MOBO ANNOUNCES THE WINNERS OF

THE MOBO UnSung COMPETITION 2012

YASMIN JOINS THE TOUR IN BIRMINGHAM, BRISTOL AND LONDON TOUR LINE UP NOW CONFIRMED AS YASMIN, BENNY BANKS, SMILER, YOUNGMAN, P MONEY, LADY LESHURR, CLEMENT MARFO AND THE FRONTLINE, JOSH OSHO AND CLEO SOL

Having received hundreds of entries from young, aspiring artists all over the country MOBO can now announce the regional winners of the UnSung Competition for 2012.

The high quality of entries made it a hugely difficult task for the expert panel to choose a winner for each region but the decision has now been made and can be announced.

Each of these winners will now go on to perform on stage as part of the Tour in their region with the hottest line up of new talent around.

Chart topper and MOBO ‘Best Newcomer Award’ nominee (2011) Yasmin has also now confirmed she will join the scorching hot line up in Birmingham, Bristol and London. The final name to be announced for the Tour she’ll bring her experience to the stage and show the newcomers how it’s done.

Once the Tour has come to an end each of the 8 performers will then be judged again after which an overall national MOBO UnSung winner will be chosen. They will be guaranteed a performance at the prestigious MOBO Awards Nominations Launch later this year and be the subject of interest from labels and the industry at large.

Checkout www.mobo.com for all the news and winning entries.

So without further delay the winners of this year’s MOBO UnSung are:

Birmingham: Jacob Banks

Jacob Banks is a 20-year-old soul singer who is driven by his passion for music. His main influences are the great soul legends of the past.

Manchester: Frequently Asked Questions

Adam Bell aka DJ Mentat is the nucleus of Frequently Asked Questions, a group that started out in his basement. As a band FAQ are true musicians, rather than integrate they look to interrogate and strive to innovate - mixing sounds from the past, present and future.

Liverpool: Esco Williams

Esco is a member of choir of the year, Sense of Sound, a youth facilitator and a singer/ songwriter. He has opened for the RZA, Dead Prez and the Sugababes and been playlisted on 1Xtra, FLAVA TV and AKA and recently placed top 20 in MTV's Brand New for 2012.

Glasgow: Kobi Onyame

Kobi is Ghanain, UK based hip-hop producer/ artist. His musical inspiration includes the likes of Kanye West, Jay Z and Talib Kweli and he describes his style and influences as eclectic.

Newcastle: Chris 4Sit

Chris is a rapper, singer and producer for North East Newcastle who's been making music for around 5 years. He studied music production at Newcastle College and is currently doing a degree in Community Music at Newcastle/ Gateshead. Music is his passion, his hobbie and life.

Bristol: Empror

Artist, producer and singer/ songwriter – Empror was the winner of Teenage Rampage 2010 heats and New Generation Takeover 2011. He has already supported Movado and Gyptian and performed on the 1Xtra Live Tour in Bristol alongside Delilah, Benga, Miss Dynamite and Chase & Status.

London: Xploder

Hailing from the East London Grime scene, aspiring artist Xploder cites artists including Dizzee Rascal, Coldplay, Jay Z, Ludicris and UB40 as his influences. Having been on the circuit for the last 4 years he has already seen support from BBC 1Xtra, Radio 1 Kiss and Choice for his previous two releases and is the ambassador for the 'I Am Awards' which aim to offer unsigned artists a self-releasing platform to share their music.

Norwich: Rafroman

Rafroman has been writing and creating his own music for some time and already has a keen following in his hometown and online. His first track had over 80,000 views online and reached #2 in the FLAVA TV Charts. He has supported the likes of Tinie Tempah, Chipmunk, N-Dubz, DJ Ironik, Donaeo and Giggs and his second single release was featured on a worldwide compilation album release.

The MOBO Tour 2012 is set to travel to eight cities across the UK, offering audiences the opportunity to see some of 2012’s freshest emerging talent on stage including Benny Banks, Smiler, Youngman, P Money, Lady Leshurr, Clement Marfo and the Frontline, Josh Osho and Cleo Sol.

Here are the line-ups for each of the 8 cities:

Birmingham - Wednesday 22nd of February

Youngman, Yasmin, Clement Marfo & The Frontline, Josh Osho, Lady Leshurr, Smiler, Cleo Sol, StayFresh (Regional Act), Jacob Banks (MOBO UnSung Act)

Manchester - Thursday 23rd February

Clement Marfo & The Frontline, Josh Osho, Lady Leshurr, Smiler, Benny Banks, Cleo Sol, Frequently Asked Questions (MOBO UnSung Act)

Liverpool - Friday 24th February

Clement Marfo & The Frontline, Josh Osho, Lady Leshurr, Smiler, Benny Banks, Cleo Sol, Esco Williams (MOBO UnSung Act)

Glasgow - Saturday 25th February

Clement Marfo & The Frontline, Josh Osho, Lady Leshurr, Smiler, Benny Banks, Cleo Sol, Kobi Onyame (MOBO UnSung Act)

Newcastle - Monday 27th February

Youngman, Clement Marfo & The Frontline, Josh Osho, Lady Leshurr, Smiler, Benny Banks, Cleo Sol, Game Face Family (Regional Act), Chris 4Sit (MOBO UnSung Act)

Bristol - Tuesday 28th February

P Money, Yasmin, Clement Marfo & The Frontline, Josh Osho, Lady Leshurr, Smiler, Benny Banks, Cleo Sol, Asteroid Boys (Regional Act), Empror (MOBO UnSung)

London - Wednesday 29th February

Youngman, P Money, Yasmin, Clement Marfo & The Frontline, Josh Osho, Lady Leshurr, Smiler, Cleo Sol, Xploder (MOBO UnSung Act)

Norwich - Thursday 1st  March

Youngman, P Money, Clement Marfo & The Frontline, Josh Osho, Lady Leshurr, Smiler, Cleo Sol, Rafroman (MOBO UnSung Act)

There will also be industry workshops and seminars (via Industry Takeover @ MOBO Academy) thanks to funding from Arts Council England and PRS for Music Foundation all of this will be provided for FREE.

The MOBO Tour, seminars, workshops and UnSung competition highlight the partners’ efforts to support, guide and nurture new and developing talent across the UK.

CATCH THE TOUR, SEMINARS, AND WORKSHOPS ON THE FOLLOWING DATES:

GIG                      VENUE                               INDUSTRY TAKEOVER                              CITY

Feb 22              Library HMV Institute                         MAC                                       Birmingham

Feb 24              Academy 2 Venue                        The Black-E                                 Liverpool

Feb 25                 The Garage                          The Mitchell Library                           Glasgow

Feb 27                  Academy 2                               The Sage                                       Newcastle

Feb 28                  Academy 2                               Watershed                                         Bristol

Feb 29                  Academy 2                           Red Bull Studios                               London

All concerts starts at 7pm apart from Birmingham (6.30pm) and Manchester (7.30pm) and all children under 14 must be accompanied by an adult. You must present the confirmation letter at the venue to get in.

TO APPLY FOR YOUR FREE TICKET FOR THE MOBO TOUR OR INDUSTRY TAKEOVER VISIT: www.mobo.com/mobotour 

 FOR PRESS ENQUIRIES PLEASE CONTACT:

Chloe Melick at INSIDE/ OUT at chloe@insideslashout.com / 07770 366 243