Corynne Elliot (born 17 March 1983), better known as Speech Debelle,[1] is a British rapper formerly signed to the Big Dada record label.

[4] Debelle's single from Speech Therapy, "Spinnin" has been re-worked by Tinchy Stryder and Dionne Bromfield and was used as one of the official anthems of the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.

[2] Debelle drew inspiration from Michael Jackson and in particular the song "Human Nature", as well as Blackstreet, Mary J. Blige, TLC and reggae music.

[11] Debelle's single from the Speech Therapy, "Spinnin" has been re-worked by Tinchy Stryder and Dionne Bromfield and will be used as one of the official anthems of the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.

[15] Speech Therapy won the 2009 Mercury Music Award and was reported as being an upset to more well-known competitors such as Florence and the Machine and Kasabian.

[8] According to Pitchfork, "Some hip-hop fans will likely write her off because the usual American rap signifiers-- samples, seething synths, bombastic beats, and buckets of braggadocio-- play scant part in her artistic agenda.

"[2] Paul Macinnes of The Guardian wrote "There's something intriguing about Speech Debelle, with a voice both husky and sweet, and a back story that's emotive if unclear.

The track deals with uprising events in countries including Egypt and Libya, but Debelle has stated the song has even more pertinence to the 2011 England riots.

[6] In 2009, Debelle appeared alongside Gary Barlow, David Arnold and Jimmy Carr for a CARE charity concert in aid of youth education.

[31] In 2010, she was a guest speaker at the Progressive London conference alongside Ken Livingstone, Sadiq Khan MP, and other notable academics.

[35] In early 2011 Debelle took part in a photography project set up by Oxfam and photographer Martin Parr, which help spread awareness about climate change.

[37] She has also volunteered with Barnardo's to promote youth inclusion through a project to deliver an alternate Christmas Day video message to their elders on YouTube,[38] as well as writing about gender equality for the VSO Godmothers blog.

[44] In January 2025, it was reported that Debelle had been ordered by an employment tribunal to pay £9,870 in costs to Arts Council England after losing a discrimination case deemed "vexatious and unreasonable.