Biography
Born in Mexico and raised in Australia, Malisha Jupiter first encountered hip-hop through the American rappers who dominated Australian airwaves during the 1990s. Her high-school peers were struck by how readily she could match the radio tracks word for word, prompting her to compose her initial original verse at fourteen. Four years afterward she began frequenting one particular club every weekend, repeatedly urging the promoter to grant her stage time. He eventually relented, offering Maya Jupiter—the name her Turkish mother chose to honor the Mayan portion of her background—her debut chance to perform live. She subsequently took the helm of RNB Superclub, Sydney’s premier R&B and hip-hop night. In 2001 she claimed victory in the Big Day Out MC Battle and portrayed a dance instructor in the film Lantana. Although she had already started laying down tracks sporadically, her first album, Today, did not appear until 2003, issued by the independent imprint Mother Tongues, which specialized in releases by female artists. That same year she joined Channel V to present Soul Kitchen and became a member of the salsa-jazz ensemble Son Veneno, remaining in Australia after the group relocated to England. The following year, having earlier hosted Alchemy on SBS radio, she assumed the weekly hip-hop slot on the national broadcaster Triple J, whose programming helped forge a cohesive Australian hip-hop community. Teaming with DJ Nick Toth and MC Trey, she formed Foreign Heights and released a self-titled album in 2007 featuring guest appearances by Mystro and Macromantics, with beats supplied by KutMasta Kurt, New Zealander P-Money, and Mr. Zux.
Albums
