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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Entertainment
Ben Beaumont-Thomas

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

Kanya King pictured in 2025.
‘The music world has lost one of its most fearless champions’ … Kanya King pictured in 2025. Photograph: Joseph Okpako/WireImage

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, which said she died on Wednesday “after a courageous and characteristically determined battle” with her illness.

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