For the August edition of Music Week (out July 21), we pay tribute to MOBO Awards founder and CEO Kanya King CBE following her tragic passing in June.
In a very special 13-page cover story, a raft of top names from across all areas of the music business share their memories of King as we celebrate and honour the monumental legacy of a trailblazing executive who had a profound impact on British music and culture.
When the new issue arrives, look out for dozens of tributes from artists (including Little Simz, Myles Smith and Alesha Dixon) and senior executives, as well as extended personal reflections from Craig David, MOBO senior producer Eunice Obianagha, Prof Jonathan Shalit OBE, and Music Week writers Adenike Adenitire and Colleen Harris.
Alan Edwards, founder and CEO of The Outside Organisation, worked alongside Kanya King for decades as the PR agency oversaw the press and media coverage of the awards ceremony. Here, he looks back on their partnership, shares memories of working with King and reflects on her “seismic” impact on the music industry…
My first recollection of meeting Kanya was way back just before a show that she put on at Hammersmith Palais, to try and get recognition for Black music artists. It didn't feel like the music was getting a fair hearing, and major award shows seemed to be giving out the same prizes every year.
Kanya, along with her friend Ghizella, was already a force of nature and I instinctively wanted to help where I could. Once installed as their PR I quickly became aware of the challenges that Kanya was having to deal with, I vividly remember some of the calls we used to get from the media after MOBOs ceremonies. There was clearly some resistance in certain quarters.
For UK artists, the MOBO support has been seismic, it has given them a platform to create massive careers, often globally
Alan Edwards
The arrival of the MOBOs unleashed incredible energy, hope and excitement in the Black music community.
One of the hardest things that Kanya had to do was with the aftershow parties, many of which sprung up all over the place and were mostly completely unlicensed. Sometimes these events were unruly and then myself and the team at Outside would be fielding calls from newspapers, who were sometimes just looking for this kind of a negative story. It was always, “Riot at Black music event”, with the emphasis on “Black”.
I was often remonstrating late into the night after the show, explaining on the phone to agitated news reporters that, in fact, the awards themselves have passed off entirely peacefully.
My stress was nothing compared to what Kanya was going through, and the damage she felt it was doing to her brand. I could see sometimes she was practically in tears at the unfairness of it all. The MOBOs were supportive of all genres of music. After all, the awards were called the “Music Of Black Origin” and they absolutely didn't exclude any artist, whatever their ethnicity.
Yet, Kanya never lost heart. She had extraordinary strength and determination. She was never going to give up the fight.
Her legacy is probably not even fully realised yet, it's seismic. She was an integral part of a change, and the acceptance of Black music, which has become such a dominant feature of the charts.
For UK artists, the MOBO support has been seismic, it has given them a platform to create massive careers, often globally.
The MOBOs fundamentally changed perceptions, and Kanya, in a relatively short time on the planet, has changed the world of music and even culture. She was also a lot of fun, very brave, and a very lovely human being to be around, and will be missed forever.
