artists as well as his family and friends.
The evening was concluded with a performance of Psycho from the winning album Psychodrama.
The Hyundai Mercury Prize Albums of the Year celebrate and promote the best of British and Irish music with official broadcast partner, BBC Music, providing live television and radio coverage of the event on BBC Four and BBC Radio 6 Music.
The judging panel said: ‘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.’
