Skepta wins 2016 Mercury Prize

Skepta has won the Mercury Prize 2016 with ‘Konnichiwa’.

Presenting the award, Jarvis Cocker - on a panel who selected the winner - said the decision came down to “two black stars.” Announcing the winner, he said: “If [David Bowie] was looking down, he would want the Mercury Prize to go to Skepta.”

Accepting the award, Skepta said, “The person who’s on the mic always gets seen. I wanna say thankyou to every single person that made ‘Konnichiwa’ happen. For everybody who knows what it takes to put an album together, it’s so much more than just making the music. Everyone that was there for me when I was in depressed times… We did this for us, but the love is very appreciated… We did it.”

Earlier tonight, twelve nominees were whittled down to a final six of Skepta, The 1975, Radiohead, David Bowie, Laura Mvula and Michael Kiwanuka.

The bookies’ favourite was David Bowie’s ‘Blackstar’. Nominees that missed out on the final six included Kano’s ‘Made in the Manor’, Jamie Woon’s ‘Making Time’, ANOHNI’s ‘Hopelessness’ and Bat For Lashes’ ‘The Bride’.

This year’s judges included previous nominees Kate Tempest, Wolf Alice’s Ellie Rowsell and Jessie Ware, plus Clara Amfo, Annie Mac, and Naughty Boy. Check out the full panel here.

Catch up with our Mercury Prize interviews from earlier tonight, with Bat For Lashes, Kano and The Comet Is Coming.