Soul II Soul’s Jazzie B has remembered the late Mobo awards founder Kanya King as a “tower of strength” who helped put the DJ “on the map”.
King died this summer following a battle with colon cancer at the age of 57 – three decades after she launched the music award ceremony in 1996.
It has since grown into a national institution, with King playing a major role in bringing black music and culture to the mainstream in the UK.
An immersive visual experience has been launched at Outernet in central London on Thursday to honour her legacy and the 30-year anniversary of the music organisation.
Outernet visual experience honouring 30 years since Kanya King launched Mobo (MOBO Organisation/PA)
Jazzie B, also known as Trevor Beresford Romeo, described King as a “lovely, bubbly, smiley lady” who “never accepts the word no”.
The music producer, 63, told the Press Association: “She’s going to be really missed, this lady, she was a tower of strength, and somebody who was part in parcel of helping to put me on the map.
“We knew that she was ill a little bit earlier on in the year and we all thought that obviously she was going to pull through because it’s Kanya, so it was just a heavy surprise.”
King’s endeavour filled a gap in the market – celebrating music of black origin and black British musicians who were overlooked by other industry events.
Jazzie B was the first to receive the outstanding contribution to black music Mobo award during the inaugural ceremony and later picked up the lifetime achievement award at the 2024 ceremony for his group Soul II Soul.
Jazzie B with the lifetime achievement award at the Mobo Awards in 2024 (Danny Lawson/PA)
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He said: “Her plight about recognising music of black origin, obviously, was very applicable to me and many other artists. She just had the foresight to be able to recognise where a lot of this music originally generated from and decided to give people their flower.
“It had an impact on me and that’s what helped to forge our relationship from way back in the day.
“For Soul II Soul in those early years, we had no recognition whatsoever, she was the one who opened the door, as it were, and been pretty good friends ever since.”
Known for the hit song Back to Life (However Do You Want Me), the DJ described King as a “real force”.
He added: “Not many of us go about our careers looking for an award, but it’s always nice to be recognised.
Outernet visual experience honouring 30 years since Kanya King launched Mobo (MOBO Organisation/PA)
“It’s so wonderful and beautiful to be recognised.
“Long may it (Mobo) reign.”
The free immersive installation was launched on Thursday and will remain until November 18.