Later on today (February 7) the 26th edition of the MOBO Awards kick off in Sheffield, at the city’s Utilita Arena. Founded in the Nineties as a space to celebrate black culture, creativity, and music of black origin, they have become an important fixture of the UK awards calendar.
This year, British rappers Little Simz and Stormzy lead the nominations with four nods each. Both are in contention for album of the year and video of the year, while Simz is also in the running for best female act and best hip hop act. Stormzy is also up for best male act, while Hide & Seek from his 2022 album This Is What I Mean is nominated for song of the year.
Elsewhere, the newly-introduced category for dance and electronic music â which returned last year â is a reflection of the UK’s exciting club-pop scene, and is dominated by women. Austrian producer Salute is the only man nominated this year, alongside Shygirl, TSHA, Aluna, PinkPantheress, and Nia Archives.
“I never really thought I would be nominated for a MOBO," Shygirl tells the Standard. "I grew up knowing that dance and electronic music has its roots in black culture, and it seemed weird for it not to be represented. It’s really encouraging to see the category coming back."
Being nominated has felt particularly personal, she says, "because coming from a mixed-race background, I've always been back and forth with how I see myself represented in black culture, you know? For this to be for something that I'm really passionate about feels incredibly validating.”
“The MOBO Awards are important to me because they help to recognize the impact of black music in the UK, Europe and beyond,” rising dancehall star Byron Messia tells the Standard. He’s up for best Caribbean music act alongside the likes of Popcaan and Valiant. “It’s a great feeling to even be recognized for my talent - whether it’s a win or not; but it also made me look back on my story and be proud of my achievements.”
The north London rapper AntsLive is among those nominated for best newcomer, fresh from the release of his debut mixtape Just A Matter of Time last month. He’s nominated alongside names such as the boyband No Guidnce, Croydon rapper Strandz, and Stormzy co-signed artist Debbie. “Without trying to sound ungrateful, I don’t think accolades are something artists should chase,” AntsLive says.
“Sometimes awards feel scripted. I really think it should just be about making good music. Saying that, the MOBOs is one of the few awards that feel real. They put on young artists like myself, and they’ve been representing the culture for years. I’m proud to be a part of that.”
“It’s a great feeling for us both to be nominated for the MOBO Awards,” agree Blue Lab Beats; the duo are up for best jazz act alongside the likes of Ezra Collective and CKTRL. “The line up of fellow artists is wicked. It’s so good to see people from the UK scene like our brother Reuben James there,” they tell the Standard, shouting out another fellow nominee.
“The MOBO Awards have now become a staple of the UK music calendar. It had to fight for recognition, and it has proved that Black Music in the UK has true value and worth not just on the dance floor but economically too. Music's contribution to the UK economy was £6.7 billion. Black music probably represents half of that,” they claim, “as the top ten last year was never without it. Festivals like We Out Here and Wireless sell out months in advance. It’s part of the UK music industry at large”
