Tributes paid to MOBO Awards founder Kanya King CBE
Announcing her passing at age 57, the MOBO Awards said "the music world has lost one of its most fearless champions"
News By Ciaran Donnelly | 5 June 2026
Kanya King CBE, the pioneering founder and CEO of the MOBO Awards and significant figure in modern British music, has died aged 57.
The MOBO Organisation confirmed her passing “with immeasurable sorrow”, saying she died peacefully on 3 June 2026 after “a courageous and characteristically determined battle with colon cancer”, surrounded by family and close friends.
King founded the MOBO Awards in 1996, remortgaging her home to fund the project without any institutional backing.
Describing her role in its founding, the MOBO Organisation said: “She was a single mother from a Kilburn council estate who was told that Black music was too niche, that there was no market and that the industry was not interested. Instead of arguing, she built.
“Six weeks later, the first MOBO Awards was broadcast…
You've used your free article this month
Create a free account to read 3 articles per month, or subscribe for unlimited access.
