HIP-HOP
Sydney Morning Herald
Saturday October 31, 2009
SPEECH DEBELLESpeech Therapy (Big Dada/Inertia)Despite the howls of protest from Friendly Fires fans, there's merit in awarding this year's Mercury Prize to Speech Debelle. With her clipped London rapping style, there's a tendency to dismiss this young rapper as a female Dizzee Rascal or a softer-spoken Lady Sovereign but listen a bit harder and it all starts making sense.What hip-hop album, for instance, starts with beatless, cinematic melodies, offset by a voice so sweet? It hovers somewhere between a whisper and a shout, and is so enthralling you almost miss the raw, down-and-out lyrics. Behind the beautiful, soaring production of Bad Boy hides the dark story of a lonely life.On Daddy's Little Girl the dub-influenced beats blur the hurt that seeps from lyrics about an absent father. For Speech Debelle, her exquisite vocals, blended with haunting production, have created a beautifully honest and fresh hip-hop album.Chloe Sasson
© 2009 Sydney Morning Herald