Black Sherif leads Ghanaian nominations at MOBO Awards 2026

Black Sherif has received three nominations at the 2026 Music of Black Origin (MOBO) Awards — Best African Act, Best International Act, and Best Song for “Mahama Payne Remix” — leading Ghana’s most successful showing at the prestigious UK awards ceremony since Azonto conquered British clubs in 2012.nnAmaarae, whose ambient R&B album Solstice earned widespread critical acclaim in Europe and North America, is nominated for Best International Act alongside Black Sherif. Afropop singer Gyakie rounds out Ghana’s nominations with a Best Collaboration nod for her duet with Wizkid on “Still.”nnThe nominations reflect the extraordinary international reach that Ghanaian music has achieved in the past three years. Black Sherif’s fusion of highlife, hip-hop and traditional drumming has resonated particularly strongly with UK audiences, where his tours have sold out venues from Manchester to Bristol.nnMusic journalist Kweku Taylor of Ghanaian magazine Vibe said the nominations were a vindication of the industry’s long-term investment in international distribution. “These artists are not just making music for Ghana. They are making music for the world that happens to be deeply Ghanaian,” he said.nnThe MOBO Awards ceremony will be held in Leeds in October, broadcast live on Channel 4. This year’s host is comedian Kojo Anim, himself a British-Ghanaian who has spoken publicly about the role of Ghanaian music in shaping his own identity.nnThe Ghana Music Rights Organisation has called on the government to invest more in music export infrastructure, noting that streaming royalties for Ghanaian artists are often lost to intermediary platforms operating without proper territorial licences.