Sampha is the winner of the 2017 Hyundai Mercury Prize. Process, Sampha's debut album, won him the prestigious award for top British album. It's an R&B album that held Sampha's vision for it to be a meditation on fear and grief. The singer, keyboardist and producer from South London has appeared on tracks with SBTRKT, Jessie Ware and Koreless, amongst bigger names like Beyonce, Drake, Solange and Kanye West. Having ventured forth to create his own record, and with the validation and affirmation from the highly regarded Mercury Prize, it appears it has been well worth it.

Mercury Prize Winner 2017

The Mercury Prize began in 1992 and this year, Sampha beat 9 shortlisted records and became the Mercury Prize Winner of 2017. Some of the indie artists he shared the nomination with were alt-J, Glass Animals and The xx. Possibly one of the harder nominees to win against was Ed Sheeran who, earlier this year, had 16 singles in the UK Top 20. 

https://twitter.com/MercuryPrize/status/908440293141295104

At the award show, Sampha performed his song "(No One Knows Me) Like The Piano" and was handed his £25,000 prize by actor Idris Elba. Upon receiving his prize, Sampha dedicated it to his parents who he said gave him 'the best upbringing possible.' 

Mercury Prize 2017 Shortlist

The host of the Mercury Prize, Lauren Laverne, said that this year's prize was the result of the longest ever deliberation by Mercury judges, who included Jamie Cullum, Jessie Ware and Mumford and Sons' Marcus Mumford. They had to deliberate between the following full list of 2017 shortlisted nominees: 

Alt-J, Relaxer;
Blossoms, Blossoms;
Dinosaur, Together, As One;
Ed Sheeran, ÷;
Glass Animals, How to be a Human Being;
J Hus, Common Sense;
Kate Tempest, Let Them Eat Chaos;
Loyle Carner, Yesterday’s Gone;
Sampha, Process;
Stormzy, Gang Signs & Prayer;
The Big Moon, Love in the 4th Dimension; 
The xx, I See You.

When asked how he was going to celebrate, Sampha said “I just want to see my family and friends, have a couple of drinks.” So in honor of Sampha, let's all do the same this weekend. Choose from one of our playlists to enjoy as you do so. 

Image Source: Sakena