Speech Therapy

Speech Debelle’s ambitious debut

If you are used to thinking of the Great Britain as only the cradle of top quality rock acts, you better forget it for the UK has lately ago become the land where true hip-hop diamonds dwell and create. Among them you should pay attention to Speech Debelle, born in London twenty six years ago, who delivered her debut album, Speech Therapy in the spring of 2009. The singer is endowed with everything that could help her find a spot in the stardom of the modern rap community. The only thing for her to do is making the subsequent albums just as good as this one. After all, she has already participated in the well-known Glastonbury while her Speech Therapy has been selected as one of the nominees to the Mercury Prize award. With all audacity and courage, she is presenting her first studio work executed with an outstanding confidence. And you better believe that she has all she needs to reach success with it.

Speech Therapy: a sincere and powerful album from a young artist

What is hidden for us in Speech Therapy? Do not expect many surprises on the part of the content. The material consists of rap tales about the hardships of the middle-class Speech Debelle personally belongs to. She has experience enough to tell the listener that England is far from fairy-land with ultimate happiness and joy. The opening track, Searching, is in its essence a journey to the underworld where the singer grew up alongside her drug-addicted mother. Yet, while the words of this story are drenched in misery and bitterness, they are sung to an amazingly beautiful and sweet piece of music, which makes it a pure delight to listen to this track. In fact, the atmosphere of the first song prevails over the whole album Speech Therapy. The perfectly built verses about the dark side of the human lives in the big city form an unsurpassed harmony with excellently composed and performed instrumental parts. Although the majority of the songs have strong social and political coloring, one will also find a romantic theme, Go Then Bye, and a striking emotional track called Dry Your Eyes, a remix of The Smith’s original. The plots of several songs leave no doubt that Speech Therapy is the young singer’s autobiographical work. Daddy's Little Girl, is Speech Debelle’s rebuke to her father who forsook his wife and daughter at a very dramatic moment in their lives.

Keep it up, Speech!

Just like any other debut effort, Speech Therapy can’t but have drawbacks. One of them is a composition called Buddy Love, too colorful for an album as dark as this one. However, this minor minus might barely spoil the general effect that this strong record producer. Judging but what we have heard, it is clear that Speech Debelle rushed onto the hip-hop stage eagerly to grab the leadership for a long time. The album in question showcases that she is skillful enough for that breakthrough. So, what is left to do is meeting the standards she established for herself with this brilliant release and working as hard and vigorously as before.