Hip-hop star to move Downunder

Andre Benjamin

Andre Benjamin, one of the world's biggest-selling hip-hop artists, is the latest A-list American entertainer to announce he is making Australia his new home.

The quietly spoken Benjamin, aka Andre 3000, is half of the hip-hop duo Outkast, which has sold more than 50 million albums worldwide.

"I'm going to move to Australia," Benjamin said while promoting his new film Four Brothers.

He said he fell in love with Australia during a promotional tour last year, with a Sydney Harbour cruise the clincher.

"I'll probably live in Sydney," he said. "I really loved the harbour. Oh, the harbour was so fresh when I was there.

"But then I might move around the country."

With Black Eyed Peas frontman Will.i.am basing himself in Australia next year to star in a reality TV show and sign local acts, Australia will become the hip-hop capital of the Southern Hemisphere.

Benjamin, a multiple Grammy-winner whose single Hey Ya was one of the top-selling songs of recent years, made a successful move into Hollywood this year, making the comedy Be Cool with John Travolta and the gangster drama Four Brothers with Mark Wahlberg.

The Atlanta-born 30-year-old also has his own clothing line and other business interests.

Moving to Australia is not a surprise career shift for the multi-talented Benjamin.

He has a history of never sitting still and learning and mastering new skills, as he has with acting, drawing favourable reviews for his portrayal of Jeremiah Mercer in Four Brothers.

The move is another way for Benjamin to stay fresh.

"Australia is about as far away as you can get," he said. "I like that."

He has not set a date for his Downunder move but said it would happen in the next six years.

He will not be bringing a large entourage.

Benjamin surprised Four Brothers director John Singleton and his co-stars Wahlberg, Tyrese Gibson, Garrett Hedlund and Terrence Howard when he first appeared on the set of the film in Toronto, Canada. They were expecting a music star with the usual hangers-on, but it was just Benjamin who turned up.

"I'm an only child, so when I've got a lot of people around me I'm uncomfortable," he said. "I don't like a lot of attention."

- AAP