Launched in 2003, the TV channel – which returns for a one-off special next week – was a hotbed for future
UK rap superstars such as Chip and Giggs
If you haven’t heard of Channel U – the defunct UK rap and grime
music channel that launched in 2003 in a blaze of anarchic, DIY spirit – it may sound hyperbolic to call it one of the biggest influences on Britain’s current music scene. But its importance is undisputed among those who know it, heightened by its success outside of typical mainstream gatekeepers. “It’s had a big impact on the people that had nothing and was no one and wasn’t a part of the machine,” says grime artist D Double E. “Just like
YouTube, it didn’t matter who you were. It just mattered that you were trying to be creative.”
Throughout the 00s, it became one of the only platforms within the media where black
British culture was depicted – and, most importantly, depicted accurately. Aside from films such as Kidulthood and series like Dubplate Drama, black, working-class experiences were not represented on TV other than to be demonised on the news. The music channels that did play anything remotely “urban” –
MTV Base, Kiss, The Box – focused on the
American rap and R&B dominating the British music scene in a way homegrown talent couldn’t. As the only TV station that aired the debut offerings of upcoming grime and UK rap artists, Channel U was responsible for turning many a hood star into a household name: Tinchy Stryder, Tinie Tempah, Chip, Ghetts, Wretch 32 and Giggs.