Albums are an important moment of an artist's career where they push their pens as far as they can go to document a season of their lives and pour every ounce of themselves into it as a lasting statement of their artistry. This year we've heard from praised lyricists across UK music, but it was Little Simz's stunning opus, Sometimes I Might Be Introvert, was applauded as Album Of The Year at the 2022 Mercury Prize Awards.

Produced by Inflo, the album was ambitious in scope, taking us from the grandiose strings and brass sections of "Standing Ovation" to the rolling Afro-infused basslines in "Point And Kill" featuring Obongjayar. It's Simz's fourth album to date and she's previously been nominated for the 2019 project Grey Area.

It was a great night of nominations for artists like Kojey Radical for his stunning project Reason To Smile, Joy Crookes' debut album Skin as well as Nova Twins, Sam Fender, Wet Leg, Yard Act, Self Esteem, Jessie Buckely & Bernard Butler, Harry Styles, Fergus McCreadie, and Gwenno for their respective albums.

The Mercury Prize judge panel shared in a statement, "In a year that has, to put it mildly, presented rather a lot of challenges, British and Irish music has thrived more than ever. That made it extremely hard for the judges to choose an overall winner from the 12 'Albums of the Year' on the 2022 Mercury Prize with FREE NOW shortlist, simply because all of them had so much to offer."

"When it came down to it, the judges were so impressed by Sometimes I Might Be Introvert by Little Simz that everyone could get behind it. This accomplished and complex yet entirely accessible album is the work of someone striving constantly to push herself. It deals with themes both personal and political while putting them against music that is as sophisticated as it is varied. The Mercury Prize is all about shining a light on albums of lasting value and real artistry. Sometimes I Might Be Introvert has both."

Addressing the crowd in her speech, Simz said: "Wow. I'm very very overwhelmed; I'm very grateful. Glory to God! God, thank you so much. To my family over here, my loved ones right here, I wanna say a huge thank you; to the Mercurys, for this incredible, incredible prize… I wanna say a thank you to my brother and close collaborator Inflo—Flo [has] known me since I was so young; he stuck by me [and] we created this album together. There was times in the studio I didn't know if I was gonna finish this record. I was going through all the emotions [but] he stuck by me."