Benjamin Clementine was once a homeless busker, trying to make enough money to survive the streets of Paris. He is now the winner of a Mercury Prize Award.
The prize was won for his debut album At Least For Now which was released in March this year. The album was reached number one in France on the iTunes charts as well as top 10 in many other countries, and consequently took out records from the likes of Florence + The Machine, Aphex Twin, Gaz Coombes, C Duncan, Eska, Ghost Poet, Jamie xx, Roisin Murphy, Slaves, Soak and Wolf Alice to take the top prize.
“Thank you very much. I’d like to thank music. I can’t believe I’ve actually won this,” he said in his acceptance speech, proving the underdog can indeed beat the favourites.
“I never thought I would say this. If anyone is watching, any child or youngster or student. The world is your oyster. Go out there and get what you want to get,” he said, before dedicating the award to the victims of the Paris attacks, according to The Guardian.
Although he was raised in London, he moved to Paris where he wanted to busk in a city where he could not speak or understand the language, the Sydney Morning Herald writes. According to the article, he did this because he “felt like nobody cared” there.
“I realised that we’re all equal – it’s all about helping each other,” he said. “I grew up as a man because I was by myself. Paris is very dear to me and I’ll never forget Paris.”
Along with the award, he received 20,000 pounds (AU$42,256.62) as a cash prize.