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Speech Debelle is nervous, and why wouldn't she be? In July she was a little-known 27-year-old rapper from south London and an unexpected nomination for the Mercury Prize. Two months later, she's seen off La Roux, Florence & The Machine and Kasabian's challenges for the award and the pressure's on. The world should be thankful.

Her debut record "Speech Therapy"'s victory is a triumph of warmth and honesty over contrived revisionism, rotting pop and faux-psychedelic rank rock. Check out the ridiculous poses the favourites were striking in the media at the time, and compare them to Speech standing on a hill, wearing a tracksuit top and smiling.

The third best thing about Debelle is she tells stories. Second best: her stories are detailed, wise, deep, catchy, personal and clever. Best of all, the stories are true. How long this will last is unclear. She's been booked on a tour with Basement Jaxx next year, and if tonight's Scala show proves anything, it's that her jazzy hip-hop is going to have to bulk up to satisfy maniacal dance-heads. She requires intimacy for the biggest impact.

On stage, once she's recovered from forgetting (or pretending to forget) the words to opening track "The Key" twice, Speech's songs' greatest attributes (poeticism, bluntness, precision) are initially lost behind pissed chit chat. She doesn't want to shout, so introduces the Roots Manuva-backed "Wheels In Motion" and ushers out her Big Dada label mate. Everyone goes mental, but Roots doesn't show. She responds by asking the crowd to show her the same kind of enthusiasm.

It's a smart unleashing of the feistiness that lives within her lyrics. She revels in her words and wants to be heard. "Speech Therapy"'s other collaboration, "Better Days" featuring Micachu, also lacks an appearance from the original collaborator, but contains every second of its spooky optimism. Speech's chirpiest track and latest single, "Spinnin'", has a bouncy fun-time vibe and is welcomed generously.

Speech is clearly stunned (but delighted) by the effect the Mercury has had on her life. She chats about how she always has to look good now and marvels at the crowd size. It's pressure and commitment she and her three-piece band The Therapists probably never expected. Backed by an acoustic guitar, a double bass and a drum kit, Speech's set-up is (like her) charming and (unlike her) uncomplicated.

She explains she's drinking hard liquor because her grandmother recommends it for a sore throat, and rips into the crack-den grimness of "Searching". She tells us she loves reggae and bursts into her sweeter-than-sugar tale of friends-as-lovers, "Buddy Song". She's powerful and raw without raising her voice and she's the worst kept secret in jazzy hip-hop. Let's hope Basement Jaxx fans don't want anything else from her.

by Tom Howard