L E M F R E C K has been crowned the winner of the 2024 Welsh Music Prize.
The singer-songwriter was given the award by host Siân Eleri last night (October 8) as part of the 14th edition of the annual awards. It comes in celebration of his ‘Blood, Sweat & Fears’ album, which was released by the underground rapper last year.
As well as being named the winner of the prestigious award – which names him as having the best album made in Wales or by Welsh people around the world this past year – the victory also saw L E M F R E C K take home a £10,000 prize.
To secure the win, the rapper fought off stiff competition from the likes of reggae artist Aleighcia Scott with her ‘Windrush Baby’ album, Gruff Rhys’ with ‘Sadness Sets Me Free’, and Skindred with their ‘Smile’ album, which peaked at Number Two on the UK album charts and saw them crowned the winner of best alternative act at the 2024 MOBO Awards.
“Thanks to my mum and my dad – as a young black kid growing up, they constantly told me I could do anything and be anything,” L E M F R E C K said, accepting the award at the Millennium Centre in Cardiff.
“This one goes to my community in Newport. If I didn’t see Benji [Webbe of Skindred] doing it first, I’m telling you now, I would not be able to do this, so I’d like to thank him,” he added. “I’d like to talk about how important representation is…it’s not a box tick when artists like myself win awards like this –it’s a confirmation of art.”
Elsewhere on the night, hip-hop pioneers Eric Martin and DJ Jaffa also received the Welsh Music Inspiration award for their contributions to the music scene in Wales, and live performances came from Aleighcia Scott, Gruff Rhys, CHROMA, HMS Morris and L E M F R E C K.
“A huge congratulations to L E M F R E C K on winning the Welsh Music Prize 2024. ‘Blood, Sweat & Fears’ is an astonishing album and the judges praised it for its vision and ambition. Each album on the shortlist is unique, and we hope the prize shines a light on these amazing bodies of work from our musicians,” said Huw Stephens, who co-founded the Welsh Music Prize in 2011.
The 2024 awards ceremony also marked the first event of the Llais Festival as part of the Cardiff Music City Festival. Last year’s Welsh Music Prize was taken home by pop duo Rogue Jones – comprised of Ynyr Ifan and Bethan Mai – and their second album ‘Dos Bebés’
The celebration of Welsh talent at the 2024 Welsh Music Prize ceremony last night comes after this year’s edition of the prestigious Mercury Prize was held at Abbey Road Studios in September.
This year’s instalment of the awards saw Charli XCX, CMAT, Ghetts, The Last Dinner Party, Corinne Bailey Rae, Beth Gibbons, Barry Can’t Swim and more nominated.
The prize was ultimately awarded to rising Leeds band English Teacher for their critically-acclaimed debut album ‘This Could Be Texas’. With the victory, they became the first act from outside of London to win the award in a decade.
On the red carpet, NME spoke to the members shortly after their win, and they explained that they want to “continue to be honest” about their struggles as a band.
“It was never a conscious [choice] to be like ‘We’re going to be one of those bands that does that’,” frontwoman Lily Fontaine explained. “It’s just that when we get asked questions about those things, we’re always going to be honest. If we continue to be put in situations where we’re asked about that, we will continue to be honest about it.”
They also opened up about what to expect from their upcoming second record, saying: “[It’s] already an amalgamation of every single track on this album. It’s so satisfying in that way.”
Ahead of its release, NME gave ‘This Could Be Texas’ a five star review. “What you have in ‘This Could Be Texas’ is everything you want from a debut; a truly original effort from start to finish, an adventure in sound and words, and a landmark statement,” it read. “Poised for big things? Who knows if this industry even allows that anymore. Here are a band already dealing in brilliance, though – who dare to dream and have it pay off.”
Since the Mercury win, the debut record re-entered the UK Top 40, and gained a 1,073 per cent increase in sales in the week after the ceremony.