Here is the Speech Debelle Speech Therapy track-list along with the Better Days video (featuring Micachu), lead single of the album which has just won the 2009 Barclaycard Mercury Prize. See photos and find out more about the breakthrough album of the up and coming rapper from south London, England who has won the music world’s equivalent of the literary world’s Man Booker Prize for Fiction.

The album which is her debut album, was released on the independent label Big Dada during the summer and was among 12 albums on the short-list. Prior to the announcement of her winning the award, the album had sold approximately 3,000 copies. As such she was one of the lesser known of the artists on the 12 member short list for the prize, and was competing among the likes of Friendly Fires, La Roux, Glasvegas, Bat for Lashes and Florence And the Machine.

Her real name is Corynne Elliot and according to The Independent, her work is rooted in personal experience including time spent in London hostels for the homeless, quoting such lyrics as these: “2 am in my hostel bed, my eyes them red, my belly aint fed, I got butter but I aint got bread and I’m smoking on my last cigarette. I aint got creds I can’t make calls, got no papers I got no jewels. Got debts up to my eyeballs who made these rules, it’s a catch 22…”

The lyricism of the work and her poetic delivery belie the grittiness of life experiences recounted in the songs and reveals brazen originality which has been rewarded with the prestigious prize. Speech Debelle herself noted in interviews with the press after the award ceremony:

“There’s a lot of music that sounds the same, all day on the radio, and my album doesn’t sound like their album and it’s still won the Mercury Prize. Hopefully this will throw a wrench in the system and people will hear this album and realise they don’t have to make music that sounds the same – they can make music that sounds good.

Source: Speech Debelle rises from streets of London to win Mercury Prize

Here is the Speech Debelle Speech Therapy Track-Listing. The music video is below.

1. Speech Debelle
2. The Key Speech Debelle
3. Better Days
4. Spinnin’
5. Go Then, Bye
6. Daddy’s Little Girl
7. Bad Boy Speech Debelle
8. Wheels In Motion
9. Live And Learn Speech Debelle
10. Working Weak
11. Buddy Love
12. Finish This Album
13. Speech Therapy

Speech Therapy Better Days Video (featuring Micachu)

Speech Debelle Speech Therapy Track-List: Better Days Video