The theme for Black History Month in October 2026 is honouring our communities. In this month’s blog we celebrate a key figure in the British music community, Kanya King CBE.
King is probably best known for founding the MOBO Awards (Music Of Black Origin Awards), which are today recognised as a major fixture in the cultural calendar.
She has been credited with changing the face of the UK music industry through her determination to highlight and celebrate the work of Black musicians and culture.
Kanya King’s early life
King was born on 12th February 1969 in Kilburn, London and was the youngest of nine children. Her mother, Mary, was Irish and her father, Christian Ocloo, was Ghanaian. Christian died when King was 13 years old.
In an interview later in her career, King stated that she felt “written off” after having her son at the age of 16. She shared that a careers advisor suggested that her best prospect might be managing a local Sainsbury’s. King reflected:
“That put a fire in my belly and gave me the motivation to say 'Why should I not have ambition?'."
After the birth of her son, she left South Kilburn school and worked in various jobs, such as waitressing and dishwashing, as a demonstrator of games at Hamleys toy shop and as a salesperson at the Ideal Home Exhibition.
But King’s interest in music was demonstrated by her work as a small-time promoter of R&B and reggae gigs across London. In 1992, she invested in trying to set up the Black Music Awards, a short-lived precursor to the MOBO Awards.
King then took on a job as a trainee researcher for Carlton TV, an ITV franchise. She was soon promoted to senior researcher.
The origins of the MOBO Awards
It was during King’s time at Carlton TV that she further developed her idea of an awards ceremony to celebrate and recognise music of Black origin.
“I just couldn’t understand why there wasn’t anything in this country to celebrate the music I grew up on … In the end, after talking to many organisations and not feeling like anything was ever going to be done or that anyone was receptive to the idea, I did something about it.”
She pitched the idea to the head of London Weekend Television, who bought it. King organised the event in just seven weeks, remortgaging her house to raise the money.
King found support from Black industry executives such as Dej Mahoney and Keith Harris and this led to the first event taking place in November 1996, broadcast on TV from the Connaught Rooms in London. Despite being a new event, major names from the music industry attended, and Lionel Ritchie accepted the MOBO’s first-ever Lifetime Achievement accolade on stage with Tina Turner. Award winners included Best Album award for Goldie, Best Jazz Act for Courtney Pine and Best International Act for the Fugees.
Also on the red carpet was soon-to-be Prime Minister, Tony Blair. King’s mother, Mary, apparently spent the evening trying to persuade Blair to give her daughter a job in the government.
But King didn’t need a job in government. The MOBOs became a success, moving to larger venues and developing a global reputation.
The MOBOs’ success and development
The MOBOs quickly became a key fixture in the music industry schedule, celebrating a wide range of artists. From 1997–2008, the awards took place in London, but from 2009, they moved around the country, starting in Glasgow before moving to Liverpool, Leeds, Coventry, Sheffield, Newcastle and Manchester.
The MOBO Awards faced controversy over some of its winners but remained an important event, particularly with regard to up-and-coming artists and genres. King was quick to identify future trends, adding or taking away categories each year, which kept the awards fresh. An example of this was Stormzy being named the first ever Best Grime Act in 2014, shortly before his breakthrough in 2015.
In 2016, MOBO was celebrated in a documentary entitled “MOBO: Paving The Way (Full Documentary) | 20 Years of MOBO history!”
Alongside the MOBO Awards, a number of spin-off initiatives were set up. They included artist development programme MOBO Unsung, the MOBO Fringe Festival, the MOBO Trust – a charity providing training and education opportunities for young people – and the House of MOBO, a music venue and bar in South London.
In February 2025, King’s work with MOBO was acknowledged with a MOBO Paving The Way Award.
In March 2026, MOBO celebrated its 30th anniversary.
DanceStar
King also co-founded DanceStar – celebrating dance music – with the first show, The World Dance Music Awards taking place in 2000 at Alexandra Palace in London. This event was broadcast on Channel 4 in the UK and across various European networks. In 2002 DanceStar USA launched in Miami.
Recognition and legacy
Despite her resourcefulness and drive, it has been suggested that King was not the stereotypical pushy entrepreneur. She had a warm, humble approach and used her success to help others as a mentor, as a speaker at education events, and as an advisory to bodies such as the Creative Industries Council and the UK Diversity Taskforce.
King was made MBE in 1999 and CBE in 2018. She was awarded many honorary doctorates for entrepreneurship and her work in the creative industries.
King was celebrated both as an entrepreneur and for her impact on the music industry. Recognition included being named one of London’s Most Influential People by the London Evening Standard (2011) and one of Britain’s Most Entrepreneurial Women by Real Business. She was featured regularly in the Powerlist as one of Britain’s Most Influential Black People. In 2013 she was listed as one of the 100 most powerful women in the UK by Woman’s House on BBC Radio 4.
Within the industry she was awarded the Media Pioneer Award at the Music Week Women in the Music Awards in 2016. This was followed in 2021 by “The Strat”, a special honour awarded at the Music Week Awards for an industry icon. In 2025, King was awarded one of The Ivors Academy Honours for "advocates and innovators who champion songwriters and composers and help to build a stronger, fairer and more inclusive music industry".
Diagnosis and death
King was diagnosed with stage 4 bowel cancer in December 2024. She said of her diagnosis:
“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."
She died on 3rd June 2026 as a result of her cancer. The MOBO organisation said:
“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.”
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