Feature Articles

Santi White AKA Santogold grew up in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and went to college at Wesleyan University, where she double-majored in Music and African-American studies. The Santogold moniker came from a friend's nickname for her in the 1980s. Her experience in the music industry was anchored via a stint at Epic...   [more]

Phoenix, Arizona's finest, Mav, has always had a love for both music and his city. Coming with a one-of-a-kind sound, he makes music that speaks his mind and represents his life experiences. Creating a major buzz with his group Sol Camp, a collective of Latin MCs, throughout his home state, Mav...   [more]

DJ Rush, 'The Australian Sensation', recently took some time out of his busy schedule to chat with Planet Urban. Read about the incredible journey of a young DJ who went from Canberra, Australia to the entertainment mecca of Los Angeles, California. An inspirational and entertaining read.      [more]

Diam's is a testament to Hip Hop's boundless cultural diversity and ability to transcend dialects. A rapper of both French and Greek Cypriot backgrounds, Mélanie Georgiades was born in Cyprus on July 25 1980, with her family moving to the small French town of Essones in 1984. The 1990s saw...   [more]

Belgium is not only a good place for chocolate. Although many ladies would find newcomer Kaye Styles to be quite a delectible offering. Kaye Styles, born in Ghana on the 8th of November 1981 as Kwasi Gyasi, immigrated with his parents from West Africa to Belgium at the age...   [more]

Believe it or not, Ray J has been in the entertainment industry for quite a while. He signed with Elektra in 1995, recording Everything You Want the following year with a bunch of superstar songwriters and producers behind him. In ‘97, he performed in a television special with his...   [more]

Planet Urban recently spoke to the crew behind The Rhythm Project. Find out about their most recent project - the Make a Change benefit. Would you like to elaborate on who The Rhythm Project...   [more]

Grammy Award winning superstar Eve will be touching down in Australia for the first time this April/May, with the Here I Am Tour. The rapper, actress and mogul will be performing in Adelaide, Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne. During her whirlwind down under experience Eve will also be gracing...   [more]

This coming Sunday (April 13) the Fairfield Showgrounds in Sydney will play host to one of the largest urban music events Australia has ever seen, with the Bring It On! Youth Festival. Established in 2001 by the Fairfield City Council, as part of the celebrations for Australia’s National Youth...   [more]

… Indeed, as this past week served as the first time that LL Cool J has ever graced Australian shores in his illustrious 24-year career. While he made sure to apologise for taking so long to make it down under, he certainly made up for...   [more]

Dice Gamble recently caught up with Nick Power (a.k.a. B-Boy Rely), one of the key people behind the upcoming Platform 1 Hip Hop Festival in Sydney. In this exclusive interview, the well respected Hip Hop choreographer, performer, teacher and activist discusses the current state of Hip Hop...   [more]

Recently I had the privilege of attending Good Vibrations, one of Australia’s largest touring music festivals, at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl in Melbourne. Being that it was my...   [more]

To start off, tell us a bit about yourself and your music. Who inspired you to start recording?My name is Nicolay and I am a producer/musician originally from The Netherlands, Europe and currently living and working in North Carolina. I play keyboards/synthesizers, guitars, bass and drums. Most...   [more]

Cypress Hill are noted for being the first Latino hip-hop superstars, but more notorious known for their endorsement of marijuana. And don’t we love them for it.   Not only did the group campaign for its legalisation, but their slow, rolling bass-and-drum loops pioneered...   [more]

I simply can’t take it when supposed Soul/R&B ‘fans’ tell me that they have never heard of Van Hunt. What did you just say!!?? Well I will only tell you this once! Van Hunt is one of the most underrated and undervalued artists of this decade. He...   [more]

The American Dream. Despite its all encompassing definition, over the years it has meant many different things to many different people. Aspiring business people all over the United States have pursued it as if it were a warm embrace from a loved one.   [more]

A mainstay on the French Hip Hop scene, DJ Modesty first became enamoured with Hip Hop culture in the early 1990s, growing up on Hip Hop's mid 90s Golden Era. DJing at local functions and parties he was a jack of all trades and enjoyed Hip Hop music in general. He...   [more]

An integral part of the Hip Hop scene in Poland, DJ Jam Session has been working his way up for over a decade. Jam Session has seen Poland’s Hip Hop scene from its formative years to its current state.   [more]

With the advancement and adopting of lifestyles and psyche, you would think that we have come a long way but alas that is not the case. Not for feminism anyway. For even today as existed centuries before, women remain the vital underdog whose sole purpose is to make him...   [more]

I wouldn’t be surprised if I asked you about Andrew Roachford and you’d forgotten about him and his many successes. In fact, if I told you he was Sony/Columbia UK’s top selling artist over the last 10 years, you would probably look a little perplexed or shocked, yet this was...   [more]