Little Simz awarded Best Female Act

Grime legend Ghetts wins first-ever MOBO for Best Male Act

Dave wins coveted Album of The Year for “We’re All Alone In This Together”

Rising star Central Cee wins Best Newcomer and inaugural award for Best Drill Act

Wizkid wins two awards Best International Act and Best African Music Act

Celebrated boxer Frank Bruno MBE honoured with MOBO Inspiration Award

MOBO Awards 2021: Access All Areas – presented by 1Xtra’s DJ Target –
airs on BBC One on 8 December, 10.35PM

Download press images here: http://bit.ly/MOBOpr

SUN 5 DEC 2021, 10.00PM GMT: Tonight, the MOBO Awards made its live show return and cemented its status as the UK’s biggest celebration of Black music and culture. Artists who are shaping the cultural zeitgeist and re-defining the future of the British music landscape were honoured in a star-studded ceremony that was streamed on YouTube live from Coventry, the UK’s City of Culture.

The ceremony, at Coventry Building Society Arena, was hosted by multi-platinum-selling artist and actress Leigh-Anne Pinnock and comedian and broadcaster Munya Chawawa, with special guest host Eddie Kadi, who presents BBC Radio 1Xtra’s Official UK Afrobeats Chart Show. The show featured blockbuster performances from a diverse range of talent: Ghetts, Pa Salieu, Stefflon Don and Ms Banks, Bree Runway, Potter Payper, Tems, NSG and ENNY. Legendary world heavyweight champion boxer Frank Bruno MBE was honoured with the MOBO Inspiration Award, in recognition of his indelible impact on British sport, having battled racism and mental health stigma in and outside the ring during his storied rise to the top.

Don’t miss MOBO Awards 2021: Access All Areas, a special show airing on 8 December at 10.35pm GMT on BBC One which will include exclusive backstage content and never-before-seen performances and interviews from the award ceremony presented by 1Xtra’s DJ Target. BBC Radio 1Xtra will also be covering the awards starting on Monday 6 December with DJ Target who will dedicate his weekday shows (7-9pm) to the MOBO Awards 2021. Bringing to his listeners the hottest performances and exclusive interviews with this year’s nominees and winners.

23-year old South London MC Dave, who took home Best Newcomer at the 2017 MOBO Awards, has come full circle winning the prestigious Album of The Year for his critically-lauded release “We’re All Alone In This Together”, which became his second consecutive No.1 charting album on the UK Official Charts. Dave impressively was also the most nominated artist at this year’s MOBO Awards, accumulating five nominations in total.

After racking up 11 MOBO nominations since 2014, the awe-inspiring Little Simz scooped her first-ever MOBO win tonight for Best Female Act – in association with Arts Council England, rounding off a successful year with her immaculate album “Sometimes I Might Be An Introvert”. Grime forebearer Ghetts also scored his first ever MOBO win, taking home Best Male Act after a momentous year with his contemplative body of work “Conflict of Interest”, which peaked at No.2 on the UK Albums Chart.

London rising star Central Cee took home Best Newcomer – in association with ASOS and became the inaugural winner of MOBO’s Best Drill Act – in association with TRENCH. A fitting landmark for a breakthrough year which saw him shoot to No.2 on the UK Album Charts with his debut mixtape “Wild West” and score a Top 5 charting single with ‘Obsessed with You’. Tion Wayne and Russ Millions won Song of The Year – in association with Coventry Building Society Arena for ‘Body (Remix)’ featuring ArrDee, Bugzy Malone, Buni, Darkoo, E1 (3x3), Fivio Foreign and ZT (3x3).

Nigerian superstar Wizkid bagged Best International Act and Best African Music Act – in association with Afrozons with Sheila O, hot on the heels of his monumental three-night takeover of London’s O2 Arena last week. Elsewhere BAFTA-winning British actor Micheal Ward won Best Performance in a TV Show/Film for his portrayal of Franklyn in Small Axe. Check out the full list of MOBO Awards 2021 winners below.

MOBO AWARDS 2021 WINNERS
* - denotes public voted categories

ALBUM OF THE YEAR

DAVE “WE’RE ALL ALONE IN THIS TOGETHER”

BEST FEMALE ACT – IN ASSOCIATION WITH ARTS COUNCIL ENGLAND

LITTLE SIMZ

BEST MALE ACT

GHETTS

BEST NEWCOMER – IN ASSOCIATION WITH ASOS *

CENTRAL CEE

SONG OF THE YEAR – IN ASSOCIATION WITH COVENTRY BUILDING SOCIETY*

TION WAYNE & RUSS MILLIONS FEAT. ARRDEE, BUGZY MALONE, BUNI, DARKOO, E1 (3X3), FIVIO FOREIGN & ZT (3X3) – ‘BODY (REMIX)’

VIDEO OF THE YEAR

M1LLIONZ – ‘LAGGA’ (DIRECTED BY TEEEEZY C)

BEST GRIME ACT *

SKEPTA

BEST R&B/SOUL ACT

CLEO SOL

BEST HIP HOP ACT *

D. BLOCK EUROPE

BEST DRILL ACT – IN ASSOCIATION WITH TRENCH *

CENTRAL CEE

BEST INTERNATIONAL ACT *

WIZKID

BEST PERFORMANCE IN A TV SHOW/FILM *

MICHEAL WARD AS FRANKLYN IN ‘SMALL AXE’

BEST MEDIA PERSONALITY *

CHUNKZ & YUNG FILLY

BEST GOSPEL ACT – IN ASSOCIATION WITH PREMIER GOSPEL

GUVNA B

BEST AFRICAN MUSIC ACT – IN ASSOCIATION WITH AFROZONS WITH SHEILA O *

WIZKID

BEST REGGAE ACT

SHENSEEA

BEST JAZZ ACT – IN ASSOCIATION WITH BBC RADIO 6 MUSIC

SONS OF KEMET

BEST PRODUCER – IN ASSOCIATION WITH COMPLEX UK

JAE5

MOBO Awards 2021 performances

Bree Runway - ‘HOT HOT’

Pa Salieu - ‘Frontline’ / ‘Gliding’ / ‘My Family’

Ghetts - ‘Mozambique’ / ‘Hop Out’

Tems - ‘Crazy Tings’ / ‘Higher’

NSG - ‘Petite’

Potter Payper - ‘Purpose’ / ‘Gangsteritus’

ENNY - ‘Black Peng Girls’

Stefflon Don & Ms Banks - ‘Dip’

Note to Editors

Winners of categories are decided by the MOBO Awards Judging Panel or Specialists Committee, with the exception of public voted categories: Best Newcomer – in association with ASOS, Song of The Year – in association with Coventry Building Society Arena, Best Grime Act, Best Drill Act – in association with Trench, Best Media Personality, Best Performance in a TV Show/Film, Best African Music Act, Best International Act and Best Hip Hop Act.

About MOBO

Since 1996, the MOBO Organisation has discovered and supported talent in music, film and TV. MOBO operates 365 days a year to create events, content, partnerships and opportunities for young people in the entertainment industries and beyond. For 25 years, the MOBO Awards has remained a significant cultural event in the British music industry, celebrating excellence in Black music. Its enduring legacy as the premiere outlet for recognising and honouring the artistic achievement of exceptional British and international talent in Hip-Hop, Grime, R&B and Soul, Reggae, Jazz, Gospel and African music has been unparalleled. Global superstars who have been part of the Awards include Janet Jackson, Diana Ross, Tina Turner, Sade, Lionel Richie, Beyoncé, Jay Z, Diddy, Lauryn Hill, Amy Winehouse, Usher, Rihanna, Cardi B, Davido and H.E.R. just to name a few. The Awards has proudly been hosted all over the United Kingdom in over the years including shows in London, Liverpool, Leeds, Glasgow, and now for the first time – Coventry, the UK’s City of Culture. Beyond the Awards, MOBO supports undiscovered talent in music via MOBO UnSung and across the wider creative and tech industries via MOBOLISE.

About YouTube Music

YouTube Music is a music app made for music listening, on top of the magic of YouTube: making the world of music easier to explore and more personalised than ever.  Whether you want to listen, watch or discover - all the ways music moves you can be found in one place - not just music videos, but official albums, singles, remixes, live performances, covers and hard-to-find music you can only get on YouTube.

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