Grime megastar Skepta’s self-released album Konnichiwa has won the 2016 Mercury Prize. The 2016 Shortlist featured 12 incredible albums by UK artists, but Skepta’s win truly came out of left field. Taking home the £25,000 prize, Skepta beat out albums from the likes of Radiohead, The 1975, and David Bowie’s posthumous nominated album Blackstar–all acts highly favored to win this year’s prize. Despite Skepta being a key figure in UK Grime for many years now, Grime acts seldom receive award recognition for their contributions to UK music. Konnichiwa‘s win marks another landmark moment in Grime music history, 13 years after Grime legend Dizzee Rascal took home the Mercury Prize in 2003.
Watch Skepta’s acceptance speech above.