Speech Debelle
Encyclopedia
Corynne Elliot better known as Speech Debelle, is a British rapper
currently signed to the Big Dada
record label. She was the winner of the 2009 Mercury Prize
.
as well as living with friends Now reconciled, Speech cites these as the formative years for creating her ambition and material. She attended Harris City Academy, and from the age of 9 she began writing poetry. She returned to her mother's house age 23 and began calling record labels, eventually being signed by Big Dada
records.
Drawing inspiration from Michael Jackson
and in particular the song "Human Nature
", Speech started rapping. Back then, other inspiration came courtesy of Blackstreet
, Mary J. Blige
, TLC
and reggae
music.
, was released in the United Kingdom on 31 May 2009. The album was led by a white label limited release of "Searching", thereafter the album had three singles released, "The Key", “Better Days” featuring Micachu
, "Go Then, Bye" and finally "Spinning". Recorded mostly in Australia and engineered by Wayne Lotek
, the album documenting her formative years in London.
"The Key
" won Best Budget Video for Pop, Dance, Urban at the UK Music Video Awards in 2009
In 2009, she performed at Glastonbury Festival
.
Her 2009 Glastonbury appearance was also accompanied with her first live TV performance of "Searching". As the broadcast was made the after Michael Jackson died, after the song she gave her sentiments to a formative figure to her artistry. Later in the year during an interview with The Guardian, when asked what/who she could bring back to life, she answered Michael Jackson.
On 21 July 2009 Speech Therapy was announced as one of the twelve shortlisted albums for the year's Mercury Music Award
. She won the 2009 Mercury Prize with Speech Therapy, beating albums from The Horrors
, Florence and the Machine
, Kasabian and Friendly Fires
, among others.
Further praise came from the then editor of the Guardian Music Podcast, Paul Macinnes who nominated Speech Therapy as his favourite album of 2009. OHM Monthly cited Speech's work as “biggest thing in UK hip-hop for many a long years”,.
The Times
praised the production of the album and awarded the album the place of being the 76th best album of the 2000s. In the US her critical acclaim continued as Pitchfork gave a favourable review praising her relaxed, conversational delivery., although her planned US performance debut, on 5 November 2009, in Williamsburg, Brooklyn
, had to be called off, claimed to be due to visa
problems.
Despite the Mercury Prize win, sales of Speech Therapy were low; with the album notable for having the worst-ever chart showing and performance by a Mercury winner; failing to make the top 40
and only 10,000 units sold by November 2009, in comparison to the 300,000+ album sales of the 2008 winner, Elbow
's The Seldom Seen Kid
and 2010's winners The xx
, whose winning album xx
went platinum shortly after winning the award. Debelle quit the Big Dada record label in November 2009, blaming them for failing to adequately market and distribute the album, but a few months later said "as an artist, you get upset with your label, you get upset with your team. I'm entitled to do that. In the same way, they are entitled to get upset with me.... If we're all on the same page, it's all good." Her post-Mercury music gigs were sparsely attended and received mixed to poor reviews.
In November 2009 she was booed off the stage at a Take That
event to promote their SingStar game
, after attempting to rap to their 1993 hit "Pray
" and claiming she "did it better than Take That".
In March 2010 Speech Debelle teamed up with Bonobo
to co-write and sing on the song "Sun Will Rise", taken from Ninja Tune
's 'XX' Boxset. In August 2011, Speech gave away a new track, "Blaze Up A Fire", via her Soundcloud
page. The track, also featuring Roots Manuva
and Realism
, dealt with matters Speech felt had come to a head with the 2011 England riots
.
Debelle's track "Spinnin" has been re-worked by Tinchy Stryder
and Dionne Bromfield
and will be used as one of the official anthems of the 2012 Summer Olympics
in London.
in Paris, an event set up by Blur
and Gorillaz
front-man Damon Albarn
.
In 2009, Speech appeared alongside Gary Barlow
, David Arnold
and Jimmy Carr
for a CARE charity concert in aid of youth education. She was also invited to 10 Downing Street to celebrate "British Talent", in association with the Talent and Enterprise Taskforce.
In 2010, Speech was a guest speaker at the Progressive London conference alongside Ken Livingston MP, Sadiq Khan
MP, and other notable academics. The annual conference explores and discusses the application of liberal politics to the benefit of London. Her liberal stance on ethnic diversity was also lent to the Hope Not Hate
campaign. Debelle also teamed teamed up with Saatchi & Saatchi on the User Voice campaign, giving disadvantaged youth a platform in Parliament.
In early 2011 Speech took part in a photography project set up by Oxfam
and photographer Martin Parr
, which help spread awareness about climate change
.
Speech began teaming up with Chuka Umunna
the MP for Streatham on her community work to speak about the importance of voting. She has also volunteered with Barnardo's
to promote youth inclusion through a project to deliver an alternate Christmas Day video message to their elders on YouTube, as well as writing about gender equality for the VSO Godmothers blog. On 4 October 2011 Debelle was part of the Young Voter's Question Time panel during the Conservative Party Conference in Salford.
British hip hop
British hip hop is a genre of music, and a culture that covers a variety of styles of hip hop music made in the United Kingdom. It is generally classified as one of a number of styles of urban music...
currently signed to the Big Dada
Big Dada
Big Dada Recordings is the Hip Hop imprint of London-based independent record label, Ninja Tune. It is best known for being the home of prominent British hip hop artist Roots Manuva. It was started by reputed hip hop journalist Will Ashon in February 1997...
record label. She was the winner of the 2009 Mercury Prize
Mercury Prize
The Mercury Prize, formerly called the Mercury Music Prize and currently known as the Barclaycard Mercury Prize for sponsorship reasons, is an annual music prize awarded for the best album from the United Kingdom and Ireland. It was established by the British Phonographic Industry and British...
.
Early life
Debelle spent time in hostels in London while estranged from her mother, although admitting keeping in regular contact. She left home aged 19 and lived in homeless hostelsHomeless shelter
Homeless shelters are temporary residences for homeless people which seek to protect vulnerable populations from the often devastating effects of homelessness while simultaneously reducing the environmental impact on the community...
as well as living with friends Now reconciled, Speech cites these as the formative years for creating her ambition and material. She attended Harris City Academy, and from the age of 9 she began writing poetry. She returned to her mother's house age 23 and began calling record labels, eventually being signed by Big Dada
Big Dada
Big Dada Recordings is the Hip Hop imprint of London-based independent record label, Ninja Tune. It is best known for being the home of prominent British hip hop artist Roots Manuva. It was started by reputed hip hop journalist Will Ashon in February 1997...
records.
Drawing inspiration from Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records...
and in particular the song "Human Nature
Human Nature (Michael Jackson song)
"Human Nature" is a song by American recording artist Michael Jackson. It was written and composed by Steve Porcaro and John Bettis, and produced by Quincy Jones. It is the fifth single from the singer's sixth solo album, Thriller . Initially, Porcaro had recorded a rough demo of the song on a...
", Speech started rapping. Back then, other inspiration came courtesy of Blackstreet
Blackstreet
Blackstreet is an American R&B group founded in 1991 by Thomas Taliaferro and Teddy Riley, the inventor of New Jack Swing known for his work as a member of Guy. Chauncey Hannibal and Levi Little were signed under production and management contracts with Thomas Taliaferro and were merged into what...
, Mary J. Blige
Mary J. Blige
Mary Jane Blige is an American singer-songwriter, record producer and occasional actress. She is a recipient of nine Grammy Awards and four American Music Awards, and has recorded eight multi-platinum albums. She is the only artist with Grammy Award wins in Pop, Rap, Gospel, and R&B. Blige has...
, TLC
TLC (band)
TLC is an American musical trio whose repertoire spanned R&B, hip-hop, soul, funk, and new jack swing. Originally consisting of singer Tionne "T-Boz" Watkins, rapper-singer Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes and singer Rozonda "Chilli" Thomas it found success in the 1990s while also enduring a series of spats...
and reggae
Reggae
Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.Reggae is based...
music.
Speech Therapy (2009)
Debelle's debut album, Speech TherapySpeech Therapy (album)
-Reception:Speech Therapy won Speech Debelle the 2009 Mercury Prize, becoming the first hiphop artist since Dizzee Rascal in 2003 to win the award. It is the lowest-selling album to have ever won the Mercury Prize, selling only around 3,000 copies at the time of winning the prize...
, was released in the United Kingdom on 31 May 2009. The album was led by a white label limited release of "Searching", thereafter the album had three singles released, "The Key", “Better Days” featuring Micachu
Micachu
Mica Levi, known by her stage name Micachu , is an English singer, songwriter, composer, and producer. She is classically trained and is best known for experimental music in a variety of genres.-Biography:...
, "Go Then, Bye" and finally "Spinning". Recorded mostly in Australia and engineered by Wayne Lotek
Wayne Lotek
Wayne "Lotek" Bennett is a music producer, songwriter and rapper from the UK. He is most famous for his work with Roots Manuva and more recently with Speech Debelle, producing her debut album Speech Therapy which won the 2009 Mercury Prize.In 2005, Lotek won the BBC Performing Arts Fund's Urban...
, the album documenting her formative years in London.
"The Key
The Key (Speech Debelle song)
"The Key" was the second single from the album Speech Therapy by Speech Debelle. The album won the 2009 Mercury Prize.-Critical reception:...
" won Best Budget Video for Pop, Dance, Urban at the UK Music Video Awards in 2009
In 2009, she performed at Glastonbury Festival
Glastonbury Festival
The Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts, commonly abbreviated to Glastonbury or even Glasto, is a performing arts festival that takes place near Pilton, Somerset, England, best known for its contemporary music, but also for dance, comedy, theatre, circus, cabaret and other arts.The...
.
Her 2009 Glastonbury appearance was also accompanied with her first live TV performance of "Searching". As the broadcast was made the after Michael Jackson died, after the song she gave her sentiments to a formative figure to her artistry. Later in the year during an interview with The Guardian, when asked what/who she could bring back to life, she answered Michael Jackson.
On 21 July 2009 Speech Therapy was announced as one of the twelve shortlisted albums for the year's Mercury Music Award
Mercury Prize
The Mercury Prize, formerly called the Mercury Music Prize and currently known as the Barclaycard Mercury Prize for sponsorship reasons, is an annual music prize awarded for the best album from the United Kingdom and Ireland. It was established by the British Phonographic Industry and British...
. She won the 2009 Mercury Prize with Speech Therapy, beating albums from The Horrors
The Horrors
The Horrors are an English band from Southend on Sea, formed in 2005. Their debut Strange House, was released in 2007 and reached number thirty-seven on the UK Albums Chart, their second album Primary Colours was released in 2009 and peaked at number 25 in the UK...
, Florence and the Machine
Florence and the Machine
Florence and the Machine is the recording name of English musician Florence Welch and a collaboration of other artists who provide music for her voice. Florence and the Machine's sound has been described as a combination of various genres, including rock and soul...
, Kasabian and Friendly Fires
Friendly Fires
Friendly Fires are an English band from St Albans, Hertfordshire, England. They are currently signed to XL Recordings. Their self-titled debut album was released on 1 September 2008 and was announced as one of the shortlisted twelve for the 2009 Mercury Prize on 21 July 2009.-History:Friendly Fires...
, among others.
Further praise came from the then editor of the Guardian Music Podcast, Paul Macinnes who nominated Speech Therapy as his favourite album of 2009. OHM Monthly cited Speech's work as “biggest thing in UK hip-hop for many a long years”,.
The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
praised the production of the album and awarded the album the place of being the 76th best album of the 2000s. In the US her critical acclaim continued as Pitchfork gave a favourable review praising her relaxed, conversational delivery., although her planned US performance debut, on 5 November 2009, in Williamsburg, Brooklyn
Williamsburg, Brooklyn
Williamsburg is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, bordering Greenpoint to the north, Bedford-Stuyvesant to the south, Bushwick to the east and the East River to the west. The neighborhood is part of Brooklyn Community Board 1. The neighborhood is served by the NYPD's 90th ...
, had to be called off, claimed to be due to visa
United States visas
United States Visas were issued to 6.6 million foreign nationals visiting the United States and to 470 thousand immigrants in 2008.A foreign national wishing to enter the U.S...
problems.
Despite the Mercury Prize win, sales of Speech Therapy were low; with the album notable for having the worst-ever chart showing and performance by a Mercury winner; failing to make the top 40
UK Albums Chart
The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...
and only 10,000 units sold by November 2009, in comparison to the 300,000+ album sales of the 2008 winner, Elbow
Elbow (band)
Elbow are an English rock band. They have played together since 1990 and recorded five studio albums, the most recent of which is Build a Rocket Boys!, released in March 2011...
's The Seldom Seen Kid
The Seldom Seen Kid
The Seldom Seen Kid is the fourth studio album by the progressive rock/alternative rock band Elbow. It was released by Fiction Records on 17 March 2008 in the United Kingdom and was released by Geffen Records on 22 April 2008 in the United States...
and 2010's winners The xx
The xx
The xx are an English indie pop band, formed in London in 2005. The band's members met while studying at Elliott School, the same school that produced Hot Chip, Burial and Four Tet. They became a trio when their second guitarist and keyboardist, Baria Qureshi, departed in late 2009. In September...
, whose winning album xx
XX
XX may refer to:* 20 in Roman numerals* XX chromosomes, see XY sex-determination system* XX , a fictitional organisation in XIII* Dos Equis , a brand of Mexican beer* "XX"...
went platinum shortly after winning the award. Debelle quit the Big Dada record label in November 2009, blaming them for failing to adequately market and distribute the album, but a few months later said "as an artist, you get upset with your label, you get upset with your team. I'm entitled to do that. In the same way, they are entitled to get upset with me.... If we're all on the same page, it's all good." Her post-Mercury music gigs were sparsely attended and received mixed to poor reviews.
In November 2009 she was booed off the stage at a Take That
Take That
Take That are a British five-piece vocal pop group comprising Gary Barlow, Howard Donald, Jason Orange, Mark Owen and Robbie Williams. Barlow acts as the lead singer and primary songwriter...
event to promote their SingStar game
SingStar Take That
SingStar Take That is a competitive karaoke video game for the PlayStation 2 and PlayStation 3. It is the third band-specific SingStar game released in the UK, following up on SingStar ABBA and SingStar Queen. It was released on 6 November 2009.-Gameplay:SingStar games require players to sing...
, after attempting to rap to their 1993 hit "Pray
Pray (Take That song)
"Pray" is song by boyband Take That. Written by Gary Barlow and released on July 5, 1993, it was the second single from their second album Everything Changes. It is the first of 11 singles by the band to reach number one on the UK Singles Chart, staying at number one for four weeks and starting a...
" and claiming she "did it better than Take That".
In March 2010 Speech Debelle teamed up with Bonobo
Bonobo
The bonobo , Pan paniscus, previously called the pygmy chimpanzee and less often, the dwarf or gracile chimpanzee, is a great ape and one of the two species making up the genus Pan. The other species in genus Pan is Pan troglodytes, or the common chimpanzee...
to co-write and sing on the song "Sun Will Rise", taken from Ninja Tune
Ninja Tune
Ninja Tune is a London-based independent record label started by DJs Matt Black and Jonathan More, better known as Coldcut and managed by Peter Quicke. The label has a strong leaning towards mostly Electronic Music...
's 'XX' Boxset. In August 2011, Speech gave away a new track, "Blaze Up A Fire", via her Soundcloud
SoundCloud
SoundCloud is an online audio distribution platform which allows collaboration, promotion and distribution of audio recordings.-History:SoundCloud was originally started in Stockholm, Sweden, but was established in Berlin, Germany in August, 2007 by sound designer Alex Ljung and artist Eric Wahlforss...
page. The track, also featuring Roots Manuva
Roots Manuva
Rodney Hylton Smith , better known by his stage name Roots Manuva, is a British rapper from Stockwell, South London. He is currently signed to Big Dada.-Biography:...
and Realism
Realism
Realism, Realist or Realistic are terms that describe any manifestation of philosophical realism, the belief that reality exists independently of observers, whether in philosophy itself or in the applied arts and sciences. In this broad sense it is frequently contrasted with Idealism.Realism in the...
, dealt with matters Speech felt had come to a head with the 2011 England riots
2011 England riots
Between 6 and 10 August 2011, several London boroughs and districts of cities and towns across England suffered widespread rioting, looting and arson....
.
Debelle's track "Spinnin" has been re-worked by Tinchy Stryder
Tinchy Stryder
Kwasi Danquah III , better known by his pseudonyms Tinchy Stryder and Star In The Hood, is a Ghanaian British recording artist, music executive, A&R executive, and businessman...
and Dionne Bromfield
Dionne Bromfield
Dionne Julia Bromfield is a British soul singer-songwriter. Bromfield's debut album, Introducing Dionne Bromfield, was released in 2009 by Amy Winehouse's Lioness Records label...
and will be used as one of the official anthems of the 2012 Summer Olympics
2012 Summer Olympics
The 2012 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the "London 2012 Olympic Games", are scheduled to take place in London, England, United Kingdom from 27 July to 12 August 2012...
in London.
Charitable work
In August 2009, Debelle performed at Africa ExpressAfrica Express
Africa Express is a 1975 Italian adventure film starring Ursula Andress, Giuliano Gemma, and Jack Palance that was filmed in Rhodesia .Plot Summary: John Baxter is a freewheeling trader of goods in Africa with a pet chimpanzee and one dream: to save enough money to buy a gas station in Detroit...
in Paris, an event set up by Blur
Blur (band)
Blur is an English alternative rock band. Formed in London in 1989 as Seymour, the group consists of singer Damon Albarn, guitarist Graham Coxon, bassist Alex James and drummer Dave Rowntree. Blur's debut album Leisure incorporated the sounds of Madchester and shoegazing...
and Gorillaz
Gorillaz
Gorillaz is an English musical project created in 1998 by Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett. This project consists of Gorillaz music itself and an extensive fictional universe depicting a "virtual band" of cartoon characters...
front-man Damon Albarn
Damon Albarn
Damon Albarn is an English singer-songwriter and record producer who has been involved in many high profile projects, coming to prominence as the frontman and primary songwriter of Britpop band Blur...
.
In 2009, Speech appeared alongside Gary Barlow
Gary Barlow
Gary Barlow is an English singer-songwriter, pianist and record producer. He is frontman and lead vocalist of pop group Take That and is currently the head judge on the eighth series of The X Factor. Barlow is one of Britain's most successful songwriters...
, David Arnold
David Arnold
David Arnold is an English film composer best known for scoring five James Bond films, the 1994 film Stargate, the 1996 film Independence Day, and the television series Little Britain.-Film and television career:...
and Jimmy Carr
Jimmy Carr
James Anthony Patrick "Jimmy" Carr is an English-Irish comedian and humourist. He is known for his deadpan delivery and dark humour. He is also a writer, actor and presenter of radio and television....
for a CARE charity concert in aid of youth education. She was also invited to 10 Downing Street to celebrate "British Talent", in association with the Talent and Enterprise Taskforce.
In 2010, Speech was a guest speaker at the Progressive London conference alongside Ken Livingston MP, Sadiq Khan
Sadiq Khan
Sadiq Aman Khan is a British Labour Party politician, who has been the Member of Parliament for Tooting since 2005, succeeding Tom Cox as the Labour MP for the seat...
MP, and other notable academics. The annual conference explores and discusses the application of liberal politics to the benefit of London. Her liberal stance on ethnic diversity was also lent to the Hope Not Hate
Hope not Hate
Hope not Hate is an anti-fascism and anti-racism campaign in the United Kingdom organised by Searchlight. It has campaigned against the nationalist and far-right British National Party. and have presented a 90,000 person petition to the European Parliament protesting against the election of Nick...
campaign. Debelle also teamed teamed up with Saatchi & Saatchi on the User Voice campaign, giving disadvantaged youth a platform in Parliament.
In early 2011 Speech took part in a photography project set up by Oxfam
Oxfam
Oxfam is an international confederation of 15 organizations working in 98 countries worldwide to find lasting solutions to poverty and related injustice around the world. In all Oxfam’s actions, the ultimate goal is to enable people to exercise their rights and manage their own lives...
and photographer Martin Parr
Martin Parr
Martin Parr is a British documentary photographer, photojournalist and photobook collector. He is known for his photographic projects that take a critical look at aspects of modern life, in particular provincial and suburban life in England...
, which help spread awareness about climate change
Climate change
Climate change is a significant and lasting change in the statistical distribution of weather patterns over periods ranging from decades to millions of years. It may be a change in average weather conditions or the distribution of events around that average...
.
Speech began teaming up with Chuka Umunna
Chuka Umunna
Chuka Harrison Umunna is a British Labour Party politician and employment lawyer. He has been the Member of Parliament for Streatham since 2010. After less than 18 months in Parliament, he was promoted to the Shadow Cabinet as Shadow Business Secretary by Labour Leader Ed Miliband on 7 October 2011...
the MP for Streatham on her community work to speak about the importance of voting. She has also volunteered with Barnardo's
Barnardo's
Barnardo's is a British charity founded by Thomas John Barnardo in 1866, to care for vulnerable children and young people. As of 2010, it spends over £190 million each year on more than 400 local services aimed at helping these same groups...
to promote youth inclusion through a project to deliver an alternate Christmas Day video message to their elders on YouTube, as well as writing about gender equality for the VSO Godmothers blog. On 4 October 2011 Debelle was part of the Young Voter's Question Time panel during the Conservative Party Conference in Salford.
External links
- Speech Debelle Interviewed by Sophie Elmhirst on New StatesmanNew StatesmanNew Statesman is a British centre-left political and cultural magazine published weekly in London. Founded in 1913, and connected with leading members of the Fabian Society, the magazine reached a circulation peak in the late 1960s....