Raw Like Sushi

by

Neneh Cherry

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Neneh Cherry,the beautiful,funky Afro-Swede chick whose the stepdaughter of free jazz pioneer Don Cherry and stepsister of folk-rocker Eagle Eye Cherry stepped out on the scene in 1989 with this brillant(and underrated) debut,"Raw Like Sushi".

Neneh was very influential.Sassy,streetwise,and cultured,"Sushi"

didn't fit neatly in a catergory.Free sprited and independent,Neneh also paved the way for Missy Elliot,Nelly Furtado,Lauryn Hill,TLC,and many others with her multi-facted blend of hip hop sprit,sexy aura,and blunt,womanly lyrics.I wouldn't argue to call her groundbreaking.

"Sushi"'s ten tracks all have punch and all are surprisingly aduquate.Altough this album was released thirteen years ago,it strangly doesn't so dated.In fact,it sounds even more relavant.

From the classic "Buffalo Stance" to the haunting gem "Manchild"

(which predates the advent of trip hop)to the sassy midtempo hit

"Kisses On The Wind" to the brazen "The Next Generation",there's no weak spots on here.

Neneh actually brought some merucial promise to the then-sterile state of contempary Black music in the late '80s.And with her model good looks(frankly,the girl was FINE!),bohemian style,and street sass,Neneh actually joined the ranks of Lisa Bonet,Cree Summer,Veronica Webb,and other fellow free sprited beauties.To put it short,Ms. Cherry had it going on!

Neneh would go on to release two more even-more adventrous albums after "Raw Like Sushi":1992's "Homebrew" and 1996's more trip-hop leaning "Man" but "Raw Like Sushi" will always stand as a precedent in music-even if many don't remember her.