Urban contemporary is a music radio format. The term was coined by the late New York DJ Frankie Crocker in the mid 1970s. Urban contemporary radio stations feature a playlist made up entirely of hip hop/rap, R&B, pop, electronica such as dubstep and drum and bass (often with hip hop vocalists or rappers) and Caribbean music such as reggae, reggaeton, zouk, and sometimes Soca (In Toronto, London, New York City, Boston and Miami). Urban contemporary was developed through the characteristics of genres such as R&B and soul. Virtually all Urban contemporary formatted radio stations are located in cities that have sizeable African-American populations, such as New York City, Atlanta, Chicago, Washington DC, Philadelphia, Detroit, Cincinnati, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, Baltimore, Memphis, New Orleans, Charlotte.

The term "urban contemporary" is heavily associated with African-American music, particularly for Contemporary R&B in African-American contexts. For the Latinos, the music is more Latin urban, such as Reggaeton, Latin hip hop, or bachata.

Lykke Li (Swedish pronunciation: [ˈlʏˌkɛ ˈliː]; born Li Lykke Timotej Svensson Zachrisson; 18 March 1986 in Ystad), is a Swedish singer-songwriter. Her music often blends elements of pop, indie rock and electronic; various instruments can also be found in her songs, including violins, synthesizers, tambourines, trumpets, saxophones and cellos. Her debut album, Youth Novels, was released in 2008.

Li Lykke Timotej Zachrisson was born in Ystad, Skåne; her mother is a photographer and her father, a musician, is a member of Dag Vag. The family moved to Stockholm when Zachrisson was a toddler and when she was six moved to a mountaintop in Portugal where they lived for five years. The family also spent time in Lisbon and Morocco, and winters in Nepal and India. She moved to the neighborhood of Bushwick, Brooklyn in New York for three months when she was 19. She returned when she was 21 to record her album.

Lykke had some success with the EP "Little Bit" in 2007. Stereogum named her an artist to watch in October 2007 and described her music as a mix of soul, electro and "powdered-sugar pop".

Christopher Francis Ocean (born Christopher Breaux; October 28, 1987), better known by his stage name Frank Ocean, is an American singer-songwriter from New Orleans, Louisiana. Breaux made an early career as a ghost-writer for artists such as Justin Bieber, Bridget Kelly, Aramide Makinde and John Legend. In mid 2010 he became a member of OFWGKTA premiering on Domo Genesis' track, "SteamRoller". In February 2011, he released his debut mixtape Nostalgia, Ultra to critical acclaim. He released two singles; "Novacane" and "Swim Good". Both singles achieved chart success. Ocean went on a 7 show tour through North America and Europe promoting the mixtape. He is currently located in New York City.

The mixtape caught the interest of recording artists such as Kanye West, Beyoncé Knowles and Jay-Z, and he appeared on Watch the Throne. He co-wrote the popular track "Thinking About You" for Bridget Kelly. On January 5, 2012, the BBC announced that he had finished in second place in the BBC's Sound of 2012 poll. Ocean is currently working on his debut studio album, set to be released in the first half of 2012, while the same year he appeared at Coachella and he is scheduled to appear at Lollapalooza.