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Mobo Awards: Little Simz and Stormzy dominate nominations

Getty Images Little Simz performs at Parklife Festival 2023. Little Simz is a young black woman with braided hair tied back in a bun behind her head. She wears black Prada sunglasses, a black bomber jacket and black tie with a white shirt. She smiles as she looks to her right off stage. Behind her you can see stage lightingGetty Images
Little Simz shared 2022's album of the year prize and is defending the award this year

Little Simz and Stormzy dominate the nominations for next year's Mobo Awards, with both up for four top prizes.

The Mercury Prize winner and Big Mike will face off in the album of the year and the video of the year categories.

Simz, who shared 2023 album of the year with Knucks, could win it again for most recent release No Thank You.

It'll be up against Stormzy's This Is What I Mean at February's ceremony in Sheffield.

Simz is also up for best female act and best hip-hop act, while Stormzy's up for best male and song of the year for Hide & Seek.

The pair will also face off in the music video of the year category, with Gorilla up against Stormzy's highly praised Mel Made Me Do It.

Although both artists released their nominated albums last year, the eligibility period for the Mobos is 1 September 2022 - 31 August 2023.

Not far behind are Central Cee, J Hus, PinkPantheress and Raye with three nominations each.

Getty Images Stormzy performs at All Points East Festival 2023. Stormzy is a young black man with a shaved head and short beard. He wears an unbuttoned olive green shirt over a white T-shirt. With his left hand he points to the crowd while holding a mic outstretched in his right hand.Getty Images
Stormzy has four nominations for best song, album, music video and male act

Raye and PinkPantheress will go up against Little Simz for best female, and they're also in the running for song of the year with Escapism and Boy's A Liar Pt 2.

Mega-hit Sprinter by Central Cee and Who Told You by J Hus are the final song of the year contenders, and the rappers are also up for best male act.

J Hus' Beautiful and Brutal Yard and Raye's My 21st Century Blues are also nominated for album of the year.

Getty Images PinkPantheress performs at Camp Flog Gnaw Carnival in LA in November 2023. She has long brown hair down her back and a fringe just past her eyebrows. She wears a cropped denim waist coat and holds a microphone in her left hand. She is lit by purple stage lightingGetty Images
PinkPantheress has been nominated for song of the year with Boy's A Liar Pt 2

Away from music, Idris Elba's turn in Apple TV's Hijack has earned him a nomination for best TV or film performance.

He's facing competition from Lashana Lynch for her role as Izogie in The Woman King, John Boyega's performance as Fontaine in They Cloned Tyrone, and Letitia Wright for her role as Shuri in Wakanda Forever.

Alison Hammond, Maya Jama and Amelia Dimoldenberg are nominated for best media personality.

The Mobo (Music of Black Origin) awards were first handed out in 1996 and are dedicated to celebrated black music and culture.

"We are proud to champion this year's incredible line-up of nominees for the 26th Mobo Awards, who have all brought stellar music and content to our attention through their remarkable work in music, film, TV, online and more," said founder Kanya King.

"This year's nominees not only represent the best of their genre and artform and an incredible year of music, but also continue our dedication to sustaining an inclusive ecosystem where diverse talent is both recognised and empowered to thrive."

A full list of nominations is available on the Mobo Awards website.

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