ZULU Nation has always been one of the cornerstones of hip hop music and Afrika Bambaataa has been a figurehead since hip hop culture began way back in the late 1970s.

And while black urban music has been dogged by controversy in recent years and many purists believe the message and power has been diluted, Zulu Nation has always stood alone - a united tribe that prides itself on being positive, political, passionate and socially conscious.

So a night out at Zulu Nation's monthly Planet Hop event at Ruby Lo's, in Orchard Street, W1, brings a certain air of magic, particularly when Madonna's dancers are residents on stage. Big Boi, from Outkast, A Tribe Called Quest and De La Soul have all graced the venue and are all Zulu affiliates.

Troy, Zulu King for Europe, says: "What you have at the club is beautiful women and a mix of people from all races that is amazing.

"We play everything from house to electro funk and the place is always packed. We always have the highest bar bill of the month at the venue and that's a good thing for us.

"I was sick of going to clubs that were pretentious so I decided to put a night on that was all about the music and nothing else."

Zulu Nation also have Kymberlee of the recent Nike "Don't tell me I'm not an athlete" advert fame amongst their burgeoning list of performers and artists that Troy says "are growing so fast in so many directions it's difficult to manage really".

He continued: "I have these producers out in Holland, for example, who are aged between 17 and 25 and they have just sent me 25 tracks. We need to get our events going more too, so it's all going on at the moment."

The next night has a host of Zulu Nation DJs and performers will include popping, breaking, pfunk, electro funk with DJ Repeat Ophenda, Lethal and Destruction.

Troy says: "I wouldn't be surprised if we had some surprise guests too, people come to the club expecting to relax and then they want to get up on stage and perform, it's a great thing.

"At the last event we had Jimmy Screech, who is a protg of Roots Manuva, give an impressive PA."

November 11 is hip hop's official anniversary, a date that has been celebrated for 32 years. Zulu Nation will be hosting an evening of glorious music at Turnmills nightclub, visit www.planet-hop.com for more information.