‘Black music is not a subculture – it is the engine’: Why the Mobo awards matter more than ever, 30 years on

2026-03-26 - 12:10

Three decades after launching the awards, founder Kanya King reflects on being ahead of the crowd and why Mobo has always been more than music For the audience watching performances by twentysomethings Olivia Dean, Myles Smith and Aitch on Thursday night in the Co-op Live arena in Manchester it will seem like a lifetime away from 1996, when the Mobo awards began. What has become known as a joyful celebration of music of Black origin came from “a very real sense of frustration”, said Kanya King, Mobo’s founder and chief executive. “I could see the impact that Black music and culture was having on British culture – I mean it was shaping everything – but it wasn’t being properly recognised or respected by the mainstream industry.” Continue reading...