Sampha Just Won The 2017 Mercury Prize For His Debut Album 'Process'
British Sierra-Leonean soul singer, Sampha, is the 2017 Mercury Prize winner.
British-Sierra Leonean soul signer, Sampha is the winner of the 2017 Mercury Prize.
<p>The singer snagged the coveted UK prize—awarded to the best British album of the year—for his acclaimed debut album <em>Process</em>.</p><p>The celebrated artist beat out some of the UK's biggest names, including <strong>Stromzy</strong> <strong>J Hus</strong>, and <strong>Ed Sheeran</strong>.</p><p>Fellow British-Sierra Leonean, <strong>Idris Elba</strong>, was there to present him with the award.</p><p></p><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p></p><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Very special night celebrating the incredible UK music scene. Honoured to have awarded <a href="https://twitter.com/sampha">@sampha</a> with this years <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MercuryPrize?src=hash">#MercuryPrize</a> well deserved!</p><p>— Idris Elba (@idriselba) <a href="https://twitter.com/idriselba/status/908443133586878469">September 14, 2017</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script></p><p>Last year's prize went to British-Nigerian grime rapper, <a href="http://www.okayafrica.com/in-brief/skepta-mercury-prize-2016/" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><strong>Skepta</strong> for his album <em>Konichiwa</em></a>.</p><p><div class="preroll-video"></div><ora-player></ora-player></p><p>We couldn't be happier to see some of our favorite African musicians getting the recognition they deserve, especially the ones we've been following since the beginning! Major congrats to Sampha.</p><p></p><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p></p><p dir="ltr" lang="en">The winner of the 2017 Hyundai <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MercuryPrize?src=hash">#MercuryPrize</a> is <a href="https://twitter.com/sampha">@sampha</a>'s 'Process' <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/HyundaiMercuryPrize?src=hash">#HyundaiMercuryPrize</a> <a href="https://t.co/W79XbjkIhj">pic.twitter.com/W79XbjkIhj</a></p><p>— Mercury Prize (@MercuryPrize) <a href="https://twitter.com/MercuryPrize/status/908440293141295104">September 14, 2017</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script></p><p></p><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p></p><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Here's <a href="https://twitter.com/sampha">@sampha</a> performing '(No One Knows Me) Like The Piano' to toast his <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MercuryPrize?src=hash">#MercuryPrize</a> win. <a href="https://t.co/ddZVcUOKHW">pic.twitter.com/ddZVcUOKHW</a></p><p>— DIY (@diymagazine) <a href="https://twitter.com/diymagazine/status/908441679493042176">September 14, 2017</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script></p><p>Sampha dropped <em>Process,</em> the film back in March, <a href="http://www.okayafrica.com/video/sampha-process-film-sweeping-journey-back-home-search-self/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">revisit it here</a> and check out our <a href="http://www.okayafrica.com/featured/sampha-process-album-download-necessity-vulnerable-black-masculinity/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">full review </a>of the album from earlier this year.</p><p><span style="display:block;position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="f3e7b1b4f9b43fa988dd2108572212d8"><iframe type="lazy-iframe" data-runner-src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/_NSuIYwBxu4?rel=0" width="100%" height="auto" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;"></iframe></span></p>
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