Mercury Prize winner bigs up youth work

Little Simz, this year’s winner of the Mercury Prize 2022, credits youth work with giving her a start in life. The rapper and actor seized the award and £25,000 prize money for her album, ‘Sometimes I Might Be Introvert’. Little Simz grew up in north London and in an interview with the Guardian she credited Mary’s Youth Club in Islington with nurturing her twin talents for music and dance, describing the centre as, “…the place where it all began for me, a second home”.

Aston Wood, who runs the youth club, says it’s a safe space for young people who can’t afford other leisure activities to hang out and have fun that helps kids to fulfil their ambitions by introducing them to inspirational adults. After her win, Simz is one of those shining examples and as Wood says, “We can say, ‘She did it, and you can too’.”