Speech Debelle

(Newser) - Years of living in hostels and on the streets of London proved, at long last, a winning combination for rapper Speech Debelle, who today was awarded Britain’s prestigious Mercury music prize, the Guardian reports. Speech Therapy, the debut album by the 26-year-old (real name Corynne Elliot), represents a “...

(Newser) - “Even in a ‘post-race’ world, street sells,” writes Amy Granzin for Pitchfork. That would explain why some looked at Speech Debelle—the once-homeless UK rapper turned Mercury Prize nominee and "hip-hop's next big thing"—and spun “a tiny bit of flash into blinding bling....

(Newser) - A rapper who spent four years homeless in London is one of five female artists on the shortlist for Britain’s prestigious Mercury Prize, the Independent reports. Speech Debelle, kicked out of her house at 19, spent time in hostels and other drug-infested stops on the wrong side of London's...