Sampha has won the Hyundai Mercury Prize.
The 28-year-old singer – whose full name is Sampha Sisay – picked up the award at London’s Eventim Apollo on Thursday (14.09.17) evening for his critically-acclaimed debut album ‘Process’, beating the likes of Ed Sheeran, Stormzy, The xx, Blossoms and J Hus, to take the accolade.
Speaking after he picked up his £25,000 from actor Idris Elba, Sampha said: "I feel like I am dreaming a little bit, this is incredible. I’d like to dedicate this award to my parents.
"I’d like to thank all my brothers for always giving me encouragement and making me believe in myself.
"I am so thankful for this. Thank you so much."
Earlier in the evening, Sampha – who has previously worked with the likes of Beyoncé, Drake, Solange and Kanye West –
performed his single ‘(No One Knows Me) Like the Piano’ to huge cheers from the audience.
As well as performances from a number of the nominees, which also included Glass Animals and Kate Tempest, last year’s Mercury winner, Skepta, also took the mic, performing ‘Man’ before the winner was announced.
The prize is decided by a panel of judges, which this year included musicians Ella Eyre, Jamie Cullum, Marcus Mumford and Lianne La Havas, DJs Clara Amfo and MistaJam, journalists Harriet Gibsone, Will Hodgkinson and Phil Alexander, Radio X’s head of music Mike Walsh, Jeff Smith, head of music at BBC 6Music and Radio 2, and EMI CEO Tony Wadsworth.
Speaking about their deliberations – which the evening’s host, Lauren Laverne, said had been the longest ever – Marcus quipped he didn’t have a lot to say.
He told the BBC: "We were only allowed to talk about positive things. So I shut up quite a lot."
Sampha wins Mercury Prize
