The Urban Music Awards Australia and New Zealand were established in 2006 as a means of celebrating hip hop, soul and R&B acts throughout the two countries. Two awards ceremonies were held, in 2006 and 2007.
The first show aired on Friday 21 July 2006 at Sydney's Homebush State Sports Centre and was presented by Jazzy Jeff and Kurtis Blow. [1] The 2007 awards were held on Tuesday 14 August at Sydney's Milsons Point Luna Park.
Winners were decided by public votes from nominees selected by a panel of music industry figures (with the exception of the "Best DJ" and "Best Club Night" awards, which are purely public voted; and the "Best Producer" and "Urban Hero" awards, which were industry-voted only).
Australian hip hop traces its origins to the early 1980s and was initially largely inspired by hip hop and other urban musical genres from the United States. As the form matured, Australian hip hop has become a commercially viable style of music that is no longer restricted to the creative underground, with artists such as Onefour, Hilltop Hoods, Kerser and Bliss n Eso and having achieved notable fame. Australian Hip-Hop is still primarily released through independent record labels, which are often owned and operated by the artists themselves. Despite its genesis as an offshoot of American hip-hop, Australian hip hop has developed a distinct personality that reflects its evolution as an Australian musical style. Since the inception of the Australian hip-hop scene, Australian Aboriginals have played a prominent role.
Hilltop Hoods is an Australian hip hop group that formed in 1996 in Blackwood, Adelaide, South Australia. They are regarded as pioneers of the "larrikin-like" style of Australian hip hop. The group was founded by Suffa and Pressure, who were joined by DJ Debris after fellow founder, DJ Next, left in 1999. The group released its first extended play, Back Once Again, in 1997 and have subsequently released eight studio albums, two "restrung" albums and three DVDs.
Peter Wadams, better known by his stage name P-Money, is a New Zealand DJ and producer.
Demetrius C. Savelio, better known by his stage name Savage, is a New Zealand hip hop recording artist, record producer and member of hip hop group the Deceptikonz. Savage was the first New Zealand hip hop artist to have a commercial single achieve platinum certification status in the United States. The "International Breakthrough" accolade of the Pacific Music Awards was created in his honour. Savage also has applied his recognisable voice in the electronic dance music space with 5× platinum hit ''Freaks'' with Timmy Trumpet, and 4 times platinum hit ''Swing'' with Joel Fletcher.
Matthew David Lambert, known by his stage name Suffa or MC Suffa, is an Australian rapper and producer. He is best known as one of the members of the hip hop group Hilltop Hoods, and has been a recording artist since the 1999 release of the band's debut album, A Matter of Time. He has also produced tracks for other artists.
The Hard Road is the fourth studio album by Australian hip hop group Hilltop Hoods. Released on 1 April 2006 by Obese Records, it debuted at number one on the Australia ARIA Albums Chart, and was the first album by Australian artists to achieve that position. It contains the top 20 single "Clown Prince". It achieved Gold status on 8 April 2006, a week after release, and has now surpassed Platinum status.
Obese Records was a record label that released music from the Australian hip hop genre. It was the largest Australian independent hip hop label, including performers Pegz, Hilltop Hoods, Thundamentals, Reason, Andy Struksha, and Dialectrix. Obese Records also operated two retail stores in Melbourne, a record distribution company, a soul imprint named Plethora Records, and operated the artists' management and touring company, Obese Records Artist Management.
The Funkoars are an Australian hip hop act from Adelaide, South Australia, Australia. The group is part of the Certified Wise crew of hip hop artists from South Australia, who also collaborated on various recordings. Despite being on hiatus since 2016, Funkoars are still rostered to Golden Era Records.
Dazastah is one of the MCs of the Perth, Western Australia-based hip-hop group Downsyde.
Hyjak N Torcha is an Australian hip hop group from Sydney, New South Wales.
The 20th annual Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards were held on 29 October 2006 at the Acer Arena at the Sydney Olympic Park complex. Presenters on the night included James Mathison, Johnny Knoxville, Jesse McCartney and John Mayer.
The first annual Urban Music Awards were presented by Jazzy Jeff and Kurtis Blow Sydney's Homebush State Sports Centre on Friday 21 July 2007. Big winners of the night included Savage and Jade McRae.
Golden Era Records is a record label that specializes in Australian hip hop music and is based in Stirling, South Australia, Australia. The label was founded in 2008 by South Australian hip hop trio Hilltop Hoods.
A-Love is a female Australian-based MC from Melbourne. Her debut album, Ace of Hearts was nominated 'Best Urban Release' in the ARIA Music Awards of 2008.
State of the Art is the fifth studio album by Australian hip hop trio Hilltop Hoods, released on 12 June 2009, by Golden Era Records.
Joseph Lardner, better known by the stage name Vents and also known as Vents One, Vents 1 and Vents Uno, is an Australian hip hop artist from Adelaide, South Australia. He has released two albums, 2007's Hard to Kill and 2011's Marked for Death. The latter was nominated for an ARIA Music Award.
Leigh Ryan, better known by the stage name Plutonic Lab or sometimes as Pluto is an Australian music producer, engineer, artist & performer.
The ARIA Music Award for Best Urban Album, was an award presented at the annual ARIA Music Awards, which recognises "the many achievements of Aussie artists across all music genres", since 1987. It was handed out by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA), an organisation whose aim is "to advance the interests of the Australian record industry." Best Urban Album was first presented as Best Urban Release in 2004, for an album or single released by a solo artist or group until 2010, where it changed to Best Urban Album.
The Great Expanse is the eighth studio album by Australian hip hop trio Hilltop Hoods, released on 22 February 2019 through Universal Music Australia. The album was produced by members Suffa and DJ Debris, and features gold selling ARIA Award winning single "Clark Griswold" featuring Adrian Eagle, platinum single "Leave Me Lonely", and new single "Exit Sign" featuring Illy and Ecca Vandal.
"Leave Me Lonely" is a song by Australian hip hop group Hilltop Hoods from their eighth studio album The Great Expanse. It was released as the second single from the album on 23 November 2018.