Sound of... is an annual BBC poll of music critics and industry figures to find the most promising new music talent. It was first conducted by the BBC News website in 2003, and is now widely covered by the corporation's online, radio and TV outlets, as well as other media. A 10-strong longlist is published each December, with a ranked shortlist and annual winner announced the following January.
Simbiatu "Simbi" Abisola Abiola Ajikawo, better known by her stage name Little Simz, is an English-Nigerian rapper. She rose to prominence with the independent release of her first three albums: A Curious Tale of Trials + Persons (2015), Stillness in Wonderland (2016) and Grey Area (2019), the last of which was shortlisted for the Mercury Prize and won the awards for Best Album at both the Ivor Novello Awards and the NME Awards.
David Orobosa Michael Omoregie, known professionally as Dave or Santan Dave, is a British rapper and actor. He is known for his socially conscious lyricism and wordplay.
Jorja Alice Smith is an English singer. Born and raised in Walsall, West Midlands, she has been writing songs since the age of 11. In 2012, Smith's friend uploaded her cover of Labrinth's "Earthquake" to YouTube, which led to her discovery by record producer Guy Moot. After her first two singles received broader recognition, she signed with Sony/ATV in early 2016, releasing two EPs throughout later that year and into 2017.
Kwadwo Adu Genfi Amponsah, known professionally as Kojey Radical, is a British musician, creative director and mixed media visual artist. His style has been described as a mix of grime hip hop, alternative rap, and spoken word. Since 2018, he has received six nominations at the MOBO Awards, including Best Newcomer. He also performed at the 2020 and 2022 MOBO ceremonies.
Oakley Neil Caesar-Su, known professionally as Central Cee, is a British rapper from Shepherd's Bush, London. He rose to prominence in 2020 with the release of his singles "Day in the Life" and "Loading". His first mixtape, Wild West (2021), debuted at number two on the UK Albums Chart, while his second, 23 (2022), debuted atop the chart.
Ezra Collective are a British jazz quintet composed of drummer and bandleader Femi Koleoso, bassist TJ Koleoso, keyboardist Joe Armon-Jones, trumpeter Ife Ogunjobi, and tenor saxophonist James Mollison, who met at the jazz youth programme Tomorrow's Warriors and formed their group soon afterwards. The group fuses elements of afrobeat, calypso, reggae, hip-hop, soul and jazz, and frequently collaborates with fellow London-based jazz musicians such as Nubya Garcia and Moses Boyd. They were the recipients of the 2023 Mercury Music Prize. Their 2024 single "God Gave Me Feet for Dancing" was chosen by Barack Obama for his list of 25 favourite songs of the year.
MOBO Awards 2021 ceremony was held at the Coventry Building Society Arena in Coventry on 5 December 2021. The ceremony streamed live on YouTube and the highlights of the ceremony were shown on BBC One three days later.
After a fallow year in 2023, due to the organisers moving the ceremony to coincide with the early-year awards season that features the Grammys and the Brit Awards, the 26th MOBO Awards were held on 7 February 2024 at the Utilita Arena in Sheffield. The 26th annual awards recognised achievements in "Music Of Black Origin" during 1 September 2022 to 31 August 2023. The ceremony was hosted by former Love Island star Indiyah Polack and actor Babatunde Aléshé. It was live-streamed through YouTube, with highlights shown by the BBC two days later.
