Kanya King on Black music, the Mobos and her cancer diagnosis

Kanya King founded the Mobo awards in 2006 to address what she saw as a “glaring gap in the market” and to shine a light on Black music.

King believed so strongly in Mobo she remortgaged her house to launch it. And since then the ceremony has been instrumental in promoting the careers of artists both at home and abroad.

King was awarded a CBE for services to music and culture.

But last September, the 55-year-old was told she had six months to live after being diagnosed with stage four bowel cancer.

We sat down with her and asked how she felt when she received that news.

Kanya King: It’s really hard to process because when the radiologist told me ‘Look, it’s most likely cancer’, everything else he says, you’re not really hearing. It’s just all these thoughts go through your mind. We all know someone who has cancer, but when it happens to you, it’s just like obviously a totally different ball game and it’s a club nobody wants to join. I went through every motion, physically, emotionally, mentally. I was kind of struggling to process it, but I thought, why not me?

Cathy Newman: It’s amazing you’re able to describe it that way. Because you have been told that your life is limited. So your approach to that is to fill every minute? Or to sort of have some calm in your life as well?

Kanya King: Throughout my life, I’ve been told that my life choices are limited. So to me, this was nothing new. I’m not going to let anyone else define my destiny and what I decide to do and who I go on to become and what impact I choose to make.

“I’ve seen progress being made, but at the same time there’s lots more to be done.”
– Kanya King

Cathy Newman: You’ve got the Mobos next week and you’ve built this incredible global platform celebrating music of Black origin. Have you seen the creative industries make big strides, really, in terms of diversity? Or is there still more to be done?

Kanya King: There has definitely been strides and progress. I remember when it was very challenging for me to even mention the word diversity, racism, discrimination. And after 2020, the world woke up to the kind of inequality out there. And lots of people talked about their truths. And I’ve seen progress being made, but at the same time there’s lots more to be done.

Cathy Newman: Donald Trump got elected, a lot of businesses seem to be throwing back on their diversity initiatives. Was that only ever lip service that they were paying?

Kanya King: Some companies, that definitely was lip service. I feel blessed to be part of organisations where actually they’re dialling up.

Cathy Newman: When you think of someone like Beyonce, a multiple Mobo winner. What role do you see the Mobos as having in the future in that era of incredibly successful Black artists?

Kanya King: There are successful Black artists who are trailblazers and game changers and we’ve been very fortunate to have played a part in their early journeys and by providing a platform, a stage for them. But there are so many others out there who, without the support of mentorship, business support, funding, will never see the light of day.

Cathy Newman: You just look back on your life. Your dad died when you were 13, you were a single mum at 16, you left school and then you’ve had this incredible success with the Mobos. Just reflect back a bit on your inspirational story.

“I get the positivity from being inspired by my parents.”
– Kanya King

Kanya King: I was the youngest girl of nine children, my wonderful mother came to this country when she was about 18 from Ireland – Galway – my father came from Ghana, and it was a very challenging time. We were brought up in a council house and we were always kind of worried about money because I remember my mother used to lean on me and others, members of the family, to contribute to the household finances because we were worried about being cut off with bills and things like that. And we were moving from bedsit to bedsit to bedsit. It was a challenging time. But at the same time I feel very blessed. I had great role models, a phenomenal father who was very eloquent, very dynamic, very articulate, and in a way that was against what I was seeing in the world. Africans were being depicted as kind of savages, and here I had this incredible role model of the father. Yet I was feeling embarrassed about my African roots because it wasn’t cool to be African in those times. There were no books of achievements and celebrations of young girls that looked like me.

Cathy Newman: And it feels very cruel that cancer is snatching you away really in your prime.

Kanya King: I feel that it’s opened up a new platform for me. I feel I can do so much more. I think I’ve been given this gift in a strange way. I’m able to talk about the inequalities in health.

Cathy Newman: We’ve talked about the darkest moments, really, of your life, and you’ve done so with incredible good humour and positivity. Where do you get that from, that positivity?

Kanya King: I get the positivity from being inspired by my parents. I was very fortunate to have great role models. My mother brought up nine children. She was a phenomenal person. She was very community focussed. She worked as a nurse, a home helper, a cleaner. She took multiple jobs to keep a roof over our head and bailiffs away from our door. At the young age of 70, when we’d all grown up and flown the nest, she was able to start her own business. So I’ve always been incredibly proud of that strong Irish woman with so much grit, determination, passion and drive. That’s what I get my inspiration and motivation from.