Take a look at this. It’s a cellphone video of Speech Debelle being announced as the winner of the 2009 Mercury Prize, shot by someone at her table. Their reaction says it all: elation, surprise, shock and awe, really. An underdog in the truest sense of the word, Speech Therapy took home the award for best album by beating out a field that included heavy favorites The Horrors, La Roux, Friendly Fires, and a then-little known artist named Florence and the Machine. It was a massive turning point in the South London rapper’s carer, but not just for the reasons you’d expect. Things got better, but then they got worse. The ensuing journey— documented, analyzed and cut to lacquer—unfolds over the neck-nodding beats and righteous melodies of Freedom Of Speech.

Confessionals, love songs, block party affirmations, sociopolitical rants. All subject matter is in bounds on this album, and each tune is supported with a spot-on blend of live band instrumentation and lab-tested synthesis, courtesy of producer Kwes. And her flow? Undeniable. Speech gels with hectic electric guitar (“The Problem”) as easily as she does with sparse acoustic (“Angel Wings”), and “Studio Back Pack Rap” proves that she’s got one of the most inventive cadences in the game right now.

With the Mercury in her rearview, a new album simmering on the hot plate, and an Olympic-sized accomplishment coming soon—a reinterpreted version of her Speech Therapy single, “Spinnin’,” will be the first official song in the 2012 torch relay—Speech Debelle checks back in with ChinaShop for a State of the Union.

First thing I was hoping you could do is set the record straight about your history with your label, Ninja Tune. I wasn’t sure whether or not you left and came back or never left at all, but I know there was some friction. Obviously Freedom Of Speech is being released through Big Dada so whatever it was much have gotten patched up.

Speech Debelle: I didn’t leave because, well… it’s not that simple. (Laughs) We just went on pause for a little while. I think people have to understand that the record label for me is not one whole entity. It’s lots of individual people, and it was just an issue that me and my A&R used to have. We’re pretty good now, to be honest, but we used to have a turbulent relationship, based on the fact that we’re both passionate people. He’s a writer, I’m a rapper, and we’ve got somewhat similar personalities. Sometimes we used to not get on, which is something that’s very normal for a recording artist and their A&R. It’s the kind of relationship that’s similar to a recording artist and their manager where, if the manager isn’t being annoying, then they’re not really doing their job. (Laughs) We just couldn’t work together at the time. Then we hooked up and went to the pub, had a couple of drinks, as you do, and just said how we feel. For me, it was a way of explaining the stress that I was under at the time. Doing promo, just normally, is stressful, but winning the Mercury [Music Prize] when you don’t really have a team was very stressful. I was doing my day job up until the day before my album came out.

Which means you have to sneak around or try and get time off for interviews.

Speech Debelle: Exactly. I was doing interviews on my lunch break. Luckily I had a really cool boss at that time who let me take extra time. I was on the telly doing breakfast news and live shows that didn’t finish until 1 in the morning, then doing music videos until 5 am. No one was really prepared for that kind of success. I never had a manager who was running business for me. It was just so difficult and it didn’t necessarily bring out the best in my relationships with people.

So it wasn’t a difference of opinion with the label. It was just the pressures of success.

Speech Debelle: Exactly. I don’t think either of us realized how stressful it was for the other person, but we sorted it out.

You’re two years removed from that now, yeah?

Speech Debelle: Coming on three now.

Hindsight being 20/20, would you have done anything differently after the Mercury win?

Speech Debelle: I think what I would have done different from the beginning was be more prepared for success, which in itself seems like quite an arrogant thing to do, but I think ultimately anyone trying to be successful should be prepared for success. (Laughs)

With Lotek producing, live instrumentation formed the backbone of the first record. This one has a similar feel, but there’s a bit more bounce to it. Did you go with that same live band vibe?

Speech Debelle: Making this album gave me more of an appreciation for the first one. I don’t think I’m ever going to make an album again where the words determine everything else. I went over there [to Australia, where Speech Therapy was recorded] with six songs already written, so I’d record the song on a click and we’d build music around the words. Nothing could really determine the way the album sounded other than the words. You can’t go any other place with “Daddy’s Little Girl” except where we went, do you know what I mean? With the first album, I really wanted to make an album like [Meshell Ndegeocello’s] Bitter; kind of a Tracy Chapman hip-hop album. With Freedom Of Speech, I wanted to keep organic instruments—because that’s what I’m a fan of—but the thing with live instruments is that they can easily go jazzy. I wanted to make a punchy album; something that made you nod your head.

Was there a specific artist or era you were going for?

Speech Debelle: Well, the inspiration for this one was the first one. I wanted it to come from that place, but have a stomp on top of it. Have live drums layered with synth drums, or electric guitar with some synth sounds on top of it, which is where the brilliant idea from my A&R came from to work with Kwes. He’s exactly the person I needed to get that aggression and punchiness to it. He never took [the music] anywhere I didn’t want to go. He always took it to a whole new level beyond what I envisioned for each song.

You respond to guitar in a very unique way. No drums or rhythm over the top; just guitar straight up. What is it about that instrument alone in the mix that takes you to such a highly emotive place?

Speech Debelle: That’s a good question. I think you’ve maybe said something that I may have been aware of in the back of my mind. It’s definitely that instrument. Why? I’m not sure. I remember once Lotek told me, “C-minor, that’s your chord. Anytime that gets hit, you start jumping up and down.” For some reason, the guitar is my instrument and I don’t know why. Sonically, it affects me in the way a lot of other instruments don’t. Violin is also something that affects me in that way.

You said “Finish The Album” was a critical song to complete in order for Speech Therapy to fully actualize. Was there a similar song on this album?

Speech Debelle: I’d say “Elephant In The Living Room.” I started another album called The Art Of Speech before Freedom of Speech that didn’t come to fruition because it just wasn’t working. Other than “Her Name Was Jade,” it’s the only song that survived. For me, it’s the one song that connects Speech Therapy and Freedom Of Speech.

Words by Rich Thomas (@TheLandfill). Photos by Phil Sharp.