History
B4
Flava launched on 12 July 2004 and started off as a test channel which focused on Pop and Dance under the name of "B4". The channel used to play the latest pre release music videos from the notable artists and groups. It also had hours dedicated to playing requested music. The channel had advertised itself as both 'B4 It's A Hit' and 'B4 Everyone Else'.
From 2004 to 2006, the B4 logo was on screen in the bottom left-hand corner during music videos and the song information was shown in two lines, a blue one for the artist and a purple one for the song title, at the start title and near the end of each music video.
From 2006 to 2008, like the previous time, the B4 logo was on screen in the bottom left-hand corner during music videos and the song information was shown in a white coloured bar at the start and near the end of each music video. The channels' identity was also seen before and after advert breaks when the B4 logo forms on screen in a white box shape on an orange background.
B4 was available 24 hours a day on Sky channel 357 and was part of several music channels owned by CSC Media Group.
B4 also produced an early morning music video programme broadcast from 2004 on weekdays on Channel 4 at 7 am. It was normally broadcast as part of Channel 4's breakfast programming following children's programmes and preceding a number of comedy programmes from America. Produced by the firm behind ITV's The Chart Show, the show featured around seven new upfront videos each day that were going to be released in the United Kingdom in the near future, normally within the next month.
Rebrand to Flava
The B4 rebrand to Flava first came to light when the Ofcom licence for B4 was removed and replaced by one under the name of Flava, this also reflected the EPG references of the term "Flava" being used to describe the programmes being shown, in late February/early March 2008. On 26 March 2008, B4 launched officially as an all-urban music channel named Flava.
On 29 September 2009, Flava launched on Freesat channel 502, replacing Scuzz on the platform.
On 26 November 2012, Flava changed its logo. On 5 June 2013, Flava swapped positions with Scuzz on Sky. The channel moved from channel 367 to 374, while Scuzz moved from 374 to 367 (to sit next to Kerrang!, as both are rock music channels).
On 21 July 2014, Flava, along with Bliss were removed from Freesat.
On 23 April 2017, Flava introduced a brand new logo, changed their programme graphics from blue to black (red in some programmes and yellow in "Remember The Year"), as well as later rebranding themselves to be a 100% Old Skool Hip Hop and RnB channel on 2 May 2017.
MTV Base was a British pay television music channel from Paramount Networks UK & Australia that focused primarily on hip hop, R&B, grime, garage, reggae, funk, soul and dance music. It was launched as part of MTV's digital offering of music channels on July 1, 1999 in both the United Kingdom and in Ireland.
Bongo Flava is a nickname for Tanzanian music. The genre developed in the 1990s, mainly as a derivative of American hip hop and traditional Tanzanian styles such as taarab and dansi, with additional influences from reggae, R&B, and afrobeats, to form a unique style of music. Lyrics are usually in Swahili or English, although increasingly from mid 2000s there has been limited use of words from Sub-Saharan African music traditions due to the influence of Afrobeats and Kwaito with their dynamics usage of West African Pidgin English, Nigerian Pidgin or other Creole language.
BET Soul is an American pay television network that is controlled by the BET Networks division of Paramount Global, which owns the network. The channel showcases R&B, funk, soul, neo soul, hip hop, jazz and Motown music from various decades. The channel uses an automated "wheel" schedule that was introduced during the early years of MTV2 and is also used by sister channel BET Jams. The loop repeats three times a day, starting at 6 a.m. Eastern Time, and then resetting at 2 p.m. and 10 p.m.
C4 was a New Zealand television channel owned and operated by MediaWorks New Zealand. C4 was available on both digital terrestrial and satellite platforms and played music around the clock, including music from C4's sister radio division from The Rock, The Edge, The Breeze, More FM, George FM, Mai FM & The Sound. C4 also aired a lot of speciality music shows such as HomeGrown, Top 10/100, Video Hits, Fade To Black, Steel Mill, the UChoose40 and the Biggest Records Right Now. The channel was originally launched on Friday 3 October 2003 at 08:00pm as a re-branding of TV4 which had been broadcasting since 1997. On 1 May 2010, as C4 had been moving away from music programming since 2008, the jukebox side was split off and C4 launched a second C4 channel on Channel 9 called C4 2. C4 2 was only available on digital Freeview terrestrial and satellite platforms. At the end of 2010 an announcement was made that MediaWorks would again re-brand the current C4 channel as FOUR, which meant C4 2 would be converted to a music show as C4 was moved to its Channel 9 position. C4 shut down on Thursday 26 June 2014 at 01:00 am. It was replaced by The Edge TV the next day on Friday 27 June 2014 at 04:00 pm. Nearly a decade later on 17 October 2023 two weeks after the official 20th anniversary, The Spinoff paid tribute to C4 in a podcast video on YouTube celebrating C4's 20 year anniversary.
Scuzz was a British 24-hour rock and metal music television channel owned and operated by Sony Pictures Television. It was launched on 17 April 2003 and went on to be the highest-rated rock TV station on the Sky satellite platform, available in over 12 million homes in the UK and Ireland. The channel was abruptly closed on 15 November 2018.
MTV Rocks was a British pay television music channel that was operated by ViacomCBS Networks UK & Australia. Its programming consisted of 24-hour non-stop rock/alternative music.
'"Flavour of the Old School"' is a song by British R&B recording artist Beverley Knight, released as her debut single from her first album, The B-Funk (1995). The track, which peaked at number fifty on the UK Singles Chart when it was released in March 1995, was accompanied by a low budget music video that saw Knight in the recording studio singing directly into the camera. It was re-released however in October 1995, supported by a new video and strong support from urban radio. The song went on to become Knight's first top 40 single, peaking at number thirty-three in the official UK Singles Chart. The song later reappeared on the b-side of Knight's 1999 single "Made it Back". The video is frequently shown in rotation on MTV Base.
Flaunt was an electronic dance music television channel. It was a captivating destination for dance music enthusiasts, owned and operated by the CSC Media Group. This esteemed channel focused on broadcasting an array of music videos from diverse dance genres, such dance, techno, trance, disco, eurodance, house & dance-pop along with classic dance hits from the previous decades.
MTV Hits is a British pay television music channel owned by Paramount Networks UK & Australia that launched on 1 May 2001 replacing MTV Extra.
MTV Hits was an Australian and New Zealand subscription music channel focused on hit music. The channel first launched in Australia in April 2007, and later launched in New Zealand on 1 December 2011.
"Kiss Kiss" is a song by American singer Chris Brown featuring vocals and sole production from American rapper T-Pain from the former's second studio album. Written by the two artists, the song was released as the album's second single on September 10, 2007 worldwide. It was later solicited to rhythm crossover radios in the United States on September 11, 2007. "Kiss Kiss" is an upbeat record that incorporates elements of R&B, hip-hop and dance music. The song's lyrics are about getting a woman's attention.
4Music is a soon to be defunct British music television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation that launched on 15 August 2008.
"Forever" is a song by American singer Chris Brown. Brown co-wrote the song with Andre Merritt, Rob Allen, Brian Kennedy, and Jamal "Polow da Don" Jones; the latter two are also the producers. Initially created to be used for a Doublemint commercial, "Forever" was selected to be released as the lead single from the reissue version of Brown's second studio album Exclusive, titled the Forever Edition, and the fifth single overall from the album. It was first released for digital download on November 2, 2007, in a few countries, followed the next April with a retail single CD released in Europe.
"I'm Not Over You" is a song by American singer-songwriter and former beauty queen CeCe Peniston, originally recorded for her second album, Thought 'Ya Knew (1994), which was released on A&M Records. The single achieved number two on the Billboard Dance Club Songs chart, and number ten on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. On the Billboard Hot 100, the song charted at number forty-one. The B-side of the single included "Searchin'", which was previously released only for promotional purposes.
Q-York is a Filipino American hip hop/R&B record production duo composed of Flava Matikz (DJ/producer) and Knowa Lazarus (songwriter/MC). The name Q-York stands for "Quality – Yields Our Richest Key" and also Queens, New York where the group was founded in 2001. They have released numerous albums, appeared on various compilations/mixtapes worldwide and are the official MC / DJ for the FIBA 3x3 basketball tournament all throughout Asia.
"Goldie" is a song by American hip hop recording artist ASAP Rocky. It was released on April 27, 2012 as the lead single from his debut studio album Long. Live. ASAP (2013). The song was produced by Hit-Boy, who wanted to play off Rocky's laid-back style of rapping, accompanied by intentional vocal distortions, to produce a sound bordering along comatose. Beneath the beat, Hit-Boy added a reverberating chant meant to add a sinister atmosphere to the track.
Trace Latina was a music channel specialising mostly in urban Latin music. It broadcasts in the United Kingdom via the Channelbox streaming platform on Freeview UK channel 271 and still in France.
B4.Da.$$ is the debut studio album by American rapper Joey Badass. It was released on January 20, 2015, his 20th birthday, by Cinematic Music Group and Relentless Records. The album was released in North America and United Kingdom, as well as being made available for digital download on iTunes.
"Summer Sixteen" is a single by Canadian rapper Drake, released to promote his fourth studio album Views, although it was not included on that album. The song premiered on OVO Sound Radio and was released for digital download on January 30, 2016. It was produced by 40, Boi-1da and Cubeatz. It features uncredited vocals by DJ Khaled.
MTV Hits is a 24-hour pop music pay television channel from Paramount Networks EMEAA launched on 27 May 2014. The channel is widely available throughout Europe, Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean.
