Photo of Skepta by Ollie Millington/Redferns

Skepta has won this year's Mercury Prize, with his album Konnichiwa claiming the victory for the U.K.'s prestigious album of the year award at Thursday night's ceremony in London.

He beat out some hefty competition, having been up against the likes of David Bowie's Blackstar, Radiohead's A Moon Shaped Pool; The 1975's I like it when you sleep, for you are so beautiful yet so unaware of it; Bat for Lashes' The Bride and more.

Previous winners of the Mercury Prize include Young Fathers' Dead, James Blake's Overgrown, Alt J's An Awesome Wave and The xx's xx.

Skepta's "Shutdown" was among Variance's Best Songs of 2015.