Kanya King, the visionary founder of the Mobo Awards, has died at the age of 57 following a "courageous and characteristically determined battle with colon cancer," her organisation announced.
A single mother from a Kilburn council estate, King was instrumental in elevating Black music and culture into the mainstream in the UK, establishing the prestigious awards ceremony in 1996 despite industry scepticism. The Mobo Awards have since celebrated a diverse array of talent, from Amy Winehouse and Stormzy to Olivia Dean, Raye, and So Solid Crew.
She passed away peacefully on 3 June, "surrounded by her family, close friends and love," according to a statement from the Mobo Organisation.
The tribute highlighted her extraordinary journey: "Thirty years ago, Kanya King remortgaged her home, alone, without institutional backing, without industry support, to build a stage that would transform British music forever."
The statement continued, recalling how she was told "Black music was too niche, that there was no market and that the industry was not interested." Instead of conceding, "she built. Six weeks later, the first Mobo Awards was broadcast to the nation, and nothing was ever the same again." The organisation emphasised that "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," the statement affirmed. King's pioneering spirit filled a crucial void, championing music of Black origin and Black British musicians frequently overlooked by other industry events.
Her immense contributions were formally recognised with a CBE in the 2018 Queen’s Birthday Honours List, and she was set to receive an Ivors Academy Honour in 2025.
Demonstrating her unwavering resolve, King appeared on stage at the Mobos in Newcastle in 2025, just months after her diagnosis, declaring: "I never allowed someone to define my limits. Not in life. Not in business. And I’m certainly not going to have that happen now."
The Mobo statement concluded with a poignant farewell: "The world was a profoundly better place with Kanya King in it. The Mobo family is heartbroken, but also endlessly grateful, proud and inspired by everything she gave to music, culture and the generations who will follow in her footsteps. Rest in power, Kanya. You built this. All of it."
