The award, which has been presented since 2015, was conceived by Zbigniew Gocek, the long-time manager of Jan ‘Kyks’ Skrzek, Józef's younger brother. It is currently sponsored by the City of Katowice and presented by the Chapter of the Silesian Association of Artists and Creators SAT.

Jan ‘Kyks’ Skrzek was a blues composer, songwriter, vocalist, instrumentalist and actor. He participated in the recording of the album Memento z banalnym tryptykiem [Memento of a Banal Triptych], as well as Józef Skrzek’s later solo releases. He made his debut as a solo artist in 1986 with the album Górnik Blues [Miner Blues], having previously co-created Elżbieta Mielczarek’s successful debut album Blues Koncert (1983).