As a black British girl who grew up in London, all these acts meant soo much to us black girls growing up in the UK. I genuinely feel like if social media existed back then alotttt of these groups would’ve lasted a lot longer just by popular demand. The same way we root for Normani and Chloe Bailey would be how we would’ve rooted for them :(
As a black girl from London you don't know how much this video means to us!!! In the Early 2000s we were really represented in the media... now there is nothing....
There’s nothing? So what about all the black female rappers? And singers like Jorja smith, flo and so many other underrated acts. I hate when people say there’s “nothing” when there is but people like you who complain don’t support those who are talented but underrated
Black Femininity TV doesn’t disappoint at all. I’m loving the new intro for sure. I sure remember Jamelia and Mis-teeq (especially when Scandalous released in 2004 in the US).
As a Black American, I’m glad I got to experience Cleopatra in my youth. ☺️ they were so ahead of their time 😭 also, they’re proof that Black girls are marketable af and can do pop/crossover.
"Cleopatra coming at ya!" 😂😂😂 that used to be MY JAM! I made sure to clear my elementary school schedule & get all my homework done to watch their concert on Disney Channel...good times lol xoxo #Mychildhood
I remember being a little girl jumping on my trampoline in the backyard blasting "Cleopatra...coming atcha!!" I had all of their albums...wow, the nostalgia. Those were the good days 💫
One thing I love about black Brits in girl groups is that a lot of them kept the mc style you would hear in black uk music (garage, drum and bass, dub, bassline etc etc) like the style alesha in misteeq sings. Even in spice gorls, if you wanna be my lover- Mel b was rapping using black uk mc lingo/ candence. It was a cute way to pay local homage in pop
That’s just naturally how all of their voices come out when they sing, I don’t think it’s done on purpose. Other nationalities sing the same way, where their voices sound more Americanized.
I’m a black American but I vividly remember Cleopatra. I LOVED them when I was a preteen. I thought they were different and incredibly dope. Beautiful voices. I wanted them to go further.
I loved that you have highlighted black British pop culture in this it’s nice to see appreciation from the other side of the pond ,but I wish u had highlighted SAMANTHA MUMBA she was our black Irish Britney Spears !
As a Black British woman born and raised in London, I just to say thank you for bringing attention to these acts! This video has brought back some fond memories. I absolutely loved Jamelia and Mis-Teeq and I was gutted when the band broke up. Cleopatra's Theme is one of my favourite tunes.
so true, i remember seeing them on tv and magazines when i was like 6/7, i thought they were sooooo pretty and i loved their voices, they remind me so much of young Tatayani Ali as adorable little ashley in Fresh prince, but with british accents like mine!
So good I had to comment twice! This video unlocked deep memories I didn’t know I had because I remembered EVERYBODY and every song 😭 special mention to Keisha Buchanan as well, who was in the Sugababes and is someone I think a lot of us will remember as being one of the most visible Black singers in the 2000s
We had a Black Brit girl group in the 70s called 15,16,17. Not much online about them unfortunately, but they were a big deal at the time. Great nostalgic vid, I appreciate it!
Lots of lovers rock singers were just teenagers when they recorded their music and then went back to their normal lives. That's why there's little about them. Only a few like Janet Kay and Carroll Thompson continued.
Does anyone notice how beautiful all of these women are? Growing up black and British, seeing all of this gorgeous representation helped to make me LOVE who I am in my blackness. It's really sad how today in this social media driven world, blk women are swelling up their faces with fillers and obscuring their natural beauty and all looking like clones of each other instead of celebrating their unique beauty.
Lol, as an American girl from Texas I remember Cleopatra and their song that played all the time on Disney. From the moment you showed the first pic I was like "Oh, hey! I remember them!"
This channel is one of the best. I can’t believe how good this video is. You’re really here for ALL of us and you do your RESEARCH girl. Much love from the UK. You’ve done such an awesome job 💕
I still love Cleopatra they impacted me so much being an all black group with beautiful dark skinned girls. I'm dark skinned so seeing them come through with their first single was everything. Thanks for the video!
I was a huge Mis-teeq fan! I would play a lot of UK R&B and grime on AOL & Yahoo Music. Alesha had some good albums. Sabrina had some good hits too. Cleopatra was so cool to see when I was a kid.
I remember all of them here in the UK. I was born and raised in North Staffordshire near Manchester. This was during my teen years as a black girl. We needed that growing up because we tend to look towards the USA for Black icons. Thank you so much for giving us Black British folks recognition. Much Respect 😀
The 90s and early 2000s were times when girlhood was being celebrated all round. I try miss those days. You had girl groups or bands all over and they were all making it in the charts. Girlhood was stronger and so much more exciting back then. Wish I could go back and remain there lmao I truly miss those days🙂
Love this sooooo much! Black UK representation in the 2000's was everything to me. I was 14 at the turn of the millennium. Ahhh the nostalgia! Well done BFTV. Love. ❤️🇬🇧
I certainly didn’t forget about Jamelia, Shola Ama, Cleopatra, Honeyz, Mis-Teeq, Fierce and the others sprinkled around the charts at that time. It’s important to glance back at this time so we don’t believe the lie that we (as Black people) were never represented in the UK. We most definitely were, but you’d need to consider the 90’s too because that was probably our most prolific decade in British media and even some of these acts debuted in the latter part of it. I’m not entirely sure why many couldn’t gain traction in the US but it’s probably because we didn’t have a strong enough equivalent to Whitney Houston and our girl groups couldn’t compete with Destiny’s Child, TLC, En Vogue, SWV and the like. Btw, Eternal are underrated and unappreciated for what they did for Black British music. They were the best suited to conquer America but it didn’t happen.
Yes all were talented but this island does everything to hold back Black British talent, the only time Black British talent could do what they wanted was when they controlled thier own narrative (soul2Soul, So Solid, Dizzy rascal etc). And we all know they treat Black British Woman the worst in the industry and in British media. Especially how these record labels were quick to push the light skin woman or run to try/or add a certain type of white woman in any group that had dark skin Black woman. Look at the way they tried to push Louise from enternal into a lead solo artist when she was the least vocally talented out of all the woman....etc
You got to remember those girl groups in the U.S. had heavy rotation of MTV and the radio which made them blow up, something that lacked with UK groups except Spice Girls, if it wasn’t on MTV then most didnt know of them in the U.S.
Girl you deserve all the success coming to you! This video is so amazing and I’ve never heard of these ladies/groups in my life. You really opened me up to another world and I immediately went to go watch all their videos after I seen this. Keep up the good work!👏🏾💜
I’ve never heard of any of these groups but I wish Cleopatra & Jamelia had been able to go further. The music industry is so dicey, you can have the hottest song of the year but if you don’t repeat that every year after they will drop you with the quickness! (Also colorism/racism/sexism probably didn’t make it any easier).
If you look at most 90's British singers up until just before Misteeq- most of them were brown skinned or darker skinned and many like Jamelia had HUGE careers. It was more label issues and politics- most of these acts failed at their second albums for example. However, I would say colourism came into play when they started introducing 'black' groups with predominantly mixed race girls like Misteeq and the 411 etc and from there, there was definitely a decline of unambiguously black British female acts like we'd seen previously. The legacy of that exists today but in the 90's up to 2000 I would say colourism wasn't the issue because brown skinned and darker skinned black British singers were the prototype in the 90's.
I never heard of any of these groups, but I'm going to check out all of their music. The Cleopatra girls group, so cute 😍 I wish they could have went further.
This is great and thank you for shining a light on some of the most underrated U.K. black singers and groups! Our little country really did produce some fantastic music back in the 00’s!
I can't wait for you to discuss the male singers as well. I love me some Craig David and he is still making music. Also, he is releasing a book this year.
I was living in the UK from 2002-2006. I remember most of the female acts you spoke about. There was many more groups that were interracial such as 411, Sugababes, SClub7, Liberty X, etc. I miss the UK and all the music.
The Honeyz are one of the most underrated girl bands from the 90s!! Shola Ama also had some amazing songs aside from “you might need somebody” - her dark child song Imagine is a banger
I definitely remember Cleopatra from when I was stationed in Japan via the US military. I stole their first album from the Japanese national I was dating at the time, and bought their 2nd album when it debuted around 99-00. I loved those girls.
Girl I was in the middle of studying and you posted this video. I was like welp its been 2hrs time for a study break😂. I love your videos it brings back so much nostalgia.❤ I remember Mis-Teeq and Jamelia
Thank you so much for covering Black British female singers as a Black Brit I grew up listening to a lot of these girl bands, singers and duo’s. Miss Teeq were my favourite British girl group at the time and they did their thing in the prime years
I especially saved this video for my lunch break! Being a mid-thirties black female Londoner, these groups were a part of my childhood and teens! Thank you for this video, it is honeatly appreciated 😊💙💎.
For that record company to give way for Victoria, banking on her pre-solo fame, was just so frustrating to say the least. Mis-teeq could have been so much bigger had that not happened! So sad.
I am a 20 year old black man from South London born in 2003 and I remember being a kid in the mid 2000's listening to UK radio with these different groups, the nostalgia hits diff because many people my age forgot about these groups and love modern music more which is understandable since we were kids back then.
I remember scandalous and Cleopatra comin' at cha. All the other songs I never heard of before. I can't wait for part 2. I loved Craig David growing up.
I grew up in Canada so we had the best of worldwide black music. The british industry is MUCH bigger that I remember. I still play Mis-Teeq last cd til this day. Ms Dynamite , Samantha Mumba also were my fav. The problem with Garage music groups is that when they cross over to the US, they lost their originality for most to compete with Black American groups that already had their own songs. Never knew about the S Club 7 girl, now wonder she was my fav of the group. I miss these times
Black Femininity TV is life. I really enjoyed this doc. Cleopatra was fire. Took me back to my teens. I can't wait for Part 2. I loved me some Craig David.
To this day I still listen to the majority of the songs featured in this video, always baffled how some of these brilliant acts weren’t more celebrated. So many of these tunes still hold up so well today, timeless. Thanks so much for this vid x
Jamelia's second album was re released in the UK 4 times. It was released after Bout, again after Superstar, again after Thank you (with a different cover and track list) and again for a 4th time when Dj/Stop got released, with the two bonus tracks on the previous reissue now not listed as bonus tracks.
I named fives of these off my head and I was screaming!! Threw me back in the day in my 20s. We survived with their dope music with almost only radios. I'm 42 now, 2023 May. This is a serious throw back!!!
It was nice learning what happened to Cleo, I was a huge fan of them as a kid & was saddened when I no longer saw their music/faces on the common children networks here in the US. You always give great, thorough breakdowns of these topics.
Jamelia has such amazing songs her songs Ain't a love, La La Love, See it in a boys eyes, One, Ghetto, I Do, r bops💚I can go on all day but she has such great songs. Cleopatra has good songs also like Press here to start and Nobody said❣️
This was very entertaining, and so much memories, I am from the UK also born and raised. I wasn't a major fan some of the Girl bands, but love the memorabilia, Jamelia had some good tracks, and it would be great to see kele le roc, celesia (not sure if spelling is correct) Desreé and so many more... I'm looking forward to part 2! Thank you! :)
