Popular British Nigerian rapper, David Orobosa Omoregie who is better known as Santan Dave, was on Thursday 19th September presented with the 2019 Hyundai Mercury Prize for the album Psychodrama.
Santan Dave who has been a sensation across Britain and Europe, beat the likes of Anna Calvi, The 1975, and Foals for the prestigious prize. He collected the winner’s trophy and a cheque for £25,000, which is about N11million naira.
Surrounded by his family, the rapper couldn’t stop hugging his mother before he was called up to the stage. ‘I don’t know what to say… I want to thank God and I want to invite my mum onto the stage,’ he said. ‘I want to thank everyone that made this happen, I want to thanks all the exceptional musicians that came and performed tonight, I did not expect this. I respect you all so highly.’ He went on to dedicate the award to his brother Christopher ‘who inspired the album’.
‘This is your story we told,’ he shared.
‘Psychodrama is the musical equivalent of a literary masterpiece: a conceptual album about Dave’s experience of growing up in South London, structured in the form of a therapy session, which takes a deeply personal story and gives it universal relevance,’ said the judging panel which included Stormzy and Jorja Smith.
‘Psychodrama is a moving, musically sophisticated work that tackles complex themes of identity, class, relationships and politics and demands total attention from the listener. ‘It will have lasting relevance for a generation and underlines the importance of the album as an art form, making it the perfect winner of the 2019 Hyundai Mercury Prize.’
Psychodrama came out in March, and reached number one, with his single Funky Friday also achieving the top spot.