MOBO Nominations Open

Nominations are open for the Music of Black Origin (MOBO) Awards, which recognises artistes of any ethnicity or nationality performing black music, and will be presented in Glasgow, Scotland, on November 4.

Of particular interest to local artistes is the Best Reggae Act category.

To be considered for nomination, the artiste must have released a single, album or mixtape between August 29 last year and August 31 this year.

According to MOBO organisers, any music released after this period will be considered for next year’s awards. The nominations will be reviewed by a panel and a shortlist of five nominees submitted to a group of more than 100 industry insiders for final votes.

 The latter group will be asked to vote based on preset criteria. These include: quality of work — song writing credits, press acclaim; commercial performance — charts; album/single sales, radio spins, acclaim — positive reviews from leading publications and fans; performance — live performance skills, festival bookings throughout summer; buzz — has this artiste/album/song been the name on everyone’s lips, hot pick for features; and cultural impact — business acumen (independent success), merchandise, ushering in other artistes, influence.

The shortlist of nominees will be released five or six weeks ahead of the awards show, while the winner will be determined by a public vote, as well as the panel’s vote.

Conceptualised 10 years ago by Kanya King and Andy Ruffell, Jamaican acts have been on the roster of winners from the onset. In 1997 and 1998, deejay Beenie Man walked away with the Best International Reggae Act award. The award for Best Reggae Act was won by Mr Vegas in 1999. Other winners in this category over the years have included Gyptian (2010), Alborosie (2011) and Sean Paul (2012 and 2013).

In 2004, Jamaican deejays Elephant Man and Vybz Kartel had their nominations were scratched due to pressure from gay rights lobbyists.

Source: MOBO nominations open – Entertainment – JamaicaObserver.com