The Mobo Awards were masterminded by English Humanitarian Kanya King and eighties BMX superstar Andy Ruffell. The premise behind the ceremony was to pay homage to artists of any race and from any country who performed music of black origin. The first Mobo Award show took place at the Connaught Rooms in London in 1996 and recognized the talents of artists such as The Fugees, Tupac, Goldie, Seal and Teddy Riley.
This Years Mobo Awards 2008
The Thirteenth Annual Mobo Award Ceremony will be held at the Wembley Arena in North London on October 15th and will be hosted by Spice Girl Mel B and one of the iconic founding members of Run DMC, Rev. Run. An announcement was made this week into the Nominees for the 2008 show and topping the list with the most nominations was West London songstress/rapper Estelle with five nods.
Nominated for Best UK Female, Album, Song, R&B/Soul Award and Video this year after reaching unprecedented heights with her hit single American Boy. The track which features Hip-Hop super producer Kanye West was number one in both the UK and the US and encouraged the sales of Estelle’s debut album on John Legends Home Grown Records to which she is signed.
Estelle lost out on the notorious Mercury Award earlier this month when her album Shine failed to outshine that of Elbow’s Seldom Seen Kid. She however won the 2004 Mobo Award for Best Newcomer and has never looked back since.
Other Mobo 2008 Nominees
Estelle has, however, spoken out about who she will be competing with for the Best UK Female award; citing that Duffy and Adele can’t be classified as soul artists.
“Adele ain't soul. She sounds like she heard some Aretha records once and she's got a deeper voice - that don't mean she's soul”, Estelle explained to the media in a Press Conference this week.
Leona Lewis, the 2006 UK X Factor winner who is up for three Mobos this year and M.I.A complete the list of nominees for the UK Best Female category.
Dizzie Rascal and Wiley: UK Rappers
Also receiving three nominations are UK rappers Dizzie Rascal and Wiley, both of whom have enjoyed tremendous success this Summer with their respective hits Dance Wiv Me and Wearing my Rolex. The official tour DJ for Dizzie Rascal, One Extra front man Semtex has also received two nominations. “The Mobo Award Show is an invaluable event for the black music scene in the UK,” explained the Manchester born DJ Semtex.
International Mobo 2008 Nominations
International artists such as Jay Z, Lil Wayne, Mary J Blige and Usher are all nominated in Best International Act alongside Mariah Carey, Kanye West and last years winner Rhianna who was number one on the UK charts for eleven weeks this year with her monster hit Umbrella featuring Jay Z.
Other categories at the event include Best Reggae, Best Jazz, Best African Act and Best Gospel with the careers of over sixty artists from various corners of the globe and representing all genres of music of black origin being celebrated.
The event this year is being sponsored by Western Union.
