THE BOOO KROO 'WORK IT'

2002
2m

Meet The Booo Krooo – three animated MCs attempting to dominate the 2002 London music scene from their radio station Dunce FM.

In 2002, urban music magazine RWD introduced the world to three wannabe garage MCs, Flexter, Bucky and Giro (aka The Booo Krooo), and their pirate radio station, Dunce FM.

The Krooo’s rise was meteoric: starting life as a comic strip in the printed magazine, they moved online in the form of a Flash-animated cartoon alongside the launch of the RWD website and forum.

For this episode, the third in the series, the creators were approached by Missy Elliott’s PR team to collaborate and promote her single ‘Work It’. The American star herself crashes the episode after Flexster bites her style, bringing her heavies to the studio to teach the boys a lesson.

The RWD team were later approached to bring The Booo Krooo to television and turn them into ‘The Beavis and Butt-Head of Channel U’. They went on to grace small screens nationwide for one glorious season and many idents on the now legendary digital satellite TV station, a foundational platform for garage and grime music in the UK.

Flexster is out of ideas to improve his lyrical flow but, after seeing Missy Elliot perform 'Work It' on TV, he steals the idea of rapping backwards. Bucky & Giro love it and they go straight to the radio station to perform their new track. The show is a hit, but Missy Elliot is in town to promote her new single and hears the broadcast. She hits the studio with her minders who 'open a can of whoop-ass on our heroes'. With The Booo Kroo lying bruised on the floor, Missy takes the mic and performs.

Online Video

From viral memes to video essays, discover highlights from a new BFI National Archive collection...

First came the Cinema Age, then the TV Age, and now the age of Online Video. Digital film created for distribution online is today’s most dynamic, influential screen form. Encompassing much that’s new, from ASMR and Unboxing Videos to Twitch streaming and TikTok twerking, it’s also breathed new life into older film forms, filling our screens with fresh takes on advertising, journalism, satire, public information, campaigning, training and much else that’s been with us since time immemorial, and variously taking the forms of comedy, drama, documentary and animation. It’s become embedded into every aspect of UK (and world) society.

This unique collection of 50 online videos combines iconic highlights of British online video with other examples chosen to illustrate that sheer diversity. All were acquired by the BFI National Archive as part of the Lottery funded Our Screen Heritage programme. Our thanks to the Lottery, and lottery ticket buyers nationwide. for their support of this vital collecting and preservation work.