What Kind of Connotations are Associated with the word 'Bruv'?

Bruv can be a friendly, jocular way to greet a close friend or indeed a brother.

In London, I wouldn't hear it being used among strangers unlike the female expression luv which means love or its male version mate.

A London black cab driver might ask a female passenger:

"Where are you going, luv?"

But to a male customer he is more likely to say:

"Where to guv'nor?" (an old fashioned term for governor, if he looked "important") or just mate.

But among friends who are of a similar age one might hear this greeting:

What's happen' bruv?
What's up bruv?

As to whether the listener or receiver would consider the speaker to be uneducated or uncouth, I would say "absolutely not!" It's a very friendly dialectal term used mainly among Londoners. Unfortunately I can't say if the term is used in other inner cities in the UK, it could be.

As I already mentioned, a BrEng speaker (of either sex) is unlikely to greet a stranger as bruv or bruvver, but if they did it would be simply brushed off. Obviously in a more formal context such as a job interview, it would be a serious faux pas and would reflect negatively on their character and level of manners.

Bruv is a word used by mainly South Londoners. It's the shorter version of 'bruvva' which is a slang variation of 'brother'. Urban Dictionary

Bruv is shortened from bruvver: (UK, slang) brother, mate, friend. Wiktionary