Five Minutes With... MOBO Awards Founder Kanya King
Meet the woman who’s bringing the 2025 MOBO Awards to Newcastle
Have the heard the news? The 2025 MOBO Awards are coming to Newcastle’s Utilita Arena for the very first time next February and – as you can probably tell – we couldn’t be more excited!
We were lucky enough to get the chance to chat with MOBO Awards founder Kanya King to find out why Newcastle was chosen to host the awards and what we can expect from the MOBO Fringe Festival, an exciting series of events and activities celebrating Black music and culture in the city during the lead-up to the awards show.
How would you describe the MOBO Awards in one sentence?
I would say it’s the most exciting music platform in the world!
What motivated you to establish the MOBO Awards?
I think that most people wholeheartedly agree that most forms of popular music have their origins in black heritage but largely, until the MOBO Awards, there was no platform where artists performing this music could be celebrated in the mainstream arena.
For me, I wanted to have role models. I wanted to have a more visible platform out there so that any young person from any background that’s under-represented could see that stage and think “That could be me” and “I could be the hero of my own story.”
In fact, I’ve heard Stormzy talking about watching Krept and Konan when they were an unsigned act performing the MOBO Awards stage and he thought “Wow, if they can do it, so can I” – and there are so many stories like that.
Why is Newcastle a great location to host the 2025 MOBO Awards?
There are so many reasons why Newcastle is a great platform. There’s a very fast-growing, diverse population and it think it’s a big statement for an organization like ours to be here. Everybody wants to be acknowledged and included, and here’s a chance to celebrate black music and culture and tell a variety of stories.
I think the MOBO Awards have the possibility to motivate, elevate and celebrate not just the talent on the stage but also provide opportunities behind the scenes. We have a platform called MOBOLISE and it’s all about career opportunities in different sectors – whether it’s finance, tech, the creative fields. We curate thought leadership events and try to help people to make their mark and realise their potential in whatever field they want to be in.
What can we expect from the MOBO Fringe Festival?
We’re still planning the MOBO Fringe Festival but earlier this year in the lead up to the 2024 MOBO Awards, we had music showcases, a panel with executives from major labels, a culture commentator and over 140 schools getting involved and recreating some of the nominees’ tracks – who knows what might happen in the lead-up to this year’s MOBO Awards! But we definitely want to make it memorable and collaborate with different organisations here and think it’ll be really exciting.
The 2025 MOBO Awards are taking place on Tuesday 18th February 2025 at Utilita Arena Newcastle. For more information and to buy tickets visit mobo.com/tickets.
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