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The MOBOs Preview
RnB/Hip Hop | Friday 30th October 2015 | Joe
Say what you like about the MOBOs, the annual awards are now an integral date in the national music calendar. We give you the lowdown on what to expect in Leeds on Wednesday.
Category: Best Album
Nominees: Krept and Konan The Long Way Home, Jme Integrity, Lianne La Havas Blood, Wiley Snakes and Ladders, Jamie XX In Colour.
The Favourite: Krept and Konan - Having won best hip hop act in 2014, the London duo look set to storm this year's ceremony almost as hard as Stormzy. This year has seen Krept and Konan break stacks of records, including the highest ever charting position for a hip hop album by an unsigned UK group. Yeah, ok - Freak of the Week has been played to death - but we challenge you to not bop your head along still.
Who we like: Wiley. The grand old daddy of dutty grime beats is still doing thing, albeit perhaps not quite as effectively as fifteen years ago. We're hankering after another Eskimo, if we're honest, but Wiley's latest set as ever features some huge names and killer hooks. Long live the king!
Category: Best Male
Nominees: Skepta, Jme, Stormzy, Mark Ronson, Krept and Konan
Favourite: Stormzy - It would have taken something pretty special to top the year that Skepta and K&K have just enjoyed, but the WickedSkengMan may just have managed it. True, he has not been as commercially successful as the other two - let alone producing wizard Mark Ronson - but Stormzy has the power of popular opinion behind him. A stream of massive viral hits and shutdown festival performances has propelled Stormz to the top of the business.
Who we like: Stormzy. Yeah alright, it's a bit of a cop-out, but the boy's just so hot right now. If the unthinkable does happen and Big Mike is somehow pipped to this post, we're going to start our own awards ceremony. You heard it here first, The Guestlist Gongs!
Category: Best Female
Nominees: FKA Twigs, Little Simz, Jess Glynne, Ella Eyre, Lianne La Havas
The Favourite: Lianne La Havas - She's up against some stiff competition for best album, but the soulful La Havas should be the one to beat in the female category. Those of us who thought Is your love big enough? had something of a one-hit wonder feel to it have been pleasingly proved incorrect. This girl is going from strength to strength - expecting even bigger things in the coming 12 months.
Who we like: Kate Tempest. Whilst La Havas is a talented artist, and Ella Eyre has shown her flashes, we've mainly looked outside of the nominee shortlist for our female stars to watch. Tempest is making waves in her own field of spoken word-style rap, and a flourishing collaborative relationship with Loyle Carner looks set to serve her well.
Category: Best Grime Act
Nominees: Stormzy, Bugzy Malone, Jme, Lethal Bizzle, Skepta.
Favourite: Stormzy. Of all the MOBOs, this one is probably the most difficult to call. It is a testament to the strength of the genre that, in years passed, all of these acts would have been worthy winners. We've gone for Stormzy once again - apologies - but he seems to be edging ahead as favourite right now.
Who we like: If not Big Mike, we'd love to see Manchester-based Bugzy Malone scoop the prize. His meteoric rise this years has arguably only been bettered by Stormz, and his constant beef with Chipmunk has provided endless entertainment in idle moments. Sorry chip, but you're simply not the grime scene saviour. 0161.
Best of the rest:
An early Christmas wish would be delivered if anything but Dr Dre's Compton album won in the Best International category - the movie soundtrack succeeded only in being just as disappointing as the film in which it features.
Best Newcomer is another hot category, though George the Poet and J Hus both perhaps stand out above the rest. Our one to watch in these circles, however, is AJ Tracey. You can check out some of his best stuff here.
The MOBOs will be held at the First Direct Arena in Leeds on Wed 4th November 2015. More info can be found here.
