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In Pictures: Celebrating black music champion and Mobo Awards founder Kanya King

PA Media

King was a single mother from a Kilburn council estate when she established the Mobos in 1996 and went on to become a CBE.

Received: 12:08:57 on 5th June 2026

Kanya King, who founded the Mobo Awards, has died at the age of 57.

She played a major role in bringing black music and culture to the mainstream in the UK.

Here, we dip into the Press Association’s pictures archive to remember the life of a trailblazer, champion and visionary.

King founded the awards ceremony, which celebrates music of black origin, in 1996.

Three years later, she became an MBE for services to music during an investiture ceremony at Buckingham Palace.

The Mobos went from strength to strength, taking place in different cities around the UK over the years and King was there to witness the success of what she built.

Numerous high-profile figures were pictured with King over the years from the worlds of music, TV and film.

And King was further recognised for her services to music and culture when she was made a CBE in the 2018 Queen’s Birthday Honours List.

A statement from Mobo, released on Friday, ended: “Rest in power, Kanya. You built this. All of it.”