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London, England
Speech Debelle (1983, London, England) is a British rapper winner of the 2009 Mercury Prize and was formerly signed to the Big Dada record label.
Debelle’s debut album, Speech Therapy, was released in the United Kingdom on 31 May 2009. The album has had three singles released, “Searching”, “The Key”, and “Go Then, Bye”. It won the Barclay Mercury music prize in 2009. The Mercury judges said she was a “remarkable new voice in British hip-hop, tough, warm and reflective”. One judge, the broadcaster and conductor Charles Hazlewood added: “She’s just quietly telling her stories in the most beguiling way.”
Speech began writing poetry aged nine and started rapping lyrics in the schoolyard aged 13. Back then, initial inspiration came courtesy of Michael Jackson, which quickly turned to Blackstreet, Mary J Blige, TLC and reggae.
The first thing about Speech Debelle that strikes the ear is a contrast. Her voice is warm, youthful and listenable, and if you heard her in the background you might assume that her lyrics were the same. You’d be better placed tuning into them. In common with her new label-mate Roots Manuva, she’s astoundingly honest in her music, detailing and exorcising some very personal demons. That isn’t to say she’s another run of the mill rapper with more complaints than insights. Quite the opposite. Like all musicians worth listening to, she draws you into her universe and makes you glad you visited. There’s always a thaw to the chillier moments.
Debelle’s debut album, Speech Therapy, was released in the United Kingdom on 31 May 2009. The album has had three singles released, “
Searching”, “The Key”, and “Go Then, Bye”. It won the Barclay Mercury music prize in 2009. The Mercury judges said she was a “remarkable new voice in British hip-hop, tough, warm and reflective”. One judge, the broadcaster and conductor Charles Hazlewood added: “She’s just quietly telling her stories in the most beguiling way.”
Speech began writing poetry aged nine and started rapping lyrics in the schoolyard aged 13. Back then, initial inspiration came courtesy of Michael Jackson, which quickly turned to Blackstreet, Mary J Blige, TLC and reggae.
The first thing about Speech Debelle that strikes the ear is a contrast. Her voice is warm, youthful and listenable, and if you heard her in the background you might assume that her lyrics were the same. You’d be better placed tuning into them. In common with her new label-mate Roots Manuva, she’s astoundingly honest in her music, detailing and exorcising some very personal demons. That isn’t to say she’s another run of the mill rapper with more complaints than insights. Quite the opposite. Like all musicians worth listening to, she draws you into her universe and makes you glad you visited. There’s always a thaw to the chillier moments.
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Top Albums
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Speech Therapy
Speech Debelle
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Spinnin'
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The Key
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Searching
Speech Debelle Buy- Download Album
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Shoutbox
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carltinio wrote:
Freedom of Speech on first listen? Beautiful. Simply beautiful.
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inphanta wrote:
Speech Debelle is back! And a big "fuck you" to all the NME bitches who hated on her because one of "their" corporate indie bands didn't win the 2009 Mercury Prize...
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LongLiveTheD wrote:
This is actually ridiculous, she should have way more plays/listeners. I remember how amazed I was when I first heard her, and then she won that Mercury award, she deserves more than this. [2]
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CzynmyDobro wrote:
Can't wait for the album!
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Daveyfishy wrote:
Speech Debelle is back! New single, album & FREE download! http://soundcloud.com/bigdadasound/speech-debelle-studio-backpack-rap, check out the video too, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9GHO3zdWbL8&feature=youtu.be
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inphanta wrote:
New album in the pipeline. I'm very happy! XD
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bezmenia wrote:
отличная!
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RedLabLion wrote:
This is actually ridiculous, she should have way more plays/listeners. I remember how amazed I was when I first heard her, and then she won that Mercury award, she deserves more than this.
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SashaPrestig wrote:
Normal.
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inphanta wrote:
Hearing Speech Therapy for the first time now. Wow... this is really fresh stuff. I'm very impressed.
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Maraguzzi wrote:
shes fakn amazing srsly
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w0bbit wrote:
So amazing at Pukkelpop, one of my highlights!
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cwall wrote:
i dig.
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briandoody wrote:
carltinio got it - spot on.
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winterkiss wrote:
bless you, carltinio. bless you!! couldn't agree more
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carltinio wrote:
you guys don't understand. it's the fact she's fusing painful socially aware lyrics and rap with jazz, blues etc etc etc. it reflects so many emotions using so many styles with a common convention - rap. Her use of backing vocals is brilliant, the questioning - it's these small discoveries in each repeated listening that justify her win. people like Florence don't go into that much detail; & i'm not biased seeing as though i have nearly 30,000 Florence plays. By no stretch of the imagination is this a maser piece, but that's not what the mercury prize is about; it's about what music best represents modern british society. i look forward to the next album.
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trunfio wrote:
chyba ty :/
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Bagoona wrote:
<3
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cj6996 wrote:
looking forward to seeing her tonight in Exeter. :)
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JJoules wrote:
Love this chick. She is also on Twitter: https://twitter.com/speechdebelle
Videos
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Events
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Feb
24
Speech Debelle
Charlatan, Gent, Ghent, Belgium
2 going
- Feb 26 Speech Debelle Festsaal Kreuzberg, Berlin, Germany
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Feb
27
Speech Debelle
Feierwerk, München, Munich, Germany
1 going
News
Hope Not Hate 2010
1 May 2010 | from blog.myspace.com/speechdebellemusic
http://www.mirror.co.uk/celebs/news/2010/04/29/hope-not-hate-2010-speech-debelle-launches-daily-mirror-campaign-115875-22219086/Hope
Not Hate 2010: Speech Debelle launches Daily Mirror campaign
…
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14 Dec 2009 | from blog.myspace.com/speechdebellemusic -
26 Oct 2009 | from blog.myspace.com/speechdebellemusic -
9 Sep 2009 | from blog.myspace.com/speechdebellemusic
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Recent Activity
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gemmahouldey added Speech Debelle to gemmahouldey’s library. 2 hours ago
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KoenigAlex added Speech Debelle to the lineup of Speech Debelle at Festsaal Kreuzberg. 10 hours ago
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I-N-A, heivar, thorby7 and 2 other people added Speech Debelle to their libraries. yesterday evening
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strzala1972 added Speech Debelle to strzala1972’s library. Saturday morning
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strzala1972 tagged Speech Debelle with female vocalists, british and hip-hop. Saturday morning
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pinatubostriker added Speech Debelle to the lineup of Dedication to Christoph Moser at Porgy & Bess. Wednesday evening
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Szirokko, HenryTheLamp, Lisagistin and 7 other people added Speech Debelle to their libraries. Wednesday morning
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clubmarquise added Speech Debelle to the lineup of Speech Debelle at La Marquise. last month
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PauSat, hlbg00 and nashee7 added Speech Debelle to their libraries. last month
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fischbach1977 added Speech Debelle to the lineup of Speech Debelle at Reithalle. last month
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