YOURZ
I have to be very careful here. Neneh is one of the very few artists Mine loves so much, any bad-mouthing is bound to be met with swift and ultra-violent retribution. So...
I guess I can say Raw Like Sushi is alright. I mean, Buffalo Stance is a pretty good song, even if the sounds are very dated. And there is no doubting her ability to both rap and sing. Her work with The Gorillaz on their track Kids With Guns is one of the highlights of their second album, Demon Days.
She also is truly a child of the world; her biological father was from Sierra Leone while her mother is Swedish. Her step-father is Don Cherry, the American-born jazz man. And she has that kind of earth-mother quality which is just beautiful.
Unfortunately, most of this album is just too 80s dance sounding for me to have any real appreciation of it. But at least I didn't say it was shit, now did I? (Mine says: Greater love hath no man...)
VERDICT: TURN IT DOWN
MINE
In the (very) early 90s I was living in an inner-city suburb with its associated high crime rate. One day I came home and tried to put my key in the door, only for it to fall inwards, revealing the fact that most of my valued possessions were gone. I had no insurance (never again) and had to spend the next few months re-buying the most vital parts of my CD collection (they ignored the vinyl, much as they'd ignore the CDs these days!)
Raw Like Sushi was the very first CD I re-bought. Not just because it's a good album, and it is, but because I really needed me some high-end girl power to get through that time. There are some killer remixes on here, in fact I prefer the alternate mix of Heart to the original. It's one of the first rap albums I bought, and helps me remember I really prefer the girly rappers. At least they can sing worth a damn.
Nowadays I look at this and remember just how young I was then, even though I was convinced I was all grown up and sophisticated. Much as Neneh would, I suppose.
VERDICT: TURN IT UP give me a motherfuckin' break beat!
For more information go to: http://www.nenehcherry.de/
