About DeLon

From the student body of an inner city high school in Los Angeles to former child soldiers in Sri Lanka experiencing their first taste of peace after a long civil war, hip hop is a powerfully resonant music. This strength is at the core of The Movement, the upcoming album by hip hop phenom DeLon. "In the worst places in the world you can find the greatest things," says the seasoned artist, producer and global citizen. "Hip hop was born out of that."

DeLon’s unique cultural background plays directly into his music--he was born and raised in Los Angeles, but brought up by Sri Lankan parents in a Buddhist home. Growing up amidst classmates unsure of his race, DeLon was inevitably drawn towards the music that expressed the suppression he felt: hip hop. This draw only grew as he naturally began his career DJing at the age of 12 and moved onto production and songwriting during high school and college years at USC. His unique style reflects years he spent studying and working in Mexico, Spain and Guyana amalgamating their culture into his. "Since then I've composed cumbia, learned to salsa dance, mashed up soca with hip hop and trance. Good music is good music."

In 2006 DeLon returned to the US to make music full time. His 2006 self-released debut album The Connection was followed by Unstoppable in 2007--both featuring Billboard-charting singles. His lyrics grew to encompass traditional battle rapping, good-time rhymes, and a growing awareness of his place in a world rife with ethnic struggles and racial differences.

A turn from being solely an emcee, Delon‘s singing vocals come to the forefront on The Movement's romantic stand-out, “The Doo Wop,” DeLon combining the sweetly sung plea "Will you be mine?" with a more seductive rap. Meanwhile The Movement's natural smash “Put Your Hands Up” is a celebration of the old school chants that gave hip hop its party-rocking rep to begin with. The civil war in Sri Lanka is now over, but the spirit of endurance informs The Movement's potent single “Starts With Me.” "It's funny what a soul can learn to endure," DeLon raps over the song's brazen melody, strong enough to be a rallying point for suppressed people everywhere.

DeLon has most recently taken his skills to Los Angeles' most important setting, the L.A. Public Schools System. In 2008, through his self-started Unity Through Education project, DeLon lectured and performed at over sixty public schools. As a fluent Spanish speaker, DeLon was able to address L.A.'s student population on multiple levels. "I realized it's not about your race," he muses. "It's about how you connect with people."

"I've made gritty hip hop," he says, "and I've made radio hits. The Movement puts those approaches together for a new time." "We've seen how hip hop has evolved," DeLon says, noting the global rise of stars like Akon and Jay Sean. "We're now in an era of global hip hop artists, which is perfect for me. I'm just being myself."