Ms Dynamite takes the Mercury Prize

As one of 11 children, rapper Ms Dynamite has come a long way from the poverty and crime-ridden north London estates of her youth.

So it was hardly surprising that beating David Bowie to win one of the music industry's most coveted awards at the age of 21 came as something of a shock.

After an explosive performance at the Mercury Music Prize ceremony at the Grosvenor House hotel, Ms Dynamite - whose real name is Niomi Mclean-Daley - was rendered speechless when told she had won the £20,000 award.

Accepting her prize from jazz player and judge Courtney Pine, she gasped and struggled to speak, before eventually blurting out: "I really don't know what to say. I've never been speechless. Oh my goodness."

Ms Dynamite beat 11 other acts including Beverly Knight, favourites The Streets, and Electric Soft Parade to scoop the prize regarded by many as the top industry award.

Archway-born Ms Dynamite became the first solo black female artist to win the prize, awarded for her acclaimed debut album A Little Deeper.

Afterwards she said: "I haven't got a clue how I came to beat David Bowie - it's an incredible feeling. I felt the prize would go to a superstar of the business rather than myself. It is utterly surprising to win this in so short a space of time. I could have done with a couple more years in the business before getting this."

Her rise from the gangs and deprivation of north London has been little short of meteoric. Born one of 11 children to a Jamaican father and Scottish mother, she had a troubled childhood plagued with money worries.

At the age of 13 her mother, a north London primary school teacher, developed cancer, and Niomi had to help bring up her younger brother Kingslee and sister Annabelle.

Urged on by her mother, she also concentrated on her studies, passing nine GCSEs and three A-levels. At one point she planned to go to Sussex University to read social anthropology. But Niomi fell into music almost by accident after a man who ran a pirate radio station offered her a weekly MC slot. This led to a slot on Freak FM, which was followed by an offer from music giant Polydor.

Her first big break came courtesy of south London garage stars So Solid Crew, for whom she MC-ed on their hit They Don't Know. This gained her the attention of The Fugees and Eminem, and she worked with both.

Acclaimed for her thoughtful lyricism and powerful melodic voice, Ms Dynamite has already scored singles hits with Dy-na-mi-tee and It Takes More.

Last night's triumph was all the better for struggling on through her performance despite being dogged by technical glitches which meant she had to start again.

Other artists up for the award included The Bees, The Coral and Gemma Hayes.