Debelle of the Ball

On September 8, 2009, the then relatively unknown British urban star Speech Debelle scooped the Mercury Music Prize. Not only did she defy the bookies (they originally had her ranked at the bottom of the pile as far as odds were concerned) she beat off strong opposition from the likes of Kasabian, Florence and the Machine and the Horrors, catapulting her to mainstream superstardom and ensuring that her modestly-selling debut Speech Therapy would become the hit she always wanted. When Jools Holland read her name out at the industry awards, the 26-year-old Crystal Palace native's reaction was priceless. Looking genuinely shocked yet excited, Speech (real name Corynne Elliot) let her guard down and charmed us all with her honesty.

A week beforehand the rapper was overlooked in the press, who preferred to fawn over the favourite Florence, and now, thanks to her gong, she’s one of the most in-demand acts of the moment. When Hot Press interviewed Ms Debelle, it had been three days since her life changed forever. While we assumed the hugely talented songwriter would be tired from all the press junkets, we weren’t quite expecting her to be as monosyllabic, uninterested and downright cold as she was when we finally got her to answer her phone. Getting rid of the elephant in the room as quickly as possible, we ask her about her feelings on winning the £20,000 cash prize and instant acclaim from her peers.
“Yeah, it’s good,” she croaks while clacking away at her computer keyboard.
Trying to fill the silence, we then question her on the meaning of winning such an award. After being asked to repeat ourselves four times (she informs us she’s reading her e-mails while talking to us y’see, so she obviously isn’t the best at multi-tasking) she finally replies.
“I s’pose it’s a big deal to someone,” she sniffs, after a long pause. “I mean it’s a big deal to my family and friends. I don’t mind talking about it with them.”
And then we get another long pause. The next five minutes are spent trying to coax Debelle into saying something, anything more than one sentence. She finally starts to defrost when we ask her about her genre-splicing debut album. Packed with elements of hip-hop, grime, dancehall, reggae and pop, Speech Therapy is unlike any other record you've heard all year. When we express this opinion to the rapper, she finally seems interested. Well, kinda…
“Basically, I took the thoughts and sounds in my head and translated them into music,” she says. “It was a difficult process but a rewarding one too, as I don’t think anyone else out there sounds quite like me.”
It’s safe to say that Speech’s life story is packed with as much drama and sadness as a soap opera. As a teenager, Debelle went off the rails while she attended Harris City Academy and she was repeatedly suspended for her behaviour. She left school without a GCSE to her name, and began spiralling into depression (which she later blamed on smoking cannabis), leaving home and living in homeless hostels from the age of 19-23 after falling out with her mother. By age 23, she got her life back together, returned back home and started writing songs. Much of Speech Therapy deals with her struggle for acceptance, and the lyrics are remarkably candid.
“Making this album was really hard for me,” she says, finally opening up. “It’s not something I’d like to repeat anytime soon. Reliving those memories, writing those words… it’s hard not to be affected by it. But it was also quite cathartic for me too. I took something positive from it all and now I’m ready to move on with my life.”
Speech Therapy doesn’t pull any punches in terms of its honesty, and the confessional tone is perhaps what makes the record so unique. A sample lyric from ‘Daddy’s Little Girl’ goes, “I have trouble committing to my man ‘cos I think he’s gonna leave me like you left me.” Did Speech ever have second thoughts sharing stories (such as her father’s abandonment of her family when she was six) with the general public?
“Not really, no,” she responds. “All of these things happened to me, and if I’m writing lyrics, it makes sense for them to be about the real world. There were times where I had doubts, as anyone would, and there were times where making the record took so much out of me, but it’s out there now. As far as I’m concerned, that’s it done and it’s all behind me. I’m actually working on the second album now and it won’t be anything like Speech Therapy.”
Clearly keen to capitalise on her current success, Speech confirms that we won’t have to wait too long for her follow-up.
“People might think it’s weird that I’m already thinking about album number two even though the first one came out in June, but that’s just how I am. I’ve got some songs already done, including one about Jade Goody and her life story. It’s basically a biography about her life and how sad her story is. I don’t comment too much on the media’s role in her life – it’s more of a statement on what she meant to people.”
Of course, now that Speech has won the Mercury, is she prepared to deal with all of the mainstream attention? After all, Speech Therapy shifted a mere 6,000 copies prior to her win. Is she ready for all the scandal hounds and Saturday night TV appearances?
“I’ve always wanted as many people to listen to my music as possible,” she says finally. “The mainstream, whatever that is, doesn’t concern me. I don’t think I’ll let it change me too much.”