What It Means To Win

As both the Barclaycard Mercury Music Prize and the MOBO’s draw nearer, we ask what happened to the past winners, and where are they now?

It’s been an interesting year so far. Icelandic volcanos thwart thousands from going on their anticipated holidays abroad, the England teams performance in the World cup would have you believe they all had severe trench foot, and Amy Winehouse still hasn’t released a new record in four years. But two upcoming awards are about what has been particularly exceptional this fine year, each very different in the ideas they purport, and the impact they have.
The Mercury Prize was established in 1992 to showcase the best of British music, with a panel of judges ultimately deciding on the album of the year. The first ever winners of the award were Glaswegian alt rock band Primal Scream for their record Screamadelica. Leaving behind their indie sound in favour of a more acid house influence, Screamadelica received widespread critical acclaim, something that helped them win the prize ahead of such artists as The Jesus and Mary Chain and U2. But what happened then? The band developed drug problems which stunted their creativity. A single in March 1994, ‘Rocks’ was released, to commercial success, but critical failure. An album Give Out But Don’t Give Up received mixed reviews, and subsequent singles charted lower and lower respectively.

That’s not to say that this is a regular occurrence with the Mercury Prize. In 2003, Grimes prodigy Dizzee Rascal won the prize for his debut solo release Boy in da Corner, described by many as one of the most important albums in modern British music. Dizzee took the statue home to his estate in Bow, not entirely sure what it was or what it represented, but secure in the knowledge that what he’d made had garnered recognition and acclaim. After that, all of Dizzees albums have done well commercially and critically. His most recent album, Tongue N’ Cheek, is a certified platinum selling record, shifting over 300, 000 units. His transition from visceral and cutting Grime records to a more mainstream modern pop sound is still a contentious subject among fans, and granted, if you were listening to Dizzees collaboration with D Double E on Run The Road Vol. 1, then his more recent union with Florence Welch and Calvin Harris must feel strange -, like watching Robert Plant carelessly brush Led Zeppelin reunions away with one hand, and click his fingers to Alison Krauss’ country fiddle with the other.

Although the Prize’s validity and helpfulness is subject to some debate, due to the larger number of nominees and wider selection of genres, there are always strong views on who will win the prize. This years nominees showcase what has been, for me, a very hot and cold year in popular and unpopular music. Foals’ very impressive sophomore effort Total Life Forever should be up there with the big contenders, as well as The XX, whose self titled debut has garnered them international recognition. My internal jury is still out on works that have crept into the frame, such as Mumford and Sons Sigh No More (which, ironically, makes me sigh more than usual). Dizzee is back with the aforementioned Tongue N’ Cheek release, with such hits as ‘Bonkers’ and ‘Dirtee Cash’ solidifying his position in the nominations once again. Scottish rock band Biffy Clyro are almost a surprise entry, their fifth album Only Revolutions up for the prize. Biffys’ transition from an underground hardcore punk style band to a matured set of artists with immaculate song writing skills is definitely worthy of some recognition.
The MOBO award nominations have yet to be announced, but it is to be assumed that the usual suspects will appear ie US based hip hop and RnB artists who more than likely will not turn up to receive their three awards ie Beyoncé.
MOBOs, or Music of Black Origin, (a somewhat redundant name seeing as essentially all modern music is of black origin) is a curious awards show. Created in 1995 by Kanya King MBE, the MOBO awards show gets more peculiar every time I watch it. The 2009 ceremony, awkwardly presented by an enthusiastic Reggie Yates and someone-please-prod-her-to-make-sure-she’s-still-breathing Keri Hilson, with backstage interviews being conducted by the largely irrelevant yet amiable Peter Andre, epitomised, for me, what the MOBOs was about.

The prizes for the less commercial categories, like best Jazz Act and best African Act, are all but lost on the regular viewer; these artists and their music would only be known to real fans of the genre, and it’s wonderful that these musicians, successful in their respected field, are brought to the fore- into the spotlight for all to see. Then, suddenly, the tone changes. The awards for such categories as Best UK Newcomer and Best Album are presented to JLS, a manufactured boy band marketed to fourteen year old white girls (trust me, I’ve been to one of their concerts -don’t ask why) and N- Dubz, which is essentially the same thing without the manufacture. The opportunity to bring the real talent, raw, unwavering, colourless talent, is lost.

This seems to happen every year. Not to mention the sore feelings towards the American winners, who often feel their presence is not needed unless their award is not in the shape of a giant MTV logo. Commercialism should not encroach on these types of awards; awards that were created specifically to showcase something special, something we should all be taking notice of. Instead, what becomes of it is a cavalcade of standardized pop fodder, bounding carelessly past on a conveyor belt from a giant Pop mega machine.

Don’t get me wrong, I think the MOBOs is a great idea. The ubiquity of black music is something I feel is never appreciated or understood enough in the very Eurocentric society we live in, but you have to award the right people for the right things. Dizzee Rascals mentor Wiley, quite possibly the best, for want of a better word, rapper to ever have come out of this country has yet to win an award. An innovator in the London underground music scene, Wiley’s ability to reel off hundreds and hundreds of bars is nigh on inhuman, like his brain is just filled with endless Word documents. Hopefully Wiley’s talent will be recognized properly soon, as well as genius grime producer Skepta, whom I assume will be a firm competitor for best UK Act this year.

Either way, the awards will be a talking point. Perhaps a subject of controversy, who knows? What is certain is that, with all things of this nature, someone will be enraged or disappointed, while others will be elated and joyful. Which side of the fence do you think you’ll be sitting on?