Dave, Idles and Slowthai are the favourites for the most prestigious award in British music - follow our coverage here ahead of the announcement at 10.10pm 8.30pm BST The bookiesī favourite - which never wins - is Slowthai with his album Nothing Great About Britain. This would be a worthy winner: quite apart from his lyrics, his voice is one of the most satisfying here. His broad east Midlands burr is another one of the strong regional accents that are currently keeping British rap so tangibly British - alongside Aitch, Jaykae, Jay1, Bugzy Malone et al - and he moves through his lyrics with the bobbing and weaving stance of a grime or garage MC, but thereīs straight up punk and trudging hip-hop production too. Lyrically itīs really evocative - social realism blended with neat wordplay (`selling wraps to a mummy`) to make a portrait of working-class Britain that isnīt moping or moralistic. Drug Dealer also has one of the best disses in ages: `Youīre mediocre like Katie and Peter`. 8.25pm BST The award tends to be decided on the night, with the judges reconvening one final time, so I donīt think nominees the 1975 will be winning - they canīt make it to the ceremony because theyīre on tour in Australia. Their album A Brief History of Online Relationships has been rightly lauded, and in some ways is the perfect album for two of the main tenets of the Mercury prize remit: `to recognise and celebrate artistic achievement` and `provide a snapshot of the year in music`. In blending new wave, disco, ambient techno, Big Music, and acoustic balladry - in the first five songs alone! - with powerful pop hooks, it absolutely nails the first, and by confronting technophobia, Donald Trump, addiction and more, it feels absolutely rooted in 2019. Continue reading...
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