Overview
- King died peacefully on Wednesday, 3 June 2026, after a long fight with colon cancer and was surrounded by family and close friends, the MOBO Organisation said.
- The MOBO Organisation confirmed the 2026 ceremony will be dedicated entirely to her memory and said every artist and moment at the 30th‑anniversary event will carry her legacy.
- King launched the MOBO Awards in 1996 after remortgaging her home as a single mother and built the platform that brought garage, grime, Afrobeats and other music of Black origin into the UK mainstream.
- She publicly disclosed a stage‑four bowel/colon cancer diagnosis in December 2024, continued to appear in public and used her profile to urge early detection and persistence with medical advice.
- Artists and public figures have posted tributes and remembered her formal honours, including an MBE, a CBE and an Ivors Academy Honour, while the MOBOs’ role as a platform for Black British artists is expected to shape commemorations and programming this year.