MOBO Awards: From Goldie and Soul II Soul to Stormzy and Little Simz – a look back at 25 years of a game-changing ceremony

Published

2 years ago

October 20, 2022

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As the MOBO Awards celebrate the milestone of turning 25, founder and chief executive Kanya King has told Sky News her focus is on “doubling down” to ensure the music industry is providing opportunities on and off stage for people of all ethnicities and classes.

“You are now starting to see directors and chair people, just formidable people of colour who are trailblazing and changing things,” she says. “Of course there’s still much more that needs to be done but for us now it’s about doubling down. It’s about not only providing the opportunities front of stage but also behind the scenes.”

The MOBOs celebrate and elevate black music in the UK, playing a pivotal role in supporting the growth of black British music internationally and championing homegrown talent – frequently championing artists who have later gone on to sell millions, including some of the biggest names in rap, hip-hop, RnB, soul, grime, drill, gospel, jazz, reggae, garage, drum and bass and beyond.

Grime superstar Stormzy is among those who credit the MOBOs as being hugely influential in his career, having told King that seeing hip-hop duo Krept & Konan perform at the ceremony was the reason he quit his job to follow his dreams.

“I think his sister used to go to school with one of them and they were unsigned at the time but we’d given them a platform, and he was incredibly inspired and felt like he too could do it,” she says.

Back in 1996, at the very first ceremony, Goldie’s groundbreaking drum & bass debut Timeless won the award for best album and, less than two months after Tupac Shakur‘s fatal shooting, the rapper was posthumously awarded the prize for best video for his track, California Love.

Mixing alongside the music stars and celebrities that night was then leader of the opposition Tony Blair, an unexpected guest to the sit-down dinner. He had been invited by King, but she admits they hadn’t counted on him being able to find time to join them.

The turn-out, according to the MOBO chief executive, was incredible, but few knew that night how King – back then a young TV researcher and single mum – had, against the wishes of her mum, remortgaged her house to fund the ceremony at London’s Connaught Rooms.

“I was just told, look, there’s not a need for it and black music doesn’t sell,” she says. “You know, no one will get behind it. It’s too risky, you know, you’re wasting your time.”

Motivated out of frustration that the black artists she loved were being overlooked, King was determined.

“People said we shouldn’t use the word ‘black’ but for me it was something to be proud of and be celebrated. I wanted to see more voices, more representation out there because there were no stories being told.”

Jazzie B, the founder of the music collective Soul II Soul, remembers the night well. His band had just returned to the UK after winning a string of awards in the US. The music producer – who picked up MOBO’s award for outstanding contribution to black music – remembers being puzzled by how little recognition they were receiving in the UK at the time.

“Not receiving anything from home, it did seem rather odd,” he tells Sky News. “But we were often misunderstood… a lot of the British press didn’t realise we were from the UK.”

Speaking about King, he adds: “This wonderful lady turns up out of the blue… and it was delightful to receive that award on home turf.”

Since that first event, the MOBO Awards has championed hundreds of musicians and singers. Following a break in 2018 and 2019, the ceremony returned in 2020, honouring artists including Headie One and Mahalia. In 2021, Dave and recently announced Mercury Prize winner Little Simz were among the acts who took prizes home.

According to Jazzie B, the major role that King has played in bringing black music and culture into the mainstream cannot be overstated.

“This was a woman of colour honouring people of colour and that made a big difference in terms of, you know, raising us all up,” he says.

“The fact that this was a woman who had the power, the strength – I think [she] very much has led the way for a lot of our sisters, mothers and grandmothers. Just to show, look, perseverance works.

“What was interesting at the time was there was no black people behind the scenes unless they were receptionists or security. From that point of view, it was difficult. What Kanya did was she raised our community… we honoured our own but I think Kanya more felt this was something that needed to be a little more exposed, a bit more mainstream. That was at the beginning of a lot of change.”

The MOBO Awards comes full circle, returning to London for its 25th anniversary celebration next month, taking place at the OVO Arena Wembley on 30 November. It will be live-streamed on MOBO’s YouTube channel with a highlights special due to air on BBC One

Entertainment

‘Music is back’ as Taylor Swift helps drive record UK sales

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14 mins ago

January 8, 2025

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'Music is back' as Taylor Swift helps drive record UK sales

UK music sales hit a 20-year high of £2.4bn in 2024, helped by pop megastar Taylor Swift’s latest album, and driven by streaming and the vinyl revival, figures show.

Revenues from recorded music reached an all-time high, more even than at the peak of the CD era, according to annual figures from the digital entertainment and retail association ERA.

Total consumer spending on recorded music – both subscriptions and purchases – topped the previous record of £2.2bn in 2001, ERA said.

Takings from streaming services including Spotify, YouTube Music, and Amazon rose by 7.8% to a little over £2bn.

Almost £200m was spent on vinyl albums, an annual uplift of 10.5%, while CD album revenues were flat at just over £126m.

Swift’s The Tortured Poets Department was the biggest-selling album of the year, aided by her record-smashing worldwide Eras tour.

More than 783,000 copies were bought, nearly 112,000 of them on vinyl – making it 2024’s biggest-selling vinyl album.

The biggest single of the year was Noah Kahan’s Stick Season, generating the equivalent of 1.99 million sales.

ERA chief executive Kim Bayley said 2024 was “a banner year for music, with streaming and vinyl taking the sector to all-time-high records in both value and volume.

Ms Bayley called it the “stunning culmination of music’s comeback which has seen sales more than double since their low point in 2013. We can now say definitively – music is back.”

Music revenues grew by 7.4% in 2024, while video rose by 6.9%, and games fell by 4.4%, according to preliminary figures.

Subscriptions to Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Apple TV grew by 8.3% to £4.5bn – almost 90% of the sector’s revenues.

Deadpool & Wolverine was the biggest-selling title of the year, with sales of 561,917 – more than 80% of them sold digitally.

Despite the games sector’s 4.4% decline last year, it remains nearly twice as large as the recorded music business.

Full game sales saw a drop-off with PC download-to-own down 5%, digital console games down 15% and boxed physical games down 35%, in favour of subscription models which grew by 12%.

EA Sports FC 25 – formerly known as Fifa was once again the biggest-selling game of the year, generating 2.9 million unit sales, 80% of them as digital formats.

Entertainment

Aubrey Plaza says death of filmmaker husband is an ‘unimaginable tragedy’

Published

21 hours ago

January 7, 2025

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Aubrey Plaza says death of filmmaker husband is an 'unimaginable tragedy'

Actress Aubrey Plaza has described the death of her filmmaker husband as an “unimaginable tragedy”.

Jeff Baena was pronounced dead at 10.39am on Friday at a home near the Hollywood Hills and Los Feliz areas of Los Angeles.

On Monday, a medical examiner ruled the 47-year-old had taken his own life.

In a statement released to the media, Parks And Recreation star Plaza, 40, said: “This is an unimaginable tragedy.

“We are deeply grateful to everyone who has offered support. Please respect our privacy during this time.”

Baena, a director and screenwriter, worked with Plaza on 2014 horror film Life After Beth and 2017 historical comedy The Little Hours.

The couple had been in a relationship since about 2011 and married in 2021.

Previously, Plaza told The Ellen DeGeneres Show she and Baena “got a little bored one night” during the COVID pandemic and decided to wed after celebrating their 10th anniversary.

She said after finding a wedding officiant online to perform the ceremony in their garden, she “created a very quick love altar in our yard” where they married.

Baena wrote 2020 thriller Horse Girl, starring Alison Brie, and 2022 dark comedy Spin Me Round, both of which he also directed.

He also co-wrote the 2004 comedy I Heart Huckabees alongside director David O Russell, which boasted a stacked cast that included Jude Law, Jason Schwartzman, Dustin Hoffman, Naomi Watts, Lily Tomlin and Mark Wahlberg.

Baena created the anthology comedy series Cinema Toast, which had an episode directed by Plaza and another starring Community actress Brie.

On X, Hollywood actor and comedian Marc Maron wrote: “Very sad about the tragic loss of a true artist and sweet guy.”

Sundance Film Festival, where Baena’s directorial debut Life After Beth premiered in 2014, wrote: “We extend our heartfelt thanks to Jeff Baena for sharing his stories and contributing to the lasting memories we’ve built together.

“Jeff, we’ll miss your wit, humour, and daring vision. Rest in peace, friend.”

Plaza had been announced as a presenter at Sunday’s Golden Globes ceremony earlier this week before her husband’s death.

Director Brady Corbet, who won best director for his film, The Brutalist, said in his acceptance speech: “My heart is with Aubrey Plaza and Jeff’s family.”

Plaza was nominated for a Golden Globe in 2023 for her role in the second series of HBO dark comedy White Lotus and is also known for Disney+ series Agatha All Along, and films including Megalopolis, My Old Ass, Ingrid Goes West, Dirty Grandpa and Emily The Criminal.

Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) confirmed it attended the residence where Baena died and said a coroner will lead the investigation.

If you are in need of support, Samaritans run a helpline which is open day and night, 365 days a year, on 116 123. You can also email jo@samaritans.org, or visit samaritans.org to find your nearest branch.

Entertainment

RuPaul says his ‘heart is broken’ following death of The Vivienne

Published

1 day ago

January 6, 2025

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RuPaul says his 'heart is broken' following death of The Vivienne

RuPaul has said his “heart is broken” following the death of former Drag Race winner, The Vivienne.

The drag queen and TV presenter said on Instagram on Monday he joined the entire Drag Race universe in mourning the loss of The Vivienne, whom he called “an incredibly talented queen and a lovely human being”.

The Vivienne, whose real name was James Lee Williams, won the first series of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK in 2019.

The 32-year-old’s death was confirmed by their publicist Simon Jones on Sunday evening.

Danny Beard, who won the reality show in 2022, called The Vivienne “a proper entertainer” and “one of the most passionate, talented, geeky, girls I’ve ever known” and their death meant “there’s a piece missing now”.

Cheddar Gorgeous, that year’s runner-up, said on Instagram they had lost “a peer, a friend and an icon”, adding that “the entire world of entertainment grieves” and it was “impossible to make sense of such sadness”.

Bagachipz said on social media they would “talk to you before I go onstage for every single show I do”, calling The Vivienne a “powerhouse when you hit that stage”.

The Vivienne’s ex-husband, David Ludford, said the performer “made me feel love and shown me what it was really like to love someone”.

The Vivienne, 32, rose to prominence in 2015 after becoming the UK Drag Ambassador for the American series of RuPaul’s Drag Race.

The show sees drag queens competing in front of a panel of judges to become the next drag superstar.

The Vivienne, whose drag name came from their love of designer Vivienne Westwood, later competed in the first UK series of the show in 2019, going on to win it after lip-syncing in the final to the Wham! hit I’m Your Man.

Williams, who was born in Wales, also came third on the 2023 series of Dancing On Ice.

A spokesman for Cheshire Police said officers were called to a house in Chorlton-by-Backford, near Chester, at 12.22pm on Sunday following reports of a sudden death.

The force said there were “no suspicious circumstances”.