Speech Debelle has taken the Mercury Prize, beating Irish singer-songwriter Lisa Hannigan to one of Britain's most prestigious annual music awards.
Chosen by a panel of industry figures, musicians and journalists, the debut album
Speech Therapyby the south Londoner was partly inspired by the time she spent living in hostels after her parents asked her to leave home in her teens.
The Mercury judges described her as a "remarkable new voice in British hip-hop, tough, warm and reflective".
Bookmakers had picked Florence and the Machine, the recording name for Florence Welch performing both alone and with a changing line-up of musicians, as favourite in a field dominated by the debut albums of emerging acts.
Bookmakers Ladbrokes cut the odds on Welch's acclaimed album winning the £20,000 (€23,000) prize from 50-1 in January to 5-2 after it attracted double the bets of its nearest challenger.
Hannigan's debut album
Sea Sewwas released last year. It was nominated for both the Choice Music Prize and Best Irish Album at the Meteor Music Awards in January 2009.
The other nominees were: Bat For Lashes, Friendly Fires, Glasvegas, Kasabian, La Roux, Led Bib, Sweet Belly Pilgrim, The Horrors and The Invisible.
In the Mercury's 17-year existence, only a handful of Irish acts have made it to the nomination stage; Hannigan joins a group which includes U2, Van Morrison, Snow Patrol, Therapy? and Gemma Hayes.
Previous winners include Primal Scream, Franz Ferdinand, Suede, Pulp, Klaxons and Elbow.