2008 was not only the start of a new year, but also the start of a bright future for UK urban music. The previous year saw urban music gain an international audience, as people around Europe, and the rest of the world, began to hear of UK artists. It’s been a long time in coming, but it seems to have been well worth the wait, and now it’s our time to shine.

It all started back in 2000, with a female double act called “Floetry”. This group, having ghost written tracks for the likes of Dru Hill, left the UK for America to further their careers. Within two years of entering the States, Floetry had attracted the attention of world renowned stars such as DJ Jazzy Jeff, got signed to an American record label and then went on to release their debut album “Floetic”. Since then the group has gone from strength to strength having collaborated with industry heavyweights such as Common, Busta Rhymes and more recently, The Game.

For a long time, it seemed that nobody else would be able to break the American market after bands such as Misteeq tried and failed to make a big impact in the States. Then, towards the end of 2005, a little known female Grime MC had a chance meeting with the new CEO of Def Jam Records, Jay-Z himself. She went by the name of Lady Sovereign, and after hearing her perform a ‘freestyle’ in front of him, Jay-Z instantly signed her to the label. This was a major breakthrough for UK music, as it was the first time a UK artist had been signed to a major American record label. Lady Sovereign went on to release her debut album “Public Warning” through Def Jam records in 2006, only a year after getting signed. She went on to gain further credit by becoming the first UK artist to reach the Number One spot on the original MTV TRL show in the US.

Lady Sovereign’s success in America created much more of an interest in the Grime scene that was gradually getting bigger and bigger in the UK. American artists as well as international fans started following the progress of these new artists, and the launch of websites such as Myspace, enabled the world to monitor the UK’s urban music scene. This resulted in the next major milestone for our urban music industry, when an American rap superstar called Twista, collaborated with the UK’s own artist Lethal Bizzle on a track produced by the Kray Twinz. This turned out to be a great success and was in heavy rotation throughout the summer of 2005.

As the interest grew in UK music, so did the demand to work with these new artists. Estelle, a singer from West London was to be next to appear on the radar of an American artist. R&B superstar John Legend was such a fan of Estelle, that as soon as the opportunity arose, he signed her to his record label ‘Homeschool Records’. Estelle has since gone on to collaborate with Kanye West on her new single “American Boy”.

The future looks good for our urban stars and this global recognition is highly beneficial. Before stars used to want to go to America to get internationally known, but now America comes here to find the stars. One example would be Akon, who has recently opened a base for his Konvict Music label here in the UK in the hope to increasing his roster of international music stars. It speaks volumes for UK music with him setting up camp here in London. And it appears you don’t even have to be signed to get recognised by the media in the States. Tinie Tempah, another grime/hip-hop artist from the UK, recently had an article written about him in the New York Times. This is an artist who has yet to be signed and is still working on his debut album, yet he received recognition in a major New York newspaper. This year has started strongly with Leona Lewis becoming the first UK artist to have a number One record in America, and at this rate, she won’t be the last to achieve this feat.