The MOBO awards were back celebrating Black music last night for the first time since 2017 in an event which saw the north London rapper Nines and R&B soul artist Mahalia each take two awards.
Favourite to win Nines won Best Hip Hop Act, beating out big names including Ms Banks and Krept & Konan. The rapper, who was nominated for five awards, at this year’s event with five different nominations, was also awarded Best New Album for the critically acclaimed Crabs in a Bucket. The album debuted at number one in the UK Album Charts in September.
Accepting the Best Album award, Nines shouted out his fellow nominees, advising them; “don’t worry man, your time will come.”
Mahalia also received awards for Best Female Act and Best RnB/Soul Act following the release of her debut studio album Love and Compromise in 2019, featuring artists such as Burna Boy and Ella Mai, and her 2020 EP Isolation Tapes. The 22 year old singer has also been recognised by the 2021 Grammy Awards, where she has been nominated for Best RnB Performance for song ‘All I Need’. She features on this track alongside Jacob Collier and Ty Dolla $ign.
can’t even begin to explain how I feel tonight. thank you @moboawards for this huge blessing. Never expected this in a million years and it feels better than I ever thought it could. We built this from the ground up baby. Love to all of you. Mum and Dad, we got TWO !!!!!!! ??? pic.twitter.com/VrmMruEw60
— mahalia (@mahalia) December 9, 2020
Hosted by comedic duo television and radio presenter Maya Jama and comedian-musician Chunkz (who also won best Media Personality), the online event also saw drill artist Headie One win Best Male Act. The artist’s recent track with Stomzy and AJ Tracey, Ain’t it Different, remained in the UK music charts Top Five for nine weeks straight.
Headie One also won in the public voting category Best Song alongside rap duo Young T & Bugsey for Don’t Rush. The song saw viral success earlier this year on TikTok through the ‘Don’t Rush’ makeover challenge. Manchester-based artist Aitch was also voted Best Newcomer by the public.
The MOBO organisation announced a one-year hiatus in 2018 in order to plan a “bigger, revamped show” the following year. The hiatus continued in 2019 without explanation, before returning for an online awards ceremony this year.
In a statement, MOBO founder Kanya King said; ‘Recognising the unique role the MOBO Awards plays for so many, and the challenging year we find ourselves in, it is now more important than ever to be there and to continue the rich history of showcasing the very best of Black music and culture.”
MOBO award winner Headie One with Leomie Anderson (left) and Jourdan Dunn (right). Credit: Michael Tubes
Headie One opened the MOBOs with rapper M Huncho with two tracks from his latest number one album Edna. The awards also featured performances from big artist names including, Ms Banks, Afrobeats giant Davido and Jamaican-born dancehall artist Stylo G.
Instead of performing live in a stadium as in previous years, the artists high-quality live music videos in front of detailed green-screened backgrounds. Presenters Maya Jama and Chunkz also took advantage of this virtual technology to jump across the world to important locations in the Black music scene, including London, New York and Lagos.
Other award winners also highlighted MOBOs’ celebration of diverse talent across the Black diaspora. Best African Artist went to popular Nigerian artist Wizkid, making him the most awarded African artist in MOBO Awards history. London based neo-soul Ego Ella May won Best Jazz Act and Best Reggae artist went to Buju Banton, whose album Upside Down was also nominated for next year’s Grammy Award.
Best Music Video went to Afro-bashment group NSG for their single Lupita. On the virtual red carpet after receiving the award, the group thanked “God and our parents for birthing greats.”
However, London rock duo Nova Twins have called on the MOBO Awards to include a Rock/Alternative category next year to recognise “POC contributors to the genre.”
Our open letter to the @moboawards :
We’re asking for your help in the hopes that a Rock/Alternative category will be added to the MOBO (Music Of Black Origin) Awards in 2021, recognising the POC contributors to the genre.
Please RT, sharing this message far and wide! ?? pic.twitter.com/wol3iCi4uH
— NOVA TWINS (@NovaTwinsMusic) November 30, 2020
Sir Steve McQueen, the first Black director to win an Academy Award, also won the ‘Inspiration Award’. His new series Small Axe, about the experiences of London’s West Indian community is currently available to stream on BBC Iplayer.
Over video call on receiving the award, McQueen said: “The MOBO awards for me is part of the idea of Small Axe. When people didn’t want to recognise us, we recognised ourselves and that’s given me the inspiration to go forward.”
The MOBO awards, which stands for ‘Music of Black Origin’, was founded in 1996 to counteract the lack of mainstream recognition of Black musical talent – an issue that is still being raised today.
This year’s Black Lives Matter protests, sparked by the murder of George Floyd by police in America, the Grenfell fire inquiry and the unequal way the Black community has been hit by the COVID-19 pandemic were all referenced in the event through exclusive performances by Kojey Radical and spoken-word collective wordsmiths, who said in their performance “We’ve been screaming from the rooftops and now you finally answer the call”.
The MOBO organisation also announced on Tuesday the launch of a new digital platform MOBOLISE to connect Black talent with the career opportunities and mentoring.
When introducing the platform at the awards ceremony, Maya Jama said that the MOBOs have always used “their global platform to mobilise, elevate and celebrate.”
However, only a third of this year’s MOBO award nominees in non-gender specific categories were women. This comes in the same year that the Brit awards faced criticism for being male dominated, with only one female British artist being nominated out of 25 available slots in mixed gender categories.
Nevertheless, in an appearance on the One Show before the awards ceremony, Maya Jama confirmed how important the MOBO awards still are.
“I think it’s more important than ever for them to be back”, she told the presenters. “It’s nice to just have something that celebrates the positives and brings some light to all the good that’s been going on.”
Kanya King has promised a huge return for the live show at Wembley Arena in 2021.
MOBO 2020 award winners
Best Newcomer: Aitch
Song Of The Year: Young T & Bugsey – Don’t Rush (ft Headie One)
Album Of The Year: Nines – Crabs in a Bucket
Best Hip-Hop Act: Nines
Best Media Personality: Chunkz
Best Grime Act: JME
Best Male Act: Headie One
Best Female Act: Mahalia
Best African Act: Wizkid
Inspiration Award: Sir Steve McQueen
Best Reggae Act: Buju Banton
Best R&B/Soul Act: Mahalia
Video Of The Year: NSG – Lupita
Best International Act: Burna Boy
Best Performance In A TV Show/Film: Micheal Ward as Marco, Blue Story
Best Album 2017-2019: Ella Mai – Ella Mai
Best Gospel Act: CalledOut Music
Best Jazz Act: Ego Ella May
Best Producer: Jae5
