Kanya King, founder of Mobo awards for Black British music, dies aged 57

Kanya King pictured in 2025. Photograph: Joseph Okpako/WireImage View image in fullscreen Kanya King pictured in 2025. Photograph: Joseph Okpako/WireImage Kanya King, founder of Mobo awards for Black British music, dies aged 57 Entrepreneur died of colon cancer, with Mobo Organisation hailing her as ‘one of the most fearless champions’ in the music industry Kanya King, the entrepreneur and tireless champion of Black British music who founded the Mobo awards, has died aged 57 from colon cancer. The news was announced by the Mobo Organisation, who said she died on Wednesday “after a courageous and characteristically determined battle” with her illness. “The music world has lost one of its most fearless champions,” the statement continues. “What Kanya created was never simply an awards ceremony. It was an act of cultural justice. Mobo did not just celebrate Black music; it legitimised it, amplified it, and demonstrated its commercial and creative power to a world that had too often chosen not to see it.” Born to a Ghanaian father and Irish mother in Kilburn, north London, King was working as a TV researcher when she set about filling a gap in the marketplace: an awards ceremony that would celebrate the Black British musicians who were sometimes overlooked by other industry events. She remortgaged her house to raise the money for the first Mobo awards, held in 1996, eventually turning it into an arena-filling event that has celebrated artists such as Stormzy, Dave and Olivia Dean in recent years. More to follow… Explore more on these topics Mobos Pop and rock R&B Rap Hip-hop Grime Jazz news Share Reuse this content