Kanya King, founder of the MOBO Awards, has died at the age of 57.
The news was announced on Friday, more than a year after King revealed she had been diagnosed with colon cancer.
In a statement, the MOBOs organisation said: ‘It is with immeasurable sorrow that the MOBO Organisation announces the passing of its Founder and CEO, Kanya King CBE.
‘Kanya passed away peacefully on 3 June 2026 after a courageous and characteristically determined battle with colon cancer. She was surrounded by her family, close friends and love. The music world has lost one of its most fearless champions.’
The statement added: ‘The 2026 MOBO Awards, held during the Organisation’s landmark 30th anniversary year, will be dedicated entirely to her memory. Every artist, every moment and every note will carry her legacy.
‘The world was a profoundly better place with Kanya King in it. The MOBO family is heartbroken, but also endlessly grateful, proud and inspired by everything she gave to music, culture and the generations who will follow in her footsteps.’
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King made it her life’s mission to celebrate the achievements of the Black British community, particularly in music, and launched the Music of Black Origin (MOBO) Awards in 1996.
In the statement, the organisation explained how King remortgaged her home, alone, without institutional backing, without industry support, to build a stage that would transform British music forever.
The organisation continued: ‘She was a single mother from a Kilburn council estate who was told that Black music was too niche, that there was no market and that the industry was not interested. Instead of arguing, she built. Six weeks later, the first MOBO Awards was broadcast to the nation, and nothing was ever the same again.
‘What Kanya created was never simply an awards ceremony. It was an act of cultural justice. MOBO did not just celebrate Black music; it legitimised it, amplified it, and demonstrated its commercial and creative power to a world that had too often chosen not to see it.
‘She built a platform that has reached hundreds of millions of people around the world. She was awarded a CBE and received an Ivors Academy Honour in 2025, accepting it, characteristically, in the middle of what she described as “a difficult week health-wise”, yet still managing to inspire every person in the room. She never stopped. She never asked for permission. She never accepted that the word “no” was final.
‘When she stood on the MOBO stage in Newcastle in February 2025, just months after her diagnosis, she told the audience: “I never allowed someone to define my limits. Not in life. Not in business. And I’m certainly not going to have that happen now.”
‘That was Kanya King. Right to the very end.’
The statement concluded: ‘Rest in power, Kanya.
‘You built this. All of it.’
The MOBOs has awarded the most talented names in Black music, including Stormzy, Craig David, Sade, Kano, Ms Dynamite and Olivia Dean, while also celebrating those whose music was inspired by R&B and soul like Amy Winehouse.
King announced she had been diagnosed with bowel cancer in December 2024, and said: ‘Learning I have stage 4 bowel cancer was something I never saw coming. It’s a club I never wanted to join, and yet here I am, still processing this unexpected reality.
‘This diagnosis has tested me in ways I never imagined, but it has also given me a renewed sense of purpose. Life isn’t just about how long you live; it’s about how deeply you live.
‘I want to use my platform to shine a light on the importance of health equity and to empower others facing chronic illnesses to keep pushing forward. My faith remains my anchor, and I believe this chapter will be one of growth, resilience, and service.’
Loose Women presenter Judi Love was among the first to pay tribute to King, writing on Instagram: ‘ Queen built a whole legacy for us.🕊️ Rest Well.’
Alesha Dixon said she was ‘devastated’ to hear the news, and added: ‘Gone too soon! Forever grateful and in awe of you and your fight! One of the strongest people I’ve ever known! You are a true example to us all! Will love you forever! ❤️Thank you for everything! Rest well my friend.’
JLS singer Oritse Williams wrote: ‘Kanya your legacy and impact on the world changed so many lives including mine, I will always be forever grateful to you 🙏🏾 The legacy you left with us will truly live on forever ✨ #RestInPower legend.’