Speech Debelle, Mercury Prize Winner, Talks Therapy at CMF

Posted on Mar 11th 2010 4:45PM by Jesse Ship
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Going from so-called 'ragamuffin' teen runaway to Mercury Prize winner of 2009, the British press touted Speech Debelle's career as a rags-to-riches story.

However, the young Jamaican Londoner's rap career dangerously flip-flopped in 2009 despite her prestigious award, as she recently fired her label and her manager due to poor record sales. Good thing Speech is relatively unknown in Toronto as she was able to put her past behind her and play for an open-minded and inquisitive Canadian Music Week / Canadian Music Fest audience.

Miss Debelle gingerly took the stage and met the crowd with a flurry of high-pitched lyrical flowetry and swagger. She was more than confident on stage, engaging with the audience like a pro as she dished out personalized Facebook relationship advice to bashful fans, cracked jokes about the Canadian taxation system and bemoaned a lack of 'VIT-amin" D in dreary London.

Speech went out of her way to make her audience feel comfortable and at ease in the club. It's no wonder her band's name is the Therapists (they include a dreadlocked guitarist, a stand-up bassist and the most soulful white-boy drummer/singer I have yet to hear).

While her studio music establishes a cozy, intimate atmosphere allowing her to play off of the well-produced beats, the stage left her a bit more exposed. Maybe this is why she hid behind her shades for the entirety of the set. The look worked well with her gold sequined tights, chain and fro-hawk, but the emotional sincerity was lacking on key tracks like 'Go Then, Bye.'

Don't be so shy next time, Speech.