The underground rapper Lemfreck has beaten established stars such as Skindred and Gruff Rhys to win the 2024 Welsh music prize.

The 30-year-old from Newport, born Lemarl Freckleton, was given the award in recognition of his ambitious, deeply atmospheric three-part 2023 album Blood, Sweat & Fears. At the time of its release he said he intended it to “give a voice to those in our community. There are whole regions within Wales that are surrounded by poverty due to being purely forgotten by those in government. Our biggest fear is that we are never seen or heard.”

Receiving the award along with £10,000 at the ceremony in Cardiff’s Wales Millennium Centre, Freckleton said: “This one goes to my community in Newport … I’d like to talk about how important representation is … it’s not a box tick when artists like myself win awards like this – it’s a confirmation of art.”

He namechecked Benji Webbe of Skindred, the reggae-metal band whose most recent album reached No 2 in the UK chart, saying: “If I didn’t see Benji doing it first I’m telling you now I would not be able to do this, so I’d like to thank him.”

Broadcaster Huw Stephens, who co-founded the prize in 2011, said: “Blood, Sweat & Fears is an astonishing album and the judges praised it for its vision and ambition.”

Other Welsh rap stars were championed at the ceremony: Eric Martin and DJ Jaffa received the Welsh Music Inspiration award to acknowledge their long careers in the scene. Together they helped to establish a hip-hop culture in Wales, with Martin also scoring major success with dance act Technotronic, co-writing their global hit Pump Up the Jam.

Eric Martin said: “I feel blessed to have been part of a young, vibrant hip-hop scene in Wales. To be seen as a point from which these current, musical breadcrumbs emanate is an honour. I’m both humbled and grateful.” DJ Jaffa added: “To see so many artists from boom-bap to drill to all forms of hip-hop morph into something beautiful warms my heart … I love to see Black music in Wales. This is our year.”