Big Brovaz

Emerging from South London in early 2002, Big Brovaz was assembled by the youthful production duo Skillz and Fingaz, who took their lead from So Solid Crew to create a mixed-gender ensemble of singers and MCs. The female contingent consisted of Cherise, Dion, and Nadia, while the male side featured Flawless, J-Rock, and Randy. Their version of U.K. garage softened the genre’s raw street edge to reach a wider audience. At first the vocalists and MCs worked independently under the Big Brovaz banner maintained by Skillz and Fingaz, yet the appearance of the compilation Watchin’ You—on which the various talents combined for a single track—quickly turned into an underground favorite and convinced the producers to merge them into one cohesive act. The move paid off with the release of the debut album Nu Flow, which established the group as a major U.K. sensation; they claimed the Best Newcomer Award at the Music of Black Origin (MOBO) Awards in September 2003 and, in an unprecedented voting tie, shared U.K. Act of the Year honors with Panjabi MC.