Skepta has been named as the winner of the 25th Mercury Music Prize, beating off strong competition from the favourite David Bowie, who was widely tipped to receive the honour posthumously.
Skepta, who performed at this year's Electric Picnic, was awarded the prestigious prize for his fourth album Konnichiwa.
The north London-born singer collected the award and the £25,000 prize at a prize-giving ceremony in London on Thursday night.
The album was released on Skepta's Boy Better Know record label which he set up with his brother JME in 2005.
As he presented the prize, Pulp frontman Jarvis Cocker paid tribute to Bowie saying, "We as a jury decided that if David Bowie was looking down on the Hammersmith Apollo tonight he would want the 2016 Hyundai Mercury Prize to go to Skepta."
"Skepta brilliantly demonstrates the energising impact of British grime while retaining his unique defiant edge - completely engaging," the jury said.
Bookmakers William Hill had Bowie as the 4/7 favourite to win the honour for his album Blackstar, which was released on his 69th birthday just three days before he died from cancer. He was previously nominated for the Mercury Prize in 2002 for his album Heathen and also in 2013 for The Next Day.
Six Feet Under and Dexter actor Michael C. Hall, who is launching a stage production of Bowie film The Man Who Fell to Earth, in London next month, performed a Bowie tribute during the ceremony featuring a rendition of Blackstar track Lazarus.
Speaking before the show, Hall said performing in the Bowie musical was "one of the highlights of not just my career, but of my life".
Before the ceremony some of the other finalists paid tribute to Bowie, with The 1975 frontman Matt Healy hailing him as a "f****** legend" saying "no one here thinks they are at the same level as him".
Three-time nominee Natasha Khan - better known as Bat For Lashes - said it was "surreal" to go up against Bowie.
She added: "I feel honoured. I grew up listening to his music and the fact that he was such an innovator and pushed so many boundaries and kept going for so many decades is surreal."
No Irish act has made the Mercury list this year, despite a strong Irish presence last year, including Róisín Murphy comeback album, Hairless Toys, while teenage Derry singer SOAK also received a nod for her debut album Before We Forgot How to Dream.
Also nominated in 2015 was Limerick-born Aphex Twin, aka Richard D James, who was shortlisted for his Grammy Award winning album Syro.
