The MOBO’s (Music
of Black Origin) have announced that Pharrell Williams will host this year’s awards
in the Royal Albert Hall, London.
The Neptunes producer
will be the fourth American presenter to host the ceremony, which in the UK’s
equivalent of the Grammy Awards for urban music.
Previous guest
hosts have included LL Cool J, Left Eye and Lil’ Kim.
Meanwhile, Kanye
West has been nominated for an astounding seven awards including best producer,
best hip-hop act and best collaboration for “Talk About our Love”
with Brandy.
Other artists nominated
this year are Jay Z, Outkast, Timbaland and Norah Jones.
Strangely, there
appears to be a lack of UK artists being nominated. The only award title with
UK names is the best DJ category.
Gay right activists
will also be prominent in this year’s ceremony. The MOBO’s have been accused
of supporting homophobic lyrics as both Elephant Man and Vybz, who have been
nominated for best reggae act.
Peter Tatchell
from a UK gay rights group, Outrage said, "The Mobos are awarding singers
who incite the murder of gays and lesbians".
However a MOBO’s
spokesperson defended their position by suggesting that the artists are not
referring homosexual connotations.
The ceremony will
take place on Thursday 30th September and will be aired on the BBC. Other guests
have yet to be announced.