Neneh Cherrys actions throughout the early to mid-80s indicated boundless creative energy and an instinct to mix it up. She wasnt yet out of her teens by the time she had performed and/or recorded with stepfather Don Cherry and younger mavericks Rip Rig + Panic, the Slits, and Vivien Goldman, and had spun early rap records on pirate radio. A little later, in 1987, she seized the mike on a version of Morgan/McVeys Looking Good Diving. The next year, the track was revamped into Cherrys first solo power move, aided by Bomb the Bass vibrating and colorful mix of sampled, scratched, played, and programmed sounds dropped with astonishing precision. At once a personal manifesto and celebration and critique of city-street peacocking -- a hip-hop quotable is in every rhyme and interjection -- Buffalo Stance entered the U.K. chart in December 1988 and went supernova on a worldwide scale early the following year. The full scope of Cherrys vision was shown almost smack in the middle of 1989 with Raw Like Sushi. With songwriting partner and fellow arranger/producer Cameron Booga Bear McVey at her side, Cherry in sly, knowing fashion conducts a combined gender studies and sociology course doubling as a cosmopolitan pop triumph. Switching with masterful ease between assured singing and rapping -- no features necessary -- Cherry covers matters ranging from the consequences of lust to the devaluation of children. More often, she examines from multiple perspectives the ways in which men and women exploit one another, softening each blow with either a degree of benevolence or whatcha-gonna-do-about-it humor. Among the other accomplices are Will Malone, Nellee Hooper, and Jonny Dollar, as well as Mushroom and 3D of Massive Attack, a crew who altogether fill the hip-hop-minded LP with elements of go-go, Latin freestyle, and new jack swing, and foreshadow what was later termed trip-hop. Not easily classifiable as a whole, Raw Like Sushi is one of the most soulful and hip-hop albums considered neither R&B nor rap. ~ Andy Kellman

Rovi

Those arguing that the most individualistic R&B and dance music of the late 80s and early to mid-90s came out of Britain could point to Neneh Cherrys unconventional Raw Like Sushi as a shining example. An unorthodox and brilliantly daring blend of R&B, rap, pop, and dance music, Sushi enjoyed little exposure on Americas conservative urban contemporary radio formats, but was a definite underground hit. Full of personality, the singer/rapper is as thought-provoking as she is witty and humorous when addressing relationships and taking aim at less-than-kosher behavior of males and females alike. Macho homeboys and Casanovas take a pounding on So Here I Come and the hit Buffalo Stance, while women who are shallow, cold-hearted, or materialistic get lambasted on Phoney Ladies, Heart, and Inna City Mamma. Cherrys idealism comes through loud and clear on The Next Generation, a plea to take responsibility for ones sexual actions and give children the respect and attention they deserve. ~ Alex Henderson

Rovi