Speech Debelle: 'Spinnin'

Speech Debelle's Mercury win may have shocked presenter Jools Holland, but it didn't surprise the rapper herself. In the days leading up to the event, she was telling all and sundry that she was going to take home the Prize, and those of us who smirked at her self-confidence are the ones now eating our words - and opening our ears to her Speech Therapy LP. With her victory comes pressure though, and the performance of this single could set the tone for future chart success.

It might not be Debelle's very best track, but the understated brass and strings, gentle piano and singalong chorus combine to make 'Spinnin' one of her most accessible. Much has been made of her grim depiction of London life, but despite some great imagery about the apathetic getting screwed ("But if your head's in the pillow and your butt's in the air / They gonna put it right there"), underlying 'Spinnin' is the optimistic belief that art can change the world ("One day I know that it will get better / Music is healing, I love the feeling"). If all songs boasted the quality of Debelle's breathless flow and vivid rhymes, you could almost believe it.


> Click here to read our review of Speech Therapy