Breakthrough rap artist Speech Debelle, whose refreshingly honest lyrics and soothing sounds have made the music scene sit up and listen, talks exclusively to the Brit Writers’ Awards.   

From the private scribblings of a teenager to the best British album of the year – it's a leap barely imaginable for most aspiring musicians. But 26-year-old Corynne Elliot, otherwise known as Speech Debelle, isn't like most musicians – certainly not the usual chart-topping variety anyway.

Bursting with self-expression, the south Londoner's debut album, aptly named Speech Therapy, casts aside clichéd, over-produced pop in favour of individuality and realism, its smooth jazz tones woven in with strikingly unidealised lyrics. It stood out enough to win the critics' vote and beat the likes of Friendly Fires, Florence + the Machine, Glasvegas and La Roux to win this year's prestigious Mercury Prize.

Proving that good things can emerge from bad, the album has also been a much-needed emotional outlet for Debelle, whose songs lay bare her own experiences of pain, rejection and even homelessness.

"I don't write happy songs, generally. That's why I called the album Speech Therapy. Writing it has been therapeutic and it's enabled me to get some things off my chest," she says.

In the track Daddy's Little Girl, Debelle unabashedly addresses her absent father, who missed her birthdays and was never there to hold her hand. It strikes a painful note – "One day in the year and you couldn't come check me to busy to come check me/The way you affect me I'm constantly fighting to not affect me" – before reflecting on an image of an old man, alone with no-one to hold his hand.

In displaying such vulnerability, her words exude strength. And for that reason it's one of the songs, alongside her title track, that she's most proud of. "It's not easy to be that honest," she admits. 

Speech Therapy is abundant with tales of pain, self-discovery and love – human themes we can all connect with. After falling out with her mother at the age of 19, and despite a comfortable upbringing, Debelle found herself on the streets and embarking on a period of sleeping in hostels and struggling to scrape together enough money for food.

Yet you get the impression from her music that however dark life got for Debelle, her defiant spirit pushed her through – and that there was a positive to each negative. While her disruptiveness at school earned her multiple suspensions, she cultivated a passion for poetry and her eagerness to be heard resulted in her performing raps to her classmates.

"The first thing I remember writing was a poem at primary school, about Father Christmas, and then from that I began writing stories – English lesson was my favourite. When I was 13, I came up with my first rap," recalls Debelle, who cites Me'Shell Ndegéocello, Tupac Shakur and Tracy Chapman among her musical influences.

"Me'Shell Ndegéocello's album Bitter is probably the reason my album sounds the way it does. It's a beautiful example of hate."

She says that her words being listened to and related to by potentially millions of people "feels great". Though doesn't she feel a little exposed having shared her innermost feelings with the world? "If I committed a crime and went to court, I'd be worried; I'm not worried about telling the truth."

The artist's self-belief is perhaps partly thanks to the women who have been a driving force in her life: her mum, who she did reconcile with and apologises to in the track Speech Therapy, and her gran, whose fashion label Madame De Belle inspired her rap name.

"I was always taught that the world's my oyster and I could get anything I want. And that's the reason I am the way I am, because I always had the opportunity."

Debelle supports the Brit Writers' Awards scheme for doing just that: giving people from all backgrounds, cultures and ages the chance to shine.

Her advice to entrants – and indeed to any aspiring songwriter – is be confident and don't dither: "Whatever you're working on, get it finished – don't give up. It's important to just get it all down."

It's certainly worked for this young star. 

To find out more about Speech Debelle and her music, visit www.speechdebelle.com

Words: Kelly Smith