It’s been eight years since Big Brovaz first burst onto the scene. With a number one album that spawned seven singles and two MOBOs under their belt, the UK group once seemed invincible. But after a drugs scandal that involved member Flawless getting kicked out, as well as Dion leaving to pursue her songwriting dreams, the band got dropped from Sony Records.

It looked like they were gone for good, but now the hip-poppers are back stronger than ever with a hot new single produced by Method Man’s studio mentor Deekay, as well as an album to follow, entitled ‘Re-Entry’.

In their absence, the girls have been hiding out in Denmark writing for other artists, whilst the boys have been taking on the big screen, with J-Rock working alongside Michelle Phieffer on the movie ‘I Could Never Be Your Woman’.

The Situation caught up with Cherise to find out how they’ve changed, how they feel about their critics and how they’ve managed to bounce right back…

You’ve been through so much and you’re still here. What would you say is the secret to your success and strength as a group?

Staying grounded is the main one, and never forgetting where you came from. Also, never forgetting that however much work you put it, it could be over in a second as the music industry is so fickle - one minute you’re here and the next minute you’re not.

How do you see your ups and downs over the years?

Well, as you know we lost two members. But we won two MOBOs, a Capital Award, Disney Award and others. There have been more advantages than disadvantages to be honest. Even losing two members…I truly believe we work better with just the four of us, because we always had that chemistry between the four of us anyway. I know it sounds bad but it really wasn’t a loss to us losing two members.

Do you still keep in touch with or see any of them?

We don’t. I think Dion lives in Australia now, she went off to pursue her writing career and we haven’t kept in touch with Flawless whatsoever, so we don’t really know what he’s up to. I think he’s still doing music though as one of the guys said they saw him on Myspace the other day.

It’s a common misconception that once a group gets dropped by their label, it’s over for them. You’ve been in that situation so what would you have to say about this?

I think it’s better being on an independent label because they let you be yourself whereas on a major, you can’t really get creative. With an independent label, they support you whatever you do. Once a major label gets involved they want control over the creative side of the music and it shouldn’t really be like that, they should stick to selling the product. So I think it’s quite an advantage being on an independent label.

I have friends in the music industry who are hesitant about accepting deals though because they feel that if they’re dropped, it’s the end of their career. Do you agree?

You do feel that sometimes, but if you’re really passionate about what you do then it should be nothing for you to put all your hard work in and make your way back to where you were before, or even further.

Is it hard to bounce back?

Yeah, I think so. But if you’re passionate about it then it shouldn’t really be a problem, climbing your way back up to the top.

What advice would you give to someone getting into the industry?

Have a bit of knowledge about what you’re getting into, who you’re working with and know a bit about the music business, because if you don’t know anything then could easily get ripped off. You need to learn who to trust and who not to trust. And be a bit educated on the industry.

Do you feel that this is something you’ve learnt over the years or did you have that insight before you got started?

My perspective has changed. Before you get into it you think, oh you get up, you’re on TV and you sing and all that stuff, you just see all the positive sides of it. But really and truly there’s a lot of hard work involved. You have to be dedicated, on point; you can’t just do whatever you want to do. You also have to be careful what you say and do - there’s always somebody watching you. And a lot of kids look up to us and being a role model for somebody else is really important.

How do you see the state of the UK scene at the moment?

We do have a lot of quality artists, people like Kano and Sway. But it’s got a bit confusing as we’ve got things like Channel U who just promote anybody. You have people who don’t really have talent on there. The state of the UK music scene - it’s not really looking too great at the moment. I think there are a couple of good artists out there representing but we’re also being crowded by a load of crap. Just because they can get on TV or put their stuff on Myspace, I think everyone thinks they’re a star when half of them don’t really have any qualities or talent.

I think production-wise, a lot of people are trying to emulate America and even with the lyrics - glamorising guns when their life isn’t really like that, especially in the UK. I think artists should just be themselves.

A lot of people have criticised you guys for being too pop or watering down hip hop, but at least you’re not trying to be something you’re not…

I think if we weren’t really doing what we really and truly wanted to do, then I would probably agree with the critics. But we’ve always done what we love to do, and we’ve never put out something we don’t believe in. We’re different and we don’t want to be like anybody else, we don’t want to be pigeonholed into one category. We don’t want people to be able to put their finger on what exactly it is that we’re doing.

Do the critics bother you?

It doesn’t really bother me, because I believe in what we do and I believe in everything we’ve done, so it doesn’t bother me at all.

What’s your opinion on the Black Eyed Peas? They’ve been similarly criticised but whilst you’ve always been this way, they started off doing straight hip hop. Would you say that they’ve sold out?

I love them because they’re different and you can’t pinpoint what they do either. You can’t define what it is ‘cos they’ve got their hands in so many different pots, so many different genres of music and that’s what I like about them. They’re funky and different and I don’t know anybody who could compare to them really - apart from us.

But would you say they’ve sold out?

I don’t really get into the politics of that. I just think, ‘You know what? Right about now, they do great music’. Before I didn’t really know about Black Eyed Peas, when it was just the three of them, I didn’t really have a clue. I wasn’t interested in them and that’s the honest truth. I don’t really have an opinion on them now and then.

What can we expect from the forthcoming album?

Well it’s a progression from the last album and with ‘Nu Flow’ it was quite gimmicky and aimed at the kids. Our fans were mostly children whereas this time around it’s more mature. We’re talking about a lot of serious situations and topics. Also, we’ve all grown up and matured - within the sound, lyrics as well as production-wise. It’s gonna be a hot album!

Big Brovaz’ latest single 'Big Bro Thang' is out now on Genetic Records and the album is scheduled for summer release. For more information, visit their official website: www.bigbrovaz.com