Newport rapper Lemfreck wins 2024 award

Rapper and producer Lemfreck has won the 2024 Welsh Music Prize for his album Blood, Sweat and Fears.

The Newport artist fought off competition from rockers Skindred and singer Gruff Rhys, among others, to bag the £10,000 award.

The ceremony was held on Tuesday night at Cardiff’s Wales Millennium Centre where a smiling Lemfreck, real name Lemarl Freckleton, was pictured with his trophy.

The 30-year-old thanked his mum and dad after receiving the 14th annual award from host Sian Eleri, saying: “As young black kid growing up, they constantly told me I could do anything and be anything.”

He added: “This one goes to my community in Newport. If I didn’t see Benji (Webbe, from Newport band Skindred) doing it first I’m telling you now I would not be able to do this, so I’d like to thank him.

“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.”

Welsh hip-hop pioneers Eric Martin and DJ Jaffa also received the Welsh Music Inspiration Award for their career-long contributions to music.

Eric Martin, also known as MC Eric and Me One, is a Welsh-born Jamaican vocalist, multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and producer.

He rose to prominence with Belgium-based Technotronic in the late 1980s, co-writing the smash hit album Pump Up The Jam, which sold more than 14 million copies in its first year.

DJ Jaffa, or Jason Farrell, is a Cardiff producer who has been DJing since 1985.

His and Martin’s mixes of reggae and hip-hop are widely credited with pioneering the hip-hop scene in Wales.

Martin said: “I feel blessed to have been part of a young, vibrant, hip-hop scene in Wales.”

DJ Jaffa added: “I love music, I love DJing, I love to see black music in Wales. This is our year.”

Previous winners of the Welsh Music Inspiration Award have included Dafydd Iwan, David Edwards and Pat Morgan from Datblygu, The Alarm singer Mike Peters, Meredydd Evans and Phylis Kinney and Meic Stevens.