The History of Flavas: Mattel's CONTROVERSIAL Hip Hop Dolls (2003) 

The fact that they replaced the dark skinned black girl with a lighter skinned one and thought that that’d be okay......

The ultimate "how do you do, fellow kids"

When these dolls came out, I thought they were a joke. Flavas looked like they were trying too hard to be "urban". I'm black and I always found that kind of thing to be a turn-off. They should have focused more on fashion in a general sense, like Bratz and the Fashion Fever Barbies did, instead of trying to be street right out the gate. As a collector though, I appreciate the clothing and added articulation they have.

So let me get this straight. Mattel decides to make a doll line about Urban culture and hip-hop, two things created in black culture, but decides to take away the only true black doll in the line for sales??? Make it make sense. So goofy.🤦🏽‍♀️

Not gonna lie, I loved the Flava dolls when I was a kid. I was a 9yr black girl growing up in a predominantly white Australian suburb. I loved hip hop especially Missy Elliot, so getting a Kiyani doll for my birthday meant a lot to me, especially since she had dark skin like me. Watching this video about the Flavas as an adult, yeah I can see that their launch was pretty tone-deaf. But I did have a lot of good memories with my Kiyani doll, so I'm still kinda grateful that they were created.

REALLY SAID “WE FROM DA HOOD”

I actually really loved MyScene dolls, I always thought they were like an older more mature version of Bratz and the flash games were fun lol

I'M SCREAMINGGG, I got these dolls for Christmas when I was younger! I got the girl with the blonde box braids and the black guy. I really loved them. Looking back, it's weird how obvious the pandering was. The HELLO FELLOW YOUNG PEOPLE vibes are so strong. Wouldn't be disappointed to have these dolls again though, with less stereotyping and pandering.

They should start a bratz clothing line for teens and adults

Lol,,,, I remember when these doll’s commercials hit, I thought it was a joke lmao. When they appeared in the store’s I was a bit embarrassed for Mattel, but eventually I bought a set when they were discounted, but 2021 I have an appreciation for what they were trying to do, but it was an epic fail....If Mattel tried this now, they would catch complete hell.

When bratz came out and took over any toy company was trying make their 'bratz'

These dolls look like a Saturday night live parody, and the fact that are there are so many white dolls for hip-hop style dolls is so off putting. Lol 😂

Their theme song definitely gets stuck in my head every once in awhile even though I never had these as a kid. They really were all over on tv.

CEOs rushing designers for the sake of profit with no understanding of how much time these things actually need to take to be good to really turn a profit is the slow downfall of every company (you could potentially replace designer with programmer...anyone on the creation end of things)

it's funny to me how Mattel was striving for authenticity (and hired one black person to consult and vouch for them) but in the end, it just ended up looking like a gimmick lol they had potential and 2000s hip hop was definitely an influential time in both music and fashion, but rushing to compete with the Bratz didn't do them any favors with this one

Great video! I completely forgot about the Flavas line even though the detail on those dolls were amazing, shame they didn’t get they’re time to shine but we ended up getting Fashion Fever which definitely deserves a video all on its own!

It had potential they should've just took their time

I only collect male fashion dolls (800 of them). I LOVE Liam and Tre. I have all versions except for the "Awards Night" version.

Many of the head molds are now used in the Fashionista series.

Bratz were created by a previous employee of Mattel, who designed My Scene dolls first, and left the company with the designs. That’s why Mattel sued MGA later on.

I feel kind of ashamed because I found out about this late, and I actually like a few of the dolls in this line (Kiyoni Brown, Tika and Tre), but it is a really corny approach to Hip-Hop...they definitely need more Black characters, and more Black people in general working on this brand. Esp. since Happy D don't need to be wearing microbraids. It's not right how Tawni was trying to replace Kiyoni, but maybe she could be another addition to the line? Like, just add more characters. But if they ever brung this concept back, they REALLY need some work. edit: Idk why but I ended buying all 6 of the dolls now, not including Tawni...but my Happy D kinda got ruined

You mean to tell me they legit actually attempted one time to make an urban doll line based on hip hop and r&b of the early 2000s 😶 WTF

I bought a few of those in the late 2000's; these were the answer to the Bratz dolls from the same time.

I thought I was going crazy! When I saw this video in my recommendations, I immediately started singing "What's your flava? Tell me, what's your flava?" without knowing why. I don't remember this doll line at all, but I remember the theme song for some reason. I had Bratz, MyScene & some standard Barbie dolls growing up. I feel like I recognize the blonde Flavas doll, but that's about it... 🤔

Lets keep it real The line was to "ghetto/black" for the public that's why it's been cancelled. They had non urban people creating urban dolls 🙄

Make a video about Jem and the holograms please!

I really enjoyed this video! It's edited very nicely, my only complaint being that I really dislike the text-to-speech voice, but I understand having privacy and not wanting to use your real voice. Personally I really like the Flavas, as a black person I really enjoy seeing this Y2K ghetto-fabulous fashion in a positive light (People say that this line is very stereotypical and sort of caricature-esque, but I feel like the line was done pretty well for being made in 2003). I think most of them are pretty dolls, but sometimes the art style of their screenings was so vastly different from other characters. Sometimes they'd have really cartoony faces (my personal liking), and then sometimes they'd have really small eyes or look really realistic in a creepy way (especially Liam, his dolls look very uncanny to me). Also, I wish you talked about how some of them had those strange twisty bodies, like how I believe Tika had a spine that kinda curved around so she had a bit of a lean. I don't know if I'd buy these dolls now, but I'd love to collect all of the fashions!

Please Do The History Of Myscene!!!

i love these dolls, but not the hip hop aesthetic, they are like myscene but worse to me. I love the face molds and hair types, i would personally just redress them

i honestly love the last wave. it’s so creative & have never been done till now. i mean they would be problematic now ngl but i feel like these were genius w their release timings

It's the white doll wearing box braids for me. Maybe they could've been a success in today's trap scene?? With more up to date hip-hop inspired outfits?

God, I remember seeing the initial commercials for these dolls, and really liking them, and wanting all of them. I loved the articulation, I loved the different heights and skin tones and faces, and I liked how they were advertised. The commercials always felt like a genuine group of friends having a good time, instead of generic tea party/shopping sprees/parties that other dolls used in their ads. I never remember seeing them in Walmart, though, so I never actually got any.

I always look forward to you're videos! They're really well researched and definitely entertaining. I love this type of content but good videos are so hard to find. Thank you so much!

Nothing beats thee iconic Bratz. And thats on periodt.

Yeeeeeeeeeees! Flavas were iconic and controversial during the short time that they were on the market. Their impact! Also, I remember picking up a Flavas CD online a while ago (nothing special, just a few hip hop songs). Definitely a predecessor to the hip My Scene dolls - street smart, but still had Barbie-esque faces. As always, great documentary!

I used to have a few of these. We were a bratz household so anything related was definitely in our possession.

this is The Urbz as a doll

Even when the fashion were not accurate those dolls were aimed towards kids. But otherwise I agree. This is what you get when you rush things and don't do research. Loved the dolls and I hope they (and MyScene) get a nicely done reboot.

You know, this is why I think Mattel is gonna die out at some point. They've done far too much to try to appeal to kids, but at the same time do too little, and continue to do so. There were getting somewhere with Monster High and Ever After High, they brought original things to the table, and thus they profited. But then they rebooted Monster High and basically made it "trendy" and basic. What did they get? A ton of backlash from fans and a significantly smaller profit. They stopped making Ever After High dolls and content to make way for Descendants, and what did they get? Three problematic movies that kids are going to forget about before they even turn 14. MGA had this little phase where they did that to the Bratz, but they quickly came to their senses and maid LOL suprise and the LOL OMG girls, while the names are kind of cringey, it's forgivable, because what they're giving us isn't cringe. The dolls themselves, mostly the OMG girls have amazing fashion that is trendy without feeling forced. It helps that they have different types of styles too. You've got preppy stuff, the looks this doll line was trying to get at, other retro stuff, and more modern looks (but then again they can also be considered sort of y2k-esk). And on top of this, we have Rainbow High, which is like Bratz but more on the cutesy side I guess? Those dolls have quality clothes reminiscent of actual luxury brands or the style of certain celebrities. Maybe they're not the most original, but they had work put into them regardless. That's the overall issue, Mattel doesn't wanna work. They just wanna put out whatever and hope it'll beat MGA's sales. In reality, if they don't take the time to think through and put effort into their doll lines, they're going to lose. Think of it like a race or something, MGA has been training for months and Mattel did one push up the day before and drank a bottle of Gatorade. Who's gonna win? MGA, the answer is obvious. I feel like if more time was put into The Flavas, they could've been more successful. The idea they had going was great, just poorly executed.

Kiyoni got aunt vived

I swear I had a little doll car that looked like that purple one in the beginning, had no idea what it was from. I loved Bratz and MyScene, but this line seems like a hard pass. However, a reboot with better face sculpts and designs ( and not replacing the dark skinned doll ) might actually sell well, especially if they kept the articulation ( maybe updated it ) and height variations along with the original diversity. The doll world is getting a little stale.

YES!! I just got through taking a walk down memory lane and revisiting this era of my childhood, like 3 or 4 weeks ago, so it's cool to see a video on it.

those dolls had an underground style, this were too much for the public... it wasn't comercial at all... but looked great

I have almost all of them!!

For black history month can u do u history on how black dolls came into play.

wow, i never knew about these dolls! thanks for making this informative video!

Can you do more doll history? Especially controversial ones like you talked about here?

God I remember seeing these in the toys r us catalog and just laughing at how they remind me of my scenes but the hood version 🤣🤦🏾‍♀ I'm glad I kept my loyalty to bratz

Myself and my daughter purchased these, love them, something different.

Thank you for this video! One of my favorite doll lines ever, so happy to finally see a proper video about them!

I definitely think they should try to do Flavas again, or at least something similar. I would love to see this done accurately and in modern times. I collect vintage dolls, so I'll continue to be on the lookout for some of the of Flavas dolls

They should bring the line back but do it right this time. They were awesome dolls.

This reminds me of "The Urbz" the hip version of the Sims lol

THIS WAS BRILLIANT! THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!

the line just looks like it was trying wayy too hard and had it took it times im sure it wouldof done alot better INCLUDING NOT REMOVEING A BEAUTIFUL DARKER SKIN DOLL BECAUSE OF COLORISM smh im just happy people are more aware of things nowadays 💜

Thanks for making this video about the short lived Flavas! I really liked the first 2 waves (especially the boys) … I wasn’t actually aware that there was a third wave available… so I guess I’m gonna have to hunt them down!

They also clearly recycled some of the fashion and aspects for the MyScene dolls, but in a much less offensive way, like 'Tre becoming Sutton and some of the party clothes.

First time watching your vid, very entertaining but can I make a suggestion? Raise the volume of the automated voice a little or lower the background music/sounds, at times it was a little hard to hear what was being said, overall, good vid!

I think it’s interesting to look at the reaction to the release of the dolls when pertained to general clothing trends we see now. almost everything clothing wise used to create flavas (called water down and corporate version of hip hop) are what make up the general style amongst teens this day and age. it’s interesting to see that a doll company dipping there toes into diversified dolls was met with such criticism when it is now the defined standard in the doll market. shit some of those dolls we more diverse then we get now. we still have to beg for dark skin dolls. However the micro braids on the blonde doll aged poorly.

I thought I imagined these dolls

I have a vivid memory of playing with my Bratz dolls (Mostly different fashions of Sasha) with my niece and the Flavaz commercial came on. We looked at each other, then back at the TV and we were both confused and horrified. The dolls felt like a cheap cash grab. They were appealing to my older brother's generation and not mine. All the clothes were ill fitting and stiff looking. They tried to sell them in stores in the hood and the shelves were packed with them. PACKED. They really felt like racist stereotypes, and the inclusion of white girl dolls with box braids was a HUGE turn-off. I didn't even know that they came from Mattel until now. I just thought it was a small doll company trying hard to be Bratz. YIKEs. With that said- Tre is low-key fly af and that fake awards show afro is legit comical.

I found my Liam doll in my closet and looked up videos on them because I completely forgot they existed 😭

I collect The Flavas and love their looks and human appeal__poseability, fashion. Wish they weren,t cancelled. Great reviews. Thank you.

The theme song used to be stuck in my head

Cool video I love stuff like this.A video suggestion i have is can you do other doll lines that went against barbie before bratz did and how they flopped just a video suggestion

Ewww why did they change kyomi. Great. Now I'm disgusted.

You gotta do history of myscene!!

Make a video about Bratz next please!

A video about Secret Central High would be really cool!

Crazy that i dont remember the dolls at all but that jingle is a very distinctive memory from my childhood!!

I never had one of these dolls, but I still remember the song from the commerical almost 20 years later lol

Omg can you do the So In Style!! This was an incredible line that was cancelled far too soon!! #justiceforChandra

I used to go on their websites and play Flava games on the barbie website, it was there before they were cancelled or a controversy. I mean as a kid obviously it never even occurred to me they were an issue at all.

I ADORED the Flavas. I had one but I wanted more!!! I loved the CD that came with it too. But since I was french I’ve never seen Kiyomi, I know that if she was available I and my friends would had her 😭

Some of the face molds were jacked up and they tried to follow trends. But trends go out too fast. They should have set trends.

You can see similarities between the male dolls in Flavas and My Scene. The details were amazing, just the rest...no.

I remember I played this gorgeous dolls and I can’t do with on my childhood

I had the doll on the Motor cycle that looked like Justin timerblake.. Ken was replacedddd hard after he was purchased😍

Can you do a Lisa frank dolls ?? Or maybe the gwen stefani dolls? Or celebrity dolls? Btw love your videos!!! ❤️❤️

We need more split hair dolls I remember being in love with the split haired girl w the motorcycle she was my favorite

Seems to me as a classic "tried to hard" case. They just should had went more casual about that.

Do the history on the happy family doll line next loved them

I still have all of mine still in boxes.

Ok I was 8 when these dolls came out and had loads of dolls. I collected all of the lines at the time yet somehow I can't remember Flavas. I think these dolls are gorgeous and i'm definitely hunting down Kiyoni and Happy D dolls on Ebay.

I remember the theme song/jingle than the dolls themselves. It's a real earworm.

Amazing video. But Diva Starz were before Bratz XD

Omg I never knew about this thx.

I had one of the Flavas dolls when I was little!

I never own a Flavas doll when I was growing up

Please do a video on Sugar Planet dolls! They’re kind of just another Bratz spin-off but their playsets with multiple interactive parts (like magnets and compartments) live rent-free in my memory. Also, please look into alternatives for the robot voice narrating your videos 🥴

Rappin Rockin' Barbie deserved the backlash that Flavas received. Both lines were asinine.

Ahead of their time, period. The quality and uniqueness was just beyond

I’m about to add these to my collection. They are cute 💕

The outfits, and the male dolls were cute. The girl face molds were reallly bad

i have all of the favas dolls. i hope my mom kept them!

Oh my god I remember being like 6 years old and seeing these commercials for the first time...my parents thought they were too grown though 😒😒

I really like My Scene Dolls, even though the design (of the face) is similar those dolls became their own kind of thing and I thought it would be really successful

I loved Myscene dolls and bratz I had quite a few of them but I barely remember the flava dolls I did remember the commercial for it haha.

Full offense but the doll faces are absolutely heinous

Wish they would bring these back, they would blow adult collectors away. Sales would double.