Angst-filled rapper Dave scooped up Britain’s coveted Mercury Prize on Thursday in a politically-charged London finale that included an expletive shouted from stage at Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
A new wave of 12 rebellious voices vied for the 2019 edition of British or Irish album of the year.
Rage against injustice coursed through the lyrics and spilled into interviews, reflecting a jaded era in which Britain is cutting ties with Europe and economic worries weigh.
Few expressed those frustrations more explicitly than Slowthai, a 24-year-old rapper from small-town England—and the bookies’ early favorite.
“Fuck Boris Johnson!” he screamed as he took the stage, stripped to his waste, a mask of the right-wing UK leader in his hand. “Fuck everything!”
But Dave, a 21-year-old South London rapper whose album Psychodrama is a full-frontal assault on institutional racism, softly asked his mom to join him on stage after holding up the winning statuette.
“I did not expect this,” he admitted, his left hand draping his mother’s shoulder.
Dave’s two siblings have served time in prison and he devoted his award to one of them, Christophe, who “inspired this album”.
“This is your story that we told, even though you can’t be here,” Dave said.