Sticky post

Premier Gospel Awards 2022: Amazing List – and an Amazing Miss?

The Premier Gospel Awards return after 2 years away with a brilliant 2022 nominee list, celebrating the absolute cream of the UK Gospel music crop (I don’t envy the voting panel – the nominees are strong across all the categories!). Overlooked However: it’s only right to point out that the Street Music category, a segment of the scene that remained vital and vibrant through the … Continue reading Premier Gospel Awards 2022: Amazing List – and an Amazing Miss?

#UKGospelLegacy – Celebrating The MOBOs

I’m dedicating this week’s #ThrowbackThursday #UKGospelLegacy to the MOBO Awards Because – in my book at least – they’re extremely *essential* to the legacy of Black music in the UK First: #Throwback to the 2017 MOBOAwards #UKGospel category announcement: 👍 Lurine Cato 👍 Triple O 👍 S.O. (he’d moved to the US just the year before) 👍 Mali Music 👌 VM and NewYe (Winners) New … Continue reading #UKGospelLegacy – Celebrating The MOBOs

Volney Morgan and New Ye Win 2017 MOBO Gospel

The UK’s biggest Black Music awards avoids backlash, keeps the Gospel award in the UK After a few years of generally being on the right side of the scene (2016’s nominees were a particular highlight), the MOBO Awards’ 2017 Gospel category waded back into controversial waters this year by not only returning what some suggested were ‘the same old names‘, but also including – gasp … Continue reading Volney Morgan and New Ye Win 2017 MOBO Gospel

MOBO Announces 2017 Gospel Category Nominations

MOBO Awards announces the 2017 Gospel category Earlier today the MOBO Awards Gospel artist nominees were shared with the world via a Premier Gospel radio exclusive broadcast. Nominations Volney Morgan & New Ye: Facebook | Twitter Lurine Cato: Facebook | Twitter S.O.: Facebook | Twitter Mali Music: Facebook | Twitter Triple O: Facebook | Twitter Explore More MOBO Gospel 2016 – The year MOBO ‘Got it … Continue reading MOBO Announces 2017 Gospel Category Nominations

#MOBOGospel – Time To Move On..?

I decided to not say much on the MOBOs for 2015.  That was deliberate. To be honest, the UKGospel.com team’s excellent 2014 #MOBOGospel specials had pretty much said much of what was needed, articulating a whole range of issues around the complexities of the UK Gospel scene’s relationship with the country’s biggest Black Music awards platform. In my view a new opinion piece would have … Continue reading #MOBOGospel – Time To Move On..?

Triple O collects the 2011 Gospel Award from MOBO from founder Kanya King

Triple O – A MOBO Changed My Life..?

image

MOBO 2014 – The UKGospel.com Specials

So, it’s that time of the year again. The MOBOs roll back into town for 2014, returning to the Big Smoke for the first time in years, with the event taking place on October 22nd.

And you can bet your house (or rented accommodation) that the ‘whos’, ‘hows’, and ‘whys’ in response to the announced nominations will – pretty much inevitably – not be that far behind.

What is it about the UK’s biggest Black music awards that completely polarises opinion across the board..?

In the third instalment of our special #MOBOGospel series Henry Yanney catches up with 2011 MOBO Gospel Winner Tobi Oyefeso, (better known as ‘Triple O’) for the story on his MOBO win.

Continue reading “Triple O – A MOBO Changed My Life..?”

What’s The Point Of The MOBOs..?

image

MOBO 2014 – The UKGospel.com Specials

So, it’s that time of the year again.  The MOBOs roll back into town for 2014,  returning to the Big Smoke for the first time in years, with the event taking place on October 22nd.

And you can bet your house (or rented accommodation) that the ‘whos’, ‘hows’, and ‘whys’ in response to the announced nominations will – pretty much inevitably – not be that far behind.

What is it about the UK’s biggest Black music awards that completely polarises opinion across the board..?

Continue reading “What’s The Point Of The MOBOs..?”

Miss Kerr, the MOBOs and Migrating from UK Gospel…

I’m happy to admit I found 2012’s MOBO Gospel category difficult to call.

The one thing MOBO Awards is pretty much guaranteed to do with Gospel every year is generate consternation and anger (even outrage) among those who feel they have their finger sitting much more firmly on the industry’s pulse than the folks at MOBO HQ.

Get it Wrong

And – almost inevitably – it would seem MOBO ‘get it wrong’ every year.

Still, as an observer myself I’m always interested to see how people with no direct connection to our industry understand and interpret it. There’s much benefit in seeing things from an outsiders’ perspective.

Continue reading “Miss Kerr, the MOBOs and Migrating from UK Gospel…”

MOBO Gospel 2012 – Last Chance: Listen to the music – Then Vote!

Voted for your favourite UK Gospel act for MOBO 2012 yet..? No?  Well, maybe you need a reminder. Here’s a summary of the nominees, in alphabetical order. You have less than 24 hours: El Mafrex – Jehovah – Join on Facebook Nicola – Breakthrough ft Guvna B – Join on Facebook Rachel Kerr – Kingdom Soldier 2011 Remix ft Commission, Lola Godheld, Jay Ess, Faith … Continue reading MOBO Gospel 2012 – Last Chance: Listen to the music – Then Vote!

And – finally – I’d Like to Thank God…

Sometime in September Miss Tobi sent me the tweet congratulating me on the nomination.

It was the first I heard of it.  As it turned out, I’d been nominated in the ‘Best Radio Personality’ category for the 2012 Black Entertainment Film Fashion Television and Arts Awards (BEFFTAs).

I was shocked.  As in ‘stunned, but very pleasantly surprised’.  Pretty much the very same reaction I had when my first-ever nomination came in for the same category in last year’s BEFFTAs.

I didn’t win of course, but – cliché time – it felt fantastic just to be nominated.

To put this into some sort of context, I’d only been doing radio for about two years when that first nomination came in…

Special

What makes this whole thing special for me is the fact that I’m nominated in an ‘open’ category, not a ‘Gospel’ one…

And yes, while that might (possibly) sound like a contradiction in evangelical terms to some people (do refrain from hurling your stones of righteous indignation, and leave them in their pouches a minute longer), from my point of view it means I’m being assessed via the same yardstick as people in mainstream radio – from places like the BBC and Choice FM, to mention just two.

Continue reading “And – finally – I’d Like to Thank God…”