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Nov 20, 2015 By Christopher Roberts Benjamin Clementine

Benjamin Clementine has won the Mercury Prize for his debut album At Least For Now. He beat out such bigger artists as Florence and the Machine, Gaz Coombes (ex-Supergrass frontman), Jamie xx, Wolf Alice, and Aphex Twin, so much so that my initial response when hearing the news was “who?” But research shows that Clementine was born in London and based on his single “London,” watch the video below, he’s got one hell of a voice.

As the Guardian reports, Clementine said in his acceptance speech: “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 also dedicated the award, while in tears, to the victims of the Paris terrorist attacks, as he spent some time in the city of lights as a teenager, busking on the Metro there.

Since 1992 the Mercury Prize has been awarded to the best British album of the year, meaning an album created by a citizen of the U.K. and Ireland. It’s become one of the biggest honors a British musician can receive and can also boost an album’s sales in the U.K., especially if it wins. Previous winners have included PJ Harvey (the only artist to win it twice), Elbow, Portishead, Franz Ferdinand, alt-J, The xx, Primal Scream, Suede, Pulp, and others. Last year Scottish hip-hop group Young Fathers won.

The full list of this year’s nominees is below again, followed by the “London” video.

Mercury Prize 2015 Nominees:

Aphex Twin - Syro
Benjamin Clementine - At Least for Now
Gaz Coombes - Matador
C Duncan - Architect
ESKA - ESKA
Florence and the Machine - How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful
Ghostpoet - Shedding Skin
Jamie xx - In Colour
Róisín Murphy - Hairless Toys
Slaves - Are You Satisfied?
SOAK - Before We Forgot How to Dream
Wolf Alice - My Love Is Cool