Just Elemental Music

The MOBOs: 20/08/06

Words by: Too Critical Cynics (The Hobbit & Great Scott)

Kanya King and her Music of Black Origin awards have returned once again. As in the past, the MOBOs attempted to walk the diamond encrusted tightrope between bringing lesser-known hopefuls to commercial attention and decorating the award ceremony with various international megastars. The latter was obviously in the forefront of the organizers mind when they decided to let a seemingly inebriated Coolio join comedy star Gina Yashere in the autocue reading. When the crazy-haired one staggered to the platform, the unmistakable sounds of bejeweled grills hitting the floor and plush folding seats smashing into their upright positions filled the ¾ capacity Royal Albert Hall. A night that was lacking direction and star power more than made up the difference with shock and awe. The stunned faces, regardless of ethnic origin, expressed the same wide-eyed stare following several key announcements, not the least of which included a ban on drinks being brought into the auditorium. It’s astonishing how slowly an un-lubricated pen drizzles unkindly across a page - oh well, at least the One Drop sound of reggae seems to’ve erased all the homophobia paranoia as per the previous years.

The performances were a reasonably balanced recipe of British and American commercial successes; Corinne Bailey Rae and Lemar serving as the two veg to accompany Rihanna and Le Toya’s meat [ahem] de jour. The main bugbear of the ceremony has to be the nominations and their lack of clarity. They were, predictably, as sketchy as a courtroom artists portfolio. How a man [Jay Z] who is allegedly in retirement gets nominated and subsequently wins Best International Male could only be topped by soul artist Anthony Hamilton being nominated for the Best Reggae accolade – only to be beaten by Sean Paul. Could the organizers really not think of any great reggae releases this year? I shouldn’t think Baby Cham or Tony Mattahorn cried themselves to sleep over this obvious lack of awareness. Akala’s surprise victory as Best Hip-Hop was acknowledged with muted applause as well as eye-rolling. Not denying Ms Dynamite’s baby bro’s talent, but in easily the most hotly contested category including Busta Rhymes, Kanye West, Kano and Sway, the decision seemed to be based on locality rather than quality. Fortunately, the evening wasn’t a total loss and highlights have to include soul legend Sam Moore’s performance, the Jazz musicians musical protest outside the venue - due to the MOBOs not recognizing Jazz as being a music of black origin, Rihanna’s shimmying and the punters - complete with raided accoutrement from Kanye, Pharrell, Kool Moe Dee and Liberace with varying degrees of failure.

As ever, it seems that Ms King’s idea of a perfect balance needs to be re-weighed. Wouldn’t a tally of perhaps an unknown American against an unknown Brit sit better on the stomach? At the moment, however, it’s still like an overdose of Andrews – lots of fizz, a few bubbles and pockets of air, followed by watery occurrences and a limp feeling of emptiness. The MOBO Independent Academy of judges seem as though they need a good clear-out.