Mobo for Ms Dynamite's brother

A 22-year-old north London rapper followed in the footsteps of his older sister, Ms Dynamite, by bagging a Mobo award.

Thu, 21 Sep, 2006 - 08:45

A 22-year-old north London rapper followed in the footsteps of his older sister, Ms Dynamite, by bagging a Mobo award.

Akala, real-name Kingslee Daley, took the prize for Best Hip Hop at last night’s ceremony.

His win comes just four months after the release of his acclaimed album, It’s Not a Rumour.

Akala, who was joined by Ms Dynamite and his mother at the awards, said: “I didn’t expect this. I know the album did really well but I was the least known in my category.”

He said there was no competition between him and his star sibling, who is two-and-a-half years his senior.

He said of his sister: “There’s no rivalry or competition at all. I’m sure she’s really proud.”

In his album, Akala tackles everything from the Iraq war and gun culture to the congestion charge and his troubled childhood with his rock-infused rap.

He has criticised “dull” hip-hop and rails against today’s rap as being “for plastic players with false values and arid imaginations, who know the price of bling but the value of nothing” on his website.

Akala beat more established names like Busta Rhymes and US star Kanye West to the title at the ceremony at the Royal Albert Hall.

Ms Dynamite won three Mobo (Music of Black Origin) Awards in 2002.

Singer Corinne Bailey Ray, 27, whose song Put Your Records On has been a huge success, was another winner, taking two prizes for Best UK Female and Best UK Newcomer.

The former choirgirl from Leeds, one of the few British acts to have broken into the US market, beat names like Beverley Knight and Jamelia to Best UK Female.

In past years the awards have been criticised for favouring US artists and last night it was US R&B star Beyonce who took the most gongs.

She won a hat-trick for Best International Female, as well as Best Song and Best Video for the track Deja Vu featuring Jay Z.

Other US winners were the Black Eyed Peas for Best Group, beating the likes of Gnarls Barkley, OutKast, the Pussycat Dolls and the Streets, while Best International Male went to Jay Z.

This year, jazz fans protested outside the venue against the removal of the music category from the awards.

A spokesman for the protest said the removal of the jazz category “ignores the place of jazz in the heritage of black music”.

In the reggae category, Sean Paul beat Damian Marley, son of Bob, who was tipped for victory.

The concert was broadcast live on BBC3 for the first time andfeatured performances from last year’s big winner Lemar, who picked up the award for Best UK Male.

There were boos for Beyonce when her second award was read out as the recipient of Best International Female.

This year also saw the introduction of an award for positive work in the community – it went to Anti-Slavery International.

Beyonce was not at the event.

The Winners

:: Best Group

Black Eyed Peas

:: Best UK Female

Corinne Bailey Rae

:: Best UK Male

Lemar

:: Best Song

Beyonce ft Jay Z – Deja Vu