MOBO Awards add Best Electronic / Dance Music Act category to upcoming ceremony

The MOBO Awards, a ceremony celebrating excellence in British music of Black origin, has introduced a best Electronic / Dance Music category to this year’s proceedings. Sponsored by Mixmag, nominees for the new award are FKA Twigs, Eliza Rose, ANZ, Sherelle, Nia Archives, and Jax Jones. 

The MOBO Awards have faced criticism for their erasure of dance and electronic music in the past. One of this year’s nominees, Nia Archives had published an open letter to the awards, in which she expressed how their “lack of support has been massively regressive for the Black community and for representation of these genres and the artists operating within them.” 

Dance and electronic categories had once been awarded at the ceremony in the 90’s, with awards for Best Dance Act, Best Garage Act, and Best Jungle Act being given out. However, no electronic music awards have been handed out at the MOBOs since the 2000’s. 

The reinstating of an electronic music category at the MOBOs is thanks to the tireless work of the Black Electronic Music Association (BEMA), who also curated the voting panel for the new category. The 25th anniversary of the MOBO Awards will take place at London’s Wembley Arena. The show will be livestreamed on YouTube, while highlights will be broadcast on BBC One. 

See BEMA’s post announcing the category and its nominees below.