MOBO Awards founder Kanya King appeared on stage on Tuesday night to give an emotional speech to the audience
MOBO Awards founder Kanya King CBE had the audience in tears as she gave an emotional speech about ‘gratitude’ amid her cancer battle.
MP Dawn Butler introduced her to the stage on Tuesday night, with Kanya thanking the audience before she said: “I feel something profound, gratitude. As Dawn [Butler] mentioned, there was a time I didn’t think I’d make it to the stage but I never allowed someone to define my limits. Not in life, not in business.”
She added: “And I’m certainly not going to have that happen now. For nearly three decades, I put everything on the line to build this platform. MOBO was never just about music. It was about justice, it was about recognition. It was about changing an industry that once refused to see us.
“We have broken down barriers, we have changed the game. MOBO is here because we never accepted no as a final answer. My story isn’t over, this is a new chapter. A chapter where my voice, my platform and my fight about something just as vital as music are health. Let me be real with you: if I ignored the signs and symptoms I wouldn’t be here right now and in my cancer journey, I want to educate others. That’s why MOBO is taking a stand. I’m proud that Prostate Cancer UK is the official charity partner of the official 2025 MOBO Awards.”
An attendee at the awards show told The Mirror: “The audience was visibly emotional as Kanya gave an empowering speech. The atmosphere changed as she spoke about her cancer battle. Dawn might have had the crowd oggying but among the celebration there was a sombre feeling as the reality kicked in that she nearly wasn’t here.”
It comes after, in December, she told her followers that her cancer diagnosis had ‘given her a renewed sense of purpose’ and said her ‘faith remains her anchor’. Kanya wrote to her followers: “Learning I have stage 4 bowel cancer was something I never saw coming. It’s a club I never wanted to join, and yet here I am, still processing this unexpected reality.
“This diagnosis has tested me in ways I never imagined, but it has also given me a renewed sense of purpose. Life isn’t just about how long you live; it’s about how deeply you live. I want to use my platform to shine a light on the importance of health equity and to empower others facing chronic illnesses to keep pushing forward. My faith remains my anchor, and I believe this chapter will be one of growth, resilience, and service.”
In the video, she said she ‘joined a club nobody wants to join’. The activist said she was ‘still processing it’ and added it had been ‘testing her’. She said she had overcome many things in her life, and that the diagnosis will be ‘another thing’ she overcomes. Kanya also urged people to get checked and ‘be proactive in your own health’.
Kanya founded the MOBOs in the 90s, with the businesswoman remortgaging her flat to fund the very first one. She booked all talent in a six-week period and persuaded Carlton TV to broadcast it on November 21, 1996.
For more information or support about bowel cancer, you can contact Macmillan Cancer Support or you can call 020 7940 1760 for advice.
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