Kanya King CBE, the woman who founded the MOBO Awards and spent three decades making sure Black British music could not be ignored, died on June 3rd, 2026. She was 57. She had been diagnosed with stage four colon cancer in late 2024 and passed away surrounded by family and close friends.
King started the MOBOs in 1996 without industry backing, remortgaging her home as a single mother to get the first ceremony off the ground. While the music industry did not open a door for her; she built one herself and then held it open for everyone who came after. With the honour of awrding industry icons such as Stormzy, Little Simz, RAYE, Craig David, Soul II Soul, Ms. Dynamite, So Solid Crew, Kano, Krept & Konan, Amy Winehouse, Sade, Central Cee and more, the MOBO Organization’s listed the success stories that has become evidence of King’s great sacrifice. “Every artist who has stood on the MOBO stage since 1996, every door that opened, every opportunity that followed, and every ceiling that was shattered carries the imprint of Kanya King‘s vision,” the organization stated.
They went on: “What Kanya created was never simply an awards ceremony. It was an act of cultural justice. MOBO did not just celebrate Black music; it legitimized it, amplified it, and demonstrated its commercial and creative power to a world that had too often chosen not to see it.”
King announced her diagnosis on stage at the MOBO Awards in Newcastle in February 2025. Characteristically, she did not frame it as a moment of fragility. “I never allowed someone to define my limits,” she told the audience. “Not in life. Not in business. And I’m certainly not going to have that happen now.”
King was awarded a CBE in 2018 for services to music and culture, and received an Ivors Academy Honour in 2025. The MOBO statement closed with nine words that said everything: “Rest in power, Kanya. You built this. All of it.”
Education: Computer Network Engineering, Computer Desktop Administration
Fave Song: Destiny's Child 'Dangerously in love'
Fave Colour: Grey.
With £1m what would you do: I would do my part to provide opportunities to the less fortunate. Then do my best to change the world in my own way through sports and talent building.
