MOBO Awards Return After Two-Year Hiatus
The 2020 show would have been the show’s 25th anniversary show. Because of the missed shows, it will be the 23rd.
The MOBO Awards, a U.K. award show which honors “music of black origin” (hence the name), are set to return following a two-year hiatus. The awards, which are the U.K. equivalent of the BET Awards or the Soul Train Music Awards, date to 1996.
The next show is set for Nov. 12, 2020 at London’s SSE Arena Wembley. The awards were last presented in November 2017. In 2018, organizers announced that the ceremony would take a one-year hiatus in order to plan a “bigger, revamped show” in 2019. It stretched to two.
In a statement, MOBO founder Kanya King said, “We are returning with even more determination and energy to support and boost our culture wherever we can. 2020 will see many positive changes that will impact more and more talented young people — very proud to be back and to help ensure that the younger generation will also dare to dream.”
The 2020 show would have been the show’s 25th anniversary show. Because of the missed shows, it will be the 23rd. It will be the first time the MOJOs have been held in London since 2014. A statement promises, “Having taken the ceremony to Leeds, Glasgow and Liverpool in previous years, we’re heading home in 2020.”
King launched the MOBO awards to establish a platform for a broad range of black music styles, including urban, hip hop, R&B and reggae. The show has also honored grime, jazz, gospel and African music. The MOBOs now frame their show as a “celebration of British urban talent.”
The MOBO Awards, like the Grammys and virtually all award shows, have their critics.The MOBOs have drawn criticism for honoring too many American artists. 50 Cent won both best album and best single in 2003. Other American best album winners are Usher, Alicia Keys and Kanye West. Other American best single winners are BeBe Winans (as a featured artist on Eternal’s “I Wanna Be the Only One”), Destiny’s Child, Beyonce and Ne-Yo.
The show has also stirred controversy by awarding white artists on occasion. Sam Smith, for example, won both best album and best single in 2014.
In 2003, a boycott effort emerged after Justin Timberlake and Christina Aguilera won for Best R&B act and best video respectively. (Aguilera won for “Dirrty” featuring Redman.) The Independent described the wins as being the result of the “white appropriation of black music.” A MOBO spokesperson defended the artists’ nominations, stating that the awards were designed to honor achievements in music of black origin, regardless of the ethnicity of their performers.
Other major winners at the MOBO Awards include Jessie J, who won both best album and best single in 2011, and Gabrielle, JLS and Krept & Konan, who won in both caegories, but not in the same year.
It’s unusual for an awards show to take a hiatus and return, but it has happened before. The BRIT Awards, the U.K. equivalent of the Grammys, were founded in 1977 and returned, following a four-year hiatus, in 1982. In the U.S., the Billboard Music Awards took a four-year hiatus from 2007 to 2010, but managed to regain their footing.
Njideka Akunyili Crosby, Wanuri Kahiu, Kwame Onwuachi & More Make Inaugural TIME 100 Next List
TIME has released a new list and it calls it, ‘The 100 Next.’
It describes this eclectic list as recognizing “100 rising stars who are shaping the future of business, entertainment, sports, politics, science, health and more. Although this focus lends itself to a younger group, we intentionally had no age cap—a recognition that ascents can begin at any age.”
The list includes several game changers and creatives from the African continent across several industries.
The Kenyan director of the groundbreaking film Rafiki Wanuri Kahiu is one of this year’s many nominees. “I’m on the first #TIME100Next list! So proud! So happy! So pleased to represent,” wrote the filmmaker on Twitter. Ugandan musician turned presidential candidate, Bobi Wine is also included on the list.
Other standouts include Njideka Akunyili Crosby, the Nigerian artists whose work has sold for millions at auctions across the world as well as Nigerian-Jamaican chef and restauranteur Kwame Onwuachi.
Somali-British MP Majid Majid, who is breaking ground in British politics. Supermodel Aduct Akech, scientist Joy Buolamwini, and community organizer and founder of Stand to End Rape (STER) Oluwaseun Ayodeji Osowobi.
You can see the full 100 next list, also featuring the likes of Megan the Stallion, writer Jason Reynolds and more here.
Ebo Taylor & Bibie Brew to receive 2019 Music In Africa Honorary Award
Ghanaian musicians Ebo Taylor and Bibie Brew will be honoured with the 2019 Music In Africa Honorary Award at the opening of the Music In Africa Conference for Collaborations, Exchange and Showcases (ACCES) in Accra, Ghana on 28 November.
The award, courtesy of the Music In Africa Foundation, recognises the outstanding contributions of notable musicians to their home country’s industry and that of Africa as a whole. Previous Music In Africa Honorary Award recipients include Senegalese legend Baaba Maal and Kenyan musician Eric Wainaina, who were honoured in 2017 and 2018 respectively.
“This year, we are extremely excited to present the Music In Africa Honorary Award to Mr. Ebo Taylor and Ms. Bibie Brew for their inspirational work in the African music sector,” Music In Africa Foundation Maimouna Dembélé said. “Their dedication and efforts made to strengthen African musical identity is exemplary and we cannot wait to welcome them to the ACCES stage this November.”
With a music career spanning more than six decades, Ebo Taylor (born in 1936) is a significant figure in the Ghanaian music scene. He is known for playing a pivotal role in shaping highlife bands the Stargazers and the Broadway Dance Band in the late 1950s. Taylor made an impact outside Ghana, especially in 1962 when he took his Black Star Highlife Band to London where he collaborated with legendary Afrobeat singer Fela Kuti and other African musicians.
Taylor has produced such top Ghanaian artists as Pat Thomas and CK Mann. He also worked with Germany-based saxophonist Ben Abarbanel-Wolff on the Love and Death album. In 2009, US singer Usher sampled Taylor’s song ‘Heaven’ for ‘She Don’t Know’ featuring Ludacris.
The award for Bibie Brew pays tribute to her illustrious work as a music mentor and an advocate for positive change in the creative sector, in addition to a music career that produced one of Africa’s biggest global hits.
A daughter of a travelling diplomat, Bibie Brew (born in 1957) earned success following the release of the French song ‘Tout Doucement’ in 1985. The song was produced by renowned French composer Jean-Paul Dréau. It was certified gold and climbed to second place on the French charts. Other songs that have defined her career include ‘J’veux pas l’savoir’ and ‘Les femmes reviennent et les hommes s’en vont’. The singer has released six albums, including Bibie (1985), Regards (1986), Tendress’moi (1988), La P’tite Black (1990), Femme d’ici ou d’ailleurs (1992) and Sereine (2003).
ACCES 2019 has unveiled the international artists who will showcase at this year’s music conference, including Gato Preto (Germany/Ghana/Mozambique), Songhoy Blues (UK/Mali), Lúcia de Carvalho (France/Angola), Mokoomba (Zimbabwe), Arka’n (Togo), Sibusile Xaba (South Africa) and Bholoja (eSwatini), as well as Ghanaians Yaa Yaa, Kyekyeku & Ghanalogue Highlife, FOKN Bois, Cina Soul and FRA!
In addition to the showcases, the event will feature panel discussions, workshops, exhibitions, product pitches and networking sessions, all taking place at the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences on 28, 29 and 30 November.
Register at www.musicinafrica.net/acces to be part of ACCES 2019.
Source:businessghana.com
