LIVE REVIEW: MOBO AWARDS 2022

Saluting black culture past and present, the MOBO’s celebrated its 25th year on our digital screen’s, located at the OVO Wembley Arena, this year’s show was bigger than ever. It was a big moment to see Youtube sensations Chunkz and Yung Filly host the show, as their careers have gone from strength to strength over the years. The likes of Nia Archives, Flo and Beenie Man graced the stage, with stand out performances.

To kick off the night Tion Wayne was joined by his mother, performing a plethora of his hits like ‘I Dunno’ and ‘IFTK’, in between performances Chunkz and Yung Filly continued to bring their wholesome spirit to the night, as they made jokes with the crowd and seamlessly bounced off their co host Remi Burgz.

Next up on stage was the girl group who have been on everyone’s lips this past year and that is of course FLO, looking as flawless as ever the trio performed their infamous debut single ‘Cardboard Box’, along with ‘Not My Job’. Performer and Poet ‘Kojey Radical’ impressed attendees with his execution and delivery. After a few mellow and melodic performances, Jamaican legend Beenie Man turned up the heat with a surprise medley of Dancehall hits ‘Girls Dem Sugar’, ‘Dude’ and ‘Sim Simma’. As he continues to celebrate more than 20 years in music, timeless R’n’B singer Craig David graced the stage, performing some of beloved singles from ‘Re-wind’ to ‘7 Days’, this was amid Craig receiving the ‘Outstanding Contribution’ award.

Producer and DJ, Eliza Rose kept the vibes going with her stand out DJ set, accompanied by drag dancers, guest appearances from 90’s musician’s Sweet Female attitude and Sonique and of course she had to lay down her vocals for ‘Baddest of them All’. Black Sheriff and Emeli Sande were among some of the surprise performances throughout the night.

Paying homage to some of the biggest names in music, this year was MOBO’s most diverse year to date, the late Jamal Edwards received the ‘Paving the way Award’, the supersonic Inflo (Adele, Cleo Sol, Little Simz) was awarded ‘Producer of the Year’, singer Pinkpanthress won ‘Best Female Act’, Burna was awarded both ‘Best International Act’ and ‘ Best African Music Act’. In a shock joint placement, Little Simz and Knucks won ‘Album of the year’ for their efforts on ‘Alpha Place' and ‘Sometimes I Might Be Introvert’.

Closing off the night was legendary American producer and musician Nile Rodgers who performed a plethora of classic hits. With so much talent soaring out of the UK, the next 12 months is set to be one to remember.