Wednesday night’s Music of Black Origin Awards - better known as the MOBOs, marks the ceremony’s 25th anniversary.
The awards, founded by Kanya King in 1996 and celebrating artists who make genres including R&B, grime and soul, will be taking place at London’s OVO Arena Wembley.
Kanya says: “It’s a proud moment to see MOBO Awards return to London for our big 25-year milestone, which will see us celebrating our legacy, as well as paying it forward to the biggest stars of the scene.”
To mark the milestone, we reveal 25 things you need to know about the MOBOs...
1. One of nine children born to a Ghanaian father and Irish mother, Kanya believed that there was a place for a mainstream British awards ceremony that celebrated music originating from black culture while working as a TV researcher.
2. She mortgaged her flat to fund the first MOBOs, booking all talent in a six-week period, and persuaded Carlton TV to broadcast it on November 21, 1996.
3. Lionel Richie received the Lifetime Achievement award at the first MOBOs ceremony. It was also attended by soon-to-be Prime Minister, Tony Blair.
4. A few months after the death of fellow rapper Biggie Smalls, in 1998 P Diddy had his first British live TV appearance when he performed tribute I’ll Be Missing You.
5. The original line-up of Destiny’s Child – Beyonce, Kelly Rowland, LaTavia Roberson and LeToya Luckett – performed live at the 1999 ceremony, winning the Best International R&B Act award.
6. Kanya was presented with an MBE in 1999 by Prince Charles at Buckingham Palace, and in 2004 she attended a historic lunch with the Queen to celebrate exceptional achievements.
7. In 2000 late TLC singer Lisa ‘Left Eye’ Lopes hosted the event with Trevor Nelson. Bizarrely Ken Livingstone was also there to present an award with her.
8. That year, a fresh-faced Craig David won Best British Single for Fill Me In, and famously arrived to collect his award in a “Buy British” slogan jumper.
9. 2000 was a bumper year for the MOBOs. The awards also saw Sade come out of retirement after almost a decade.
10. The next year, disgraced singer R. Kelly, who has since been convicted of multiple sex offences, travelled to London by ship from Chicago to attend the awards as he was too scared of flying – it took six days.
11. In 2003, rapper Lil’ Kim and singer Blu Cantrell delighted viewers with their tipsy hosting, which saw Blu describe herself as being “tired and emotional”.
12. Other standout MOBOs hosts over the years have included Little Mix’s Leigh-Anne Pinnock, Shaggy and Jamelia.
13. The MOBOs helped launch and give a push to the careers of many popular artists including Emeli Sandé, Rihanna and the late Amy Winehouse.
14. In 2009, Jermaine and La Toya Jackson brought the audience to tears when they accepted the Lifetime Achievement award on behalf of their brother, King of Pop Michael, who died that year.
15. Other Lifetime Achievement award winners include Tina Turner, Dionne Warwick and Chaka Khan.
16. Baroness Doreen Lawrence, whose son Stephen was murdered in a racist attack in 1993, accepted a special award on behalf of the Stephen Lawrence Charitable Trust.
17. In 2015, comedian Lenny Henry was given the special Paving the Way award for his work. His epic acceptance speech saw him name-check Bob Marley, Chris Tarrant and “that bloke from the Halifax advert”.
18. For years the MOBOs were held in London venues including the Royal Albert Hall. However, in 2009 it moved to Glasgow for the first time.
19. When the MOBO awards were held in Leeds in 2017, spoof rapper Big Shaq (played by comedian Michael Dapaah) got the shock of a lifetime when he turned up at Wembley.
20. Stormzy was left speechless after he won three trophies in 2017 – Best Grime Act, Best Male Act and Best Album for Gang Signs & Prayer.
21. That year, Cardi B closed the awards ceremony in style when the New York-based rapper performed Bodak Yellow.
22. Following a break in 2018 and 2019, the ceremony returned in 2020, with a virtual ceremony due to the Covid-19 pandemic hosted by Maya Jama and YouTuber Chunkz.
23. The MOBOs are watched by 400 million people across 200 countries.
24. This year nominees include Little Simz and FKA twigs. There are two new categories – Best Alternative Music Act and Best Dance/Electronic Act.
25. They will be streamed worldwide on YouTube, and are set to include a tribute to entrepreneur Jamal Edwards, who died this year aged 31.
