Crib sheet.(Forum)

The Mobos crew strutted into town last Thursday for their eighth annual awards bash at London's Royal Albert Hall. From humble beginnings in 1996 when the awards fell in favour of UK talent (Goldie, Courtney Pine, Seal and Gabrielle all picked up significant trophies), the event now nods more obviously to the US. With the invention of "bling bling" over the past two years, the event could be seen to be as much about glamour and diamonds, as it is music.

With so many awards ceremonies featuring in the musical calendar, what is the point of the Mobos?

The original point of the affair was to gain mainstream exposure for a niche market--a market, incidentally, that has grown into the largest in the Western world. Furthermore, the Mobos seek to recognise many types of music from jazz, through to reggae, dance, gospel, hip hop, garage, all of which fall under the umbrella of "black origin". That virtually all popular music stems from black music seems, in this ease, to be a redundant point. Many of the previous winners have gone on to win Brits and Grammys and, naturally, album sales tend to increase. Offshoot marketing tie-ins such as compilation CDs and the Mobo Unsung event have also helped to promote the brand.

Was it the all-blinging affair that you'd expect?

With Diana Ross in the audience, Ashanti sparkling in a designer dress, no less than four costume changes for presenters Blu Cantrell and Lil' Kim and 50 Cent's oversized diamond necklace, it should have been more blingin' than Beyonce's jewellery box. However, the stage seemed to be decorated with the remnants ...