Raw Like Sushi

A fun listen - very dated.

This album has no business being as long as it is. Buffalo Stance is a classic, but everything else is just generic nonsense that I never have to hear again. She could have stopped after 8 or so. Maybe it's on here because this is a great example of how songs sounded at this time, but it's not good.

The very 90s backing beat grated on me after 20 minutes. Sounded like shopping in an Old Navy circa 1999.

Buffalo Stance is super catchy, but the album in full just reminds me of Prince, random instrumental samples and all. Not super satisfying.

Painfully of its era, I'd say. Cracked up at some lines, bewildered at others. Fine, but not my thing overall.

Fun at times mostly grating

Very generic late 80s hip hop/Soul. but when i saw the year and cover i kinda expected it. very bland, except for the opening track.

Das Debütalbum Raw Like Sushi von Neneh Cherry erschien 1989 und verbindet Elemente aus Hip-Hop, R&B und Dance-Pop. Die schwedische Sängerin und Rapperin arbeitete für die Produktion unter anderem in Studios in London und setzte auf einen modernen, samplebasierten Sound, der sich an den musikalischen Strömungen der späten 1980er orientierte. Besonders hervorzuheben ist der Song Buffalo Stance, der sich als Hit etablierte und Cherrys Mischung aus Sprechgesang und melodischen Passagen exemplarisch darstellt. Auch Titel wie Manchild und Kisses on the Wind zeigen ihre Vielseitigkeit und die Fähigkeit, eingängige Melodien mit tanzbaren Rhythmen zu kombinieren. Raw Like Sushi ist ein Album, das verschiedene Musikstile verbindet und Neneh Cherrys eigenständigen Ansatz unterstreicht. Mit einem frischen Klangbild für seine Zeit bleibt es ein wichtiger Beitrag zur Pop- und Hip-Hop-Geschichte.

Artiste inconnue. Mix de Hip-Hop et d'autres influences. NC mélange chant et rap, ce qui rend un peu moins désagréable l'album et lui évite la note minimale. Après je trouve les morceaux plutôt répétitifs et peu intéressants. Ils tournent plutôt autour du chant, l'instrumentation est quelconque. Je ne l'écouterais pas une seconde fois. =>2/5

Sounds straight out of ‘89 and not in a good way. Some cool sounds and lyrics but I’ll leave this one for GenX

Hard for me to get into this one

Definitely one of the albums on this list

Sure I guess. Maybe this is just of the time but it feels pretty hollow.

This first track is hanging on by a thread. It has some interesting arrangements, but the vocals only work on the chorus. The flow is not good. This just feels like a record label attempting to manufacture a star. "Chocolates, bananas, doughnuts and salami Ain't gonna fit cause you're full of bologna"

Dated on release, this album definitely didn't stand the test of time. The samples are tired, the flow is weak, and the lyrics are a disjointed mess. It's pop trying to pass itself off as "edgy" by co-opting hip-hop

I hate this era of pop sadly. Even the first track is like a 3 at best. I'm tempted to give this one a 1, but weak 2 is fine

I don’t really know what this is, but I didn’t like it.

Did not enjoy. All the worst part of 80's music put together Best Song: Phoney Ladies Rating: 3.5/10 Stars: 2/5

I wanted to like this album. But I got bored by some of the lyrics and all the songs are pretty similar. Buffalo Stand is overrated, but Manchild is a cool song. This is actually more 2.5.

Gear: ZMF Bokeh Artwork: 🍉🥇🍉 Production: 🤔🙂👌 Music: 💡⌛😂 Rating: 🍣🍣/5

I went into Raw Like Sushi by Neneh Cherry with no real expectations, but I ended up having more fun with it than I anticipated. This album is undeniably 80s—both in production and style—which is a big part of its charm. The beats are infectious, and there are some genuinely solid tracks here. That said, some songs already felt dated even back in 1989, and they haven’t aged particularly well. While I enjoyed the listen, it’s not an album I see myself returning to. Favorite song: Nothing really stood out as a clear favorite—some tracks were decent, but none felt like a standout hit. Least favorite song: Buffalo Stance didn’t work for me at all. Album artwork: Bold, confident, and totally in-your-face—just like the music.

Gave up on it.

一般 不喜欢，太 old school 了，节奏也一般，没有 2pac 好

- "Buffalo Stance" is extremely fun and also way more cohesive than any other track here. An ideal blend of vocals, rhythms, and electronica. - Most of this album is just frustrating from a listening standpoint. Rhythms do not match. Melodies do not resolve. Rhymes do not rhyme. But these do not seem like intentional artistic choices or efforts to disrupt expectations. Instead it just feels like spaghetti being thrown at the wall? - I did not mind "Kisses On The Wind" or "Outré Risqué Locomotive" (what a title).

2.5

It sounds like a parody, but not a good one. I totally believe that these songs can easily be made by artificial intelligence.

Day402 - not really important or influential really just a late 80’s pop album and you could find a dozen that sound the same

I like the 80s sequencer/drum machine sound. It's a bit like junk food, strangely addictive

No

Really? It's like a bad prince album but worse somehow.

aka Buffalo Stance and not much else of note. I expected more tbh

I know this was critically acclaimed when it dropped but it was not something I listened to at the time. In my opinion it just hasn't held up well 35 years later.

Not really my type of rap but I'm sure it did well when it came out. I like more melodic things. It was alright having it in the background but definitely more meh than okay.

Rating: 5/10 Meh. Choice cut: Buffalo Stance

This isn’t great. I saw a review that said it was dated on release and I can only imagine. Across the whole album, the flow is inconsistent and choppy, the lyrics feel slapped together, poor arrangement, there’s commitment to some tracks and seeming afterthought to some others. “Buffalo Stance” was fine. “The Next Generation” felt like a poorly worded Miss America speech. It was pretty fun, but not good. 2/5

Distinctive 80’s sound.

I don't know about this one. It's fine, but very dated. OK for one listen, but I will probably never sit through it again. Favorite track is probably "Heart."

Doubly sucks! It's not just early hip-hop, it's early female hip-hop. Neh, neh. Big neh Even when I was a toddler having listened to like 2 rappers in my life I already could tell the bar for "female rap" was insanely low, as if the mere fact that a woman is doing something other than giving birth and painting nails is somehow impressive

not for me

"Buffalo Stance" is a classic, five-star song. "Manchild", "Kisses on the Wind", and "Heart" are also worth a listen, but the rest of the album is kind of dated filler.

I like her rapping and the use of Spanish, but in general thought this was mediocre lightweight pop and didn't finish listening to it.

This has aged badly. Buffalo Stance is ok but it rapidly goes downhill from the initial track and the beats and rhymes soon become very tired.

Uff, esto estuvo difícil. Me gusta cuando canta mas no cuando rapea. La producción es de 1989 sin lugar a dudas y a estas alturas solo funciona para arqueólogos musicales y nostálgicos

This is terrible music. I skipped through some songs and I couldn’t believe this was even real. And then I read that she was Swedish and I was so confused. So I put it back on and gave the lyrics an actual listen. My Bitch and Here I come are songs that I could have written with a friend at a 5th grade sleepover. The voices? The rhymes? It’s like some kind of slam poetry set to music. It’s actually a little hilarious overall so I’m gonna give it 2 stars.

Who’s picking these things? This album is nothing but a generic late 80’s early 90’s hip hop album with nothing special standing out. Maybe it would have sounded better if I was wearing one of those airbrushed Bugs Bunny shirts where he’s got on baggy pants and a backwards hat.

Track one and two gave me high expectations for this album. I feel like 'Buffalo Stance' was in heavy rotation on the radio when I was a wee one. That hook bangs, for sure. The rapping on track two is actually decent for someone from Europe in the 80's. ...then the album quickly goes downhill. The rapping and subject matter are REALLY 80's. Typical late 80's/early 90's new jack swing...nothing too memorable, in my opinion. (Only listened to the 10 tracks from the original vinyl release)

Was alright. Definitely sounds like 80s/90s

Wasn't my thing. Sorta interesting but overall I wouldn't listen again. 2.49/5

Buffalo Stance is, unfortunately for Cherry, one of the great singles of the 80s. The rest of this album is half written, half made and half arsed.

Generic 80's album. No idea why this would be there but 100's of others wouldn't. It's repetitive and just not that great.

When I found out that the artist is Swedish, I expected nothing but perfection. Turns out I was wrong. Two or three good tracks, especially "Manchild" (which, no wonder, was produced by Massive Attack's 3D). There's some interesting sample and synth experimentation, but nothing more than that. Cherry is trying too hard to sound alternative, and to incorporate too many genres and styles at the same time.

Oh man. This album brings back memories of one of my cousins having it on tape and making up her own dance moves to Buffalo Stance. This album wasn't for me then and isn't for me now but that song is a bit of a banger. NGL Overall it's so late 80s in its production its bordering on parody but it's not a bad album. It's just not my jam. A high 2.

When the first song is her best known and I hate it, you know you are in for a rough listen. Cheesy, shit lyrics, too long.

Nothing that I liked, but not bad (not crappy Brazilian Heavy Metal).

A jumbled pop mess. No thanks.

This is on par with late-80s Madonna I suppose. I don't necessarily mean that as a compliment. The whole thing seemed pretty cheesy and juvenile. Who knew Eagle Eye was the more talented Cherry?

Christmas Day! And the generator has brought me a lump of coal. Pop album from the late 80s. I didn’t want to write it off before it even started but I did write it off pretty soon after that. My Christmas treat was discovering that the Spotify version contains 4 bonus tracks that I was quite happy to bin off. I recently gave a sort-of similar Madonna album a 1-star and this feels a bit more authentic and interesting. But I won’t be rushing to listen to it again.

It was fine, but I wasn’t sad when it was over

buffalo stance is a lot of fun but not finding reason to revisit this one after track 1

Без этого, предположительно, не было бы всех Карди Б, Сексиии Ред, и Доечии, и в зависимости от твоих жизненных ориентиров это одновременно большой плюс или огромный минус. Музыка устаревшая. Лучшая песня - Kisses On The Wind.

Not really list worthy. Its like music a late 80s teen sitcom or drama would produce to be played at the promise or whatever

this was okay, has some grooves but it wasn’t the most engaging

Nah

Hittet åbner albummet. Som meget andet med hip hop elementer, så bliver det hurtigt meget dateret. Jeg tænkte mest på hendes rap som Sir Mix A Lot... På den dårlige måde. Sang delene var ok. Men det fremstår langt, og kedeligt.

Buffalo Stance was the only song that I knew from her. I wish I had kept it that way. Buffalo's dance is a weird little pop song but it's good. Everything else on this album feels tortured and like a sickly representative of its era. Not a fan.

Very late-80s, very mid-Atlantic. Very mid.

more rap, got a couple of good sons, but overall meh

Very mid. I didn’t hate most of them necessarily so a 1 star would just be lies but anything higher than a 2 star is also a lie so 2 stars it is.

I think it's kinda cute that music like this was once so popular

I don't think I'm finishing this one

First listen. Ok.

I don't get it.

Ooh, admire the attitude, like Buffalo Stance, but it just sounds so tacky now.

No pude entenderlo. No lo disfrute mucho. Tal vez en un futuro cambie de opinión

Dit album voelt als een voorloper op allerlei muziekrages van de jaren 90, en dat is een pluim waard voor een album van vóór de decenniumwisseling. Het is super Europees, en doet me daardoor telkens herinneren aan dat aftandse Eurodance. Maar tegelijkertijd is het eigenlijk ook een soort proto-Trip Hop. Het deed me meermaals denken aan Massive Attack - Unfinished Sympathy, en heb zeker gecheckt of zij daar niet in zong. Dat nummer staat op de plaat die vaak wordt gezien als het officiële startpunt van de Trip Hop hype. Maar dit album van Neneh Cherry is bijna 2 jaar eerder uitgebracht, en kauwt toch al wat Trip Hop elementen voor. Het verbaasde dan ook niks dat er een link bleek te zijn, die deze meid uit Zweden verbindt met Bristol, UK. Haar man destijds was één van de oprichters van Massive Attack. Enfin, de ogenschijnlijke pioniersrol van deze plaat daargelaten, ben ik op muzikaal vlak niet heel erg ondersteboven van haar stijl. Het is best creatief, en haar enthousiasme lijkt puur en 'raw' te zijn zoals de titel van het album aangeeft, maar waar het een voorloper was toen hij uitkwam, is hij veel minder goed met de tijd meegegaan dan 'Hip Pop' albums uit de 90s. Ze trekt naast het Eurocentrische dance gehalte ook wel les uit urban USA, met jazzrap achtige songs als 'So Here I Come'. Dat pakt wel m'n aandacht, maar vind haar rapstijl té 2 Unlimited. Ik snap dat rap zich in de 80s nog erg aan het ontwikkelen was tot de meesterlijke flow en complexe rijmschema's van de 90s, maar het voelt vaak wel aan als een parodie op de Golden Age of Hip Hop. Pluspunt voor haar lef en inventiviteit, maar het oor wil ook wat. En die krijgt te weinig. 5,5/10 Highlights: Buffalo Stance So Here I Come

Started strong with Buffalo Stance, then faded quickly. Save this for (maybe) 1001 Songs list, but the album isn’t strong enough.

Well, it's got enough catchy pop hooks and irrepressible attitude to raise it safely above the 1-star dregs. Buffalo Stance is a good track. But... it all sounds a bit naff and dated really, and the album feels like it goes on for longer than it actually does, which is never a good sign.

Decent first song and nothing else

I really tried. The only likes/appreciation on this pop/rap album from me is from the refreshingly wholesome, feminist lyrics. I wasnt there when this came out. It sounds like a Madonna album.

Pretty fun listen but nothing stood out at all.

Run of the mill 80s female-led pop. Not bad but not sure how it made this list.

No, Neneh Cherry is not for me. It's not bad music but it's too R&B for my tastes.

didn't really like it all that much.

It’s OK. Not for me so much.

I'm gonna go straight to the question: does it deserve the place on the list? I don't know. Maybe as a missing link between 80's and 90's. Even as a missing link it's too mediocre and forgettable.

Snippets of songs aren’t bad. Collectively, this is bad.

Not a fan of this type of music, but some of the songs I didn’t mind too much. I would like to hear this artist in another genre, as I liked her singing voice. Not really fair to rate it, but my ratings are for my own edification only.

# Album Name: Raw Like Sushi # Artist: Neneh Cherry # Rating: # Comments: The name Neneh cherry did not ring a bell. But as soon as i heard the opener i knew it straight away. Buffalo stance. What a tune. Great song even to this day. The scratching make it sound a tad dated but i love the tune. Same again with manchild. Its all flowing back. Manchild is interesting mix of pop, synth and abit hip hop. I liked it. The album is then followed by inner city mama and kisses in the wind. Two weaker singles imo. Unfortunately, the album starts with its strongest 3-4 songs and then tumbles quickly downhill. Next gen goes into full blown pop/rap mode. And from there it kinda continues on into a mellay of 80s pop/rap. Sounded very underwhelming and dated. I have no idea how she has been compared to prince. Its nowhere near the same level. Sadly the album goeeessssss wayyyy too long clocking in over an hour. I would never have guessed she was swedish though. I'd give this a 2. It would have been a two if it was not for buffalo stance. # Top Tunes: Buffalo Stance / manchild # Would I listen to it again? Nope. Except for buffalo stance and manchild.

Not terrible but didnt enjoy it. Very dated.

One okay song that now sounds dated. Very "of the time"

Fine in increments, but painfully stuck in the 80's.

oh yeah, I know this ONE song. The rest is some cringy late-80s pop "hip hop".

Surprisingly didn't age well. Sadly sounds a bit naff now IMO

I remember when her half-brother Eagle Eye Cherry had a breakout hit with Save Tonight, and a good buddy said "that's Neneh Cherry's brother!" I had no idea who he was talking about. So on listening to this album I thought ok, I'll hear her big hit Buffalo Stance and it'll come back to me. Nope. But knowing some of my buddy's favorite music from the late 80's (think New Edition), I get why he'd be into that song. Aside from the lyrics being better, I'd say the sound of that song is just as tragic as other rap/pop wannabes of that era (think Marky Mark's Good Vibrations). How much of this album is Cherry vs. a bunch of producers turning dials in a studio? It's sounds and style like this that make us embarrassed to talk about the 80's. The only reason I'm not giving it a lower score is because I think she had some quality lyrics, and she probably had little power to dictate the sound or object to sounds that others wanted to put to her words. Though Love Ghetto made me rethink that - terrible lyrics. And from there I wasn't sure how good her lyrics were on the rest of the album; they also sounded a bit trite. And without lyrics, it's back to the terrible musical production. Ugh.

Incredibly dated sounding

I had some nostalgia during the first three songs on this album, but then remembered that it goes perilously downhill from there. I’m still a sucker for this 80s sound, but nothing too amazing here.

Sometimes I listen to tunes like this, but Neneh wouldn't be my first choice normally.

The first song is good the rest is mostly cheeks

I used to think Neneh Cherry was cool. I don't think anymore.

"Buffalo Stance" slaps. What a riot of a chorus (and what a terrific synth hook just before said chorus surges!). And so does proto-trip hop ballad "Manchild", co-written with Robert "3D" Del Naja, from Massive Attack. Its slow beat is infectious, and its string section, following so many great harmonic twists and turns, modulates the hell out of the song. With such a lush canvas, Neneh Cherry only needs to spin her yarn through both enticing crooning and youthful rapping to take that cut to a whole other level. Unfortunately--and apart from a third cut nicely winking to Marvin Gaye ("Inna City Mama", a little above the fry)--everything that follows those two great singles is absolutely grating and has aged pretty horribly. Neneh Cherry is an endearing figure, but the music she sings to is here pestered by all the worst clichés of the pop / R'n'B commercial fodder of the late eighties. Case in point, "Heart", which could have been a highlight without all those awful choices for the instrumentation and arrangements. And I'm not even gonna bother mentioning all the songs that are even worse than "Heart". OK, maybe that terrible, *terrible*, supposedly goofy duet with whoever that r'n'b clown is on the last proper composition of the album (just before the mandatory-yet-absolutely-useless remixes of the LP's singles), whose name I don't even care checking out again... *Raw Like Sushi* "almost comes across as satire," as that other reviewer puts it. Except that it's not. If there is one thing that the bulk of this album comes off as today, it is that it appears as totally cringeworthy. Incidentally, second Neneh Cherry LP, *Homebrew*, is far, *far* better than this very mixed bag of a debut. Had "Buffalo Stance" and "Manchild" found their way into that other record attuned to much more interesting strands of music that were popular at the time (namely trip hop, indie rock and old school funk), you would have a perfect album for this list. Alas, I'm daydreaming about an alternate universe here. In *this* universe, I still have those two CDs at home, and once in a while, I return to my favourite moments in them. But you can't label them as "essential" albums. And neither can you say that their contents are striking enough to become mandatory listens for anyone who was not born in 1989 yet. At least as a whole, and not by a long shot. After all, sushis are delicious, but they have a very short peremption date, don't they? 1.5/5 for the purposes of this list, rounded up to 2 6.5/10 for more general purposes (5+1.5) Number of albums left to review: 95 Number of albums from the list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens: 390 Albums from the list I *might* include in mine later on: 228 Albums from the list I certainly won't include in mine: 287 (including this one)

Not my thing at all - dated sound.

Very late 80s hip hop. About twice as long as it needs to be.

Don't like this one. Will I listen to again: 0%

Don't really know what to say about this one. It has its moments, but I'm not sure I really care for much of it. Also never been a fan of the incessant record scratch sound.

Nothing special in my eyes. Why would anyone compare this to Madonna? Are you crazy?

Just not fully my jam

Kind of fun, somewhat naïve, and a little bit shit? It does kind of get better as it goes on, and there are some nice beats, but this one just doesn’t land for me. Feel there are similar records from this era that are better.

Ooh, baby, I like it raw, but outside of “Buffalo Stance,” this whole album is pretty whack.

Bleh - it was fine. It is probably the most 1989 album of 1989.

Charming nostalgic romp through 80s multicultural optimism. Interesting that she’s Swedish given how much it sounds like NYC but then the monoculture of the times, from Madonna to Fame to Paula Abdul that influenced the sound, made this more an assemblage and a performance of all those identities. Some fun songs. I was between a 2 and a 3 and ultimately went with 2 but keep in mind 2 isn’t bad, and generally I liked it but probably wouldn’t play it again.

"Eclectic mix of genres." Interesting. After a passable beginning it settles into a predictable late '80s meh. Every song has that same beat and embarrassingly familiar instruments. The genre is cringe.

An average hip-hop/pop album from the late 80s that was perfectly innocuous with nothing to write home about. A lot of the beats sounded quite generic like they came from a basic keyboard synth with nothing that really stood out. Best: Buffalo Stance Worst: My Bitch

It's a nay nay from me.

It’s an average pop rap record. I lean more towards disliking this album than liking it but it really could go either way. Nothing special or anything.

Not bad but totally dated.

Better than I thought it would be.

Couple of good songs

Meh

The first two songs were pretty good. The rest did not grab me.

Terrible. I don't like that kind of music at all. Simplistic, commercial urban pop is very far away from my tastes.

I tried with this album but it just didn't land with me

There are some parts that were interesting and started to pull me back in, and then it would just be awful bars set to the worst beat available in 1989

Not my particular cup of tea when it comes to hip-hop (a little too old school), but I imagine it was pretty groundbreaking at the time. I don't remember much representation for women in that genre then.

I can tell this is very well done. I just don't particularly like it. 2/5

There was nothing that good on here. I have heard buffalo stance on the radio before, but never really listen to it properly. The most offensive thing about this album is that she drinks beers through straws, absolutely disgraceful

I just didn’t enjoy this at all. That being said it wasn’t bad

Buffalo Stance und Manchild: ok Rap: no

probably a good example of what it is but what it is is not for me

Unlike sushi, this didn't have the freshness that I seek in a hip-hop album

eh, i got pretty bored with this one, and did not listen multiple times. There's nothing really wrong with it, just not the style of music for me

Not really my jam. There’s probably some decent lyrics in there, but not really my thing.

Very eclectic and sounds exactly like an album recorded in 1988-1989. Learned she is half sister of Eagle Eye Cherry. On first listen I felt she was likely from NYC and surprised to find out she is Swedish.

Early hip-hop and rnb hasn't aged too well, and this isn't an exception. The opener is pretty fun but after that it's all some basic beats and rhymes that don't hold up anymore.

No matter how hard I tried, I just couldn't connect with this album.

im so tired wth

Not my cup of tea. This was just bad pop late 80’s music.

What makes it make this list because it did not seem to reach any threshold at all

Boring and stupid. This should not be on this list, the amount of sub par pop/hip hop albums on this list is astounding. Really dumb. Not impressive at all, just stupid. Did not like.

uuuuuuggggghhhhh. no thanks. this is why late 80's pop music was so lame. overly synthesized, over styled, weak vocals. pass. 1.5

I was on board with the opening track Buffalo Stance, but had a difficult time getting into the rest of the album. Some fun songs but nothing great. I guess you had to be there.

Meh. Early example of rapping. The best I can say is that it doesn't have the swearing or braggadocio of modern rap - but it's still awful and I still hate it. No tunes worth remembering.

Wow: zurück in den 80zigern, wobei mir nur der erste Titel wirklich bekannt vorkommt. Nach dem Hören des gesamten Albums weiß ich heute auch warum...

It's not a good hip hop album, it's not a good pop album. It's just not good in general, with boring tracks, unspecified style, all just levels below than the stars from that time. Record true to its name.

Wasn't a fan. This is lower tier 80s/90s hip-hop for sure.

Buffalo Stance 2.5 Manchild 2.4 Kisses on the Wind 2.5 Inna City Mamma 2.5 The Next Generation 2 Love Ghetto 2.3 Heart 2.1 Phoney Ladies 2.8 Outre Risque Locomotive 2.2 So Here I Come 2.4 My Bitch 2.4 Heart (It's a Demo) 2.3 Buffalo Stance (Sukka Mix) 2.6 Manchild (The Old School Mix) 2.5 Score: 2.392857143

Stevie wonder sample!

Gets some points for Buffalo Stance and Manchild, but quite irritating listen

A testament from a past era. Does not stand well the test of time IMHO. 2 or a bit more.

There’s a such thing as having too many ideas at once. I’m normally a fan of this era of turn-of-the-‘90s pop that blended hip-hop, dance, r&b, and synth-pop into a chaotic soup, but normally, all those artists either had a) a standout hit with a couple supposed-to-be minor hits [because most were one-hit wonders], and/or b) a dominant genre they fit within, where they used all the other genre aesthetics as textures to their sound. This album doesn’t have either: “Buffalo Stance” charted, but it is really difficult to imagine how or why with today’s ears; meanwhile, the rest of the album is just an onslaught of different of-the-era sounds, all of which are done poorly for the time, and sound worse together today. I see the appeal of Neneh Cherry on paper, especially for 1989, a year of changing tides and potential, but the execution is subpar. It’s not bad in a campy way, either, it’s just deeply forgettable. I guess it’s valuable to see how weird pop music was at this time, but there’s better reference points than this.

not for me

hi hat...some good musical bits and singing voice. But nothing particularly earthshaking going on. Lyrics all come across as run of the mill.

Der erste Song ist ein Pop-Knaller, der Rest naja. Andere Rapperinnen aus der Zeit (z.B. SaltnPepa) fand ich authentischer.

Buffalo Stance is a stone cold classic Man child is pretty great But there’s a lot of filler outside of those two

almost hated this

Ugh. I don't like the genres of dance music overall, but this lacked distinction for me.

Neneh Cherry - Raw Like Sushi This album is a time capsule for the late 80s. I had only known the song, Buffalo Stance. However, this album was not for me and I found a lot of it unlistenable. Manchild and My Bitch are the worst offenders. 2/5

I wanted to like this, but I just didn’t. I like Buffalo Stance. This just feels so very dated.

...It's like a 2.5. Pretty fun at times, but certainly cheesy and a little hard to listen to from front to back.

3/13/24. Meh, just okay. Feels a bit dated to a specific sound and time. However, this is far from awful and has a couple fun tracks.

Buffalo Stance is a banger, but the rest of the album feels bland and outdated. Salt-N-Peppa albums have aged better.

Feels incredibly dated.

I feel like this album started with potential and then just flatlined into something mid. The first song was super fun and vibes then the rest just got mid and boring. Listened just to finish it.

If you weren't around to experience what 1989 life was like... just listen to this entire album - it was pretty much this. I secretly always liked "Buffalo Stance" when it came out even if I was almost exclusively listening to shitty hard rock at the time. Never heard the rest of this and it's kinda fun at first but really chintzy-1989-sounding at worst - and definitely that sound carries throughout the album which makes it ...not *bad* in any way but kinda tiresome. Not sure it all holds up for me, but I'll take Buffalo Stance on a mix and move on. 4/10 2 stars

Noy my style, nice mix of genres but feels too over the place for me. Interesting album though 4/10

Starts ok but gets shrilly and grating quite early. At points Neneh Cherry is rapping like an adolescent - a far cry from future acts like MIA who are more honest and articulate.

I remember listening to the single for Buffalo Stance constantly as a kid. This is still a fun song but it is very dated. And long. The song could have been cut down a minute or so and been better for it. The whole album is pretty dated and does not hold up. I did not enjoy any of the other tracks. This is a 2 only because of my nostalgia for Buffalo Stance.

This is SO 80s, in a very fun but dated way. I can't imagine my kids enjoying this, but the nostalgia hit is great with this one. On further listening though this started to get very old very fast.

I liked the energy, but overall wasn’t really my thing.

Not bad but not for me. DNF

Fun, groovy and easy going. Like that friend from High School with whom you have not talked ever again.

Listened to the album again after a long time. The first two songs still stand out clearly and still sound contemporary

Neneh Cherry is cool and all and her debut album is at times quite the fun listen. It’s also exhaustingly dated. I know it’s from 1989 but even back then nobody could have thought that releasing “The Next Generation” would be a good idea. Later she even raps: “Chocolates, bananas, doughnuts and salami Ain't gonna fit coz you're full of boloni”. You’re better than that, Neneh.

Some 80s music sounds timeless today, but a lot of it doesn't. Unfortunately for me this fits the latter. Struggled to get through this one.

RnB, Rap, 1989 -> 2

This is bad in the classical 80's way. It just sounds so dated. The bits where she's singing definitely work better. There's some more upbeat numbers that are quite good, but overall it's just dated and feels hollow like so many other 80's mainstream pop albums.

Awful 80's sound effects and cheesy raps. Not good.

Another pick out if left field. I mean sure track one was entertaining, and there was a fantastic piano breakdown somewhere in there about 20 min later but....

For an album with such a thirsty cover, it’s a remarkably unsexy album. More late 80s radio friendly dance pop, and it sounds very dated. I can’t think of a better example of the New Jack Swing style and, for me at least, that’s not a great thing.

This album explains why the only reason she had one hit was because of a collaboration...

The scratching and rapping really suck and surely would have sounded old-fashioned even by 1989 standards. The pop RnB stuff, while still incredibly dated (those synths! those drum machines! the keyboard strings! that reverb tone! that rangey breathy vocal belting out the hook over a vaguely house beat!), has much more of a classic enduring quality just for being a lot of fun. Would be better if they cut 1-2 minutes off each song though - nowhere near enough ideas to flesh out all these 5 minute tracks. Favorites: Inna City Mamma, Love Ghetto, Buffalo Stance

This album is obviously a victim of the Michael Jackson era. The production is oh so dated. The lyrical content is ok, but I just can’t get past the cheesy production.

I was a teenager when this came out and I hated it then because I was too cool for this pop dross. Now I'm an adult and suitably embarrased about my musical neophyte opinions from 25 years ago. That said I still hate it but for the terrible Blondie-quality rapping and the plonky plonky music which is absolutely not my style. Only song I could kinda enjoy was Kisses on the Wind. Buffalo Stance gets an extra point for nostalgia but it's not actually good.

Ce n'est pas mauvais, mais je ne vois pas en quoi ça se démarque de beaucoup d'albums pop/hip-hop/RnB de ces années là, surtout en comparaison aux gros noms. Un album respectable, mais dont la présence ici est questionable. 5/10

Reading the notes, I thought this would be up my alley. I'm a huge Prince/80s/808 fan. This one just didn't grab me though. Sounds like one of Prince's backup singers made an album without his help.

Aw yes... when hip-hop influenced music started infiltrating the top 40. I love Buffalo Stance, but I don't recall the rest of the album. Let's see how it holds up. Not really a fan of her singing vocals on this release. I know she can sing because her later cover of Marvin Gaye's Trouble Man is one of my favorite songs. Unfortunately I'm not hearing that Neneh on this release. Although to her credit I can hear some early trip-hop on a few tracks. Her blending of styles and creativity kinda reminds me of an 80's era M.I.A. Unfortunately, this feels a bit lopsided and dated

Okay. Not my kind of music. But I will give it try.

Extroverted, late 80s dance pop with hip hop influences - a dime a dozen. Manchild, which was hyped on MTV back then (if anyone remembers), is nice, but the album as a whole is as uninteresting as the genres suggest. 2/5

Very dated 80s music

The lyrics are too funny to only give this 1 star.

Havent aged that well, sadly..!

outstanding

not my jam

Tinny, silly, insubstantial, but perhaps slightly ahead of its time as music didn't really get this stupid until a few years later.

The first two songs are still nice to hear; I don't care about the rest.

If 1989 made a clean hip hop album that would be it. Just, eh. 5/10.

This was not for me. The beats didn’t really have anything going for them and neither do the vocals. DNF.

There was way too much going on here. Wasn't too bad at first but it really starts to drag towards the middle and back half of this album.

Earlier this year, I was combing through the Billboard Year-End Hot 100 Singles charts for the late 80's and early 90's. I was wondering what the top singles were throughout that era, because I couldn't think of a specific way to categorize that era. I think it was such an interesting time, as what type of music was popular was changing at a really rapid pace through those years. I made a Spotify playlist of my favorites from those charts, and I've been listening to it off and on this year. However, I'm unfamiliar with Neneh Cherry's music, so "Buffalo Stance" didn't make my playlist. As I started listening to this album, I really loved the chaotic sound of "Buffalo Stance." It's definitely a product of its time, but I think that's what makes it so great. There was so many different sounds coming in and out throughout the course of the song, and I loved all of the electronic elements that contributed to the music. The vocals were fine, and the song had some great ebbs and flows as different sounds were utilized and then swapped out. After that first track, I had high hopes for the rest of the album. Unfortunately, those hopes were dashed. The beats throughout the rest of the album were okay, but nothing else on the album lived up to the energy of "Buffalo Stance." Overall, I thought Neneh's flow was not that great. I hate to be harsh, but it reminded me of "Top That!" in the movie Teen Witch. There were some clever lyrics sprinkled throughout the album, but their frequency was too sparse to keep me engaged. "Buffalo Stance" is an incredible song, but overall, this album was pretty much a snooze.

Still not great Percussions are horrible

Mostly fine with this album. The beats are fun and good quality that I found myself drumming along while in the grocery store. However the lyrics and rapping are so forgettable that it feels like she bought the beats and literally any other rapper could've done this album. It reaches a good level of quality but so generic for hip hop around this time I would always listen to artists like Missy Elliot instead. 4/10

This album has parts that on their own might sound good, catchy choruses, decent 80s background beats and somewhat interesting composition. When put together it is confusing, annoying and overwhelming. I like the guy in “Inna City Mama” who comes in and says the title in a voice that sounds like he is shitting his insides out. Each song is obnoxiously overcrowded with noises. My ears are raw like sushi after listening to this. 3/10

Buffalo Stance was great and I really thought I had a 5 on my hands. It quickly drops off from there. Very Janet Jackson vibes to my unqualified ear. Maybe it’ll sound better in another 15-20 years but I doubt it. Let it be a single

Eh, not really my thing. Sounds very dated. 2 stars.

Relly nothing special.

Very cool production heavy on FM synths and crunchy samplers. The programmed triplet fills and vocals that fit akwardly in the mix, I struggle with. This is well executed, and was proabably extremely fresh in 1989. Just not for me. 2.3

Lyden af elektronisk pop i 1989, lidt bangers, men også lidt irriterende

Eh. Whatever. Not terrible. Some catchy tunes.

premature ejaculation of an album. spaffed its load before we'd even got the booklet out of the CD case.

Shit like sushi

So 90's it hurts!!

Not very appealing to me. The first song is okay-ish. Nothing else came close to getting my attention. Not 1 star bad, but never again.

Я с первых треков вообще не поняла прикол: это что за плоская попса? Невыразительная, банальная. В середине я пару треков перемотала и собиралась поставить единицу. Вторая часть с хип хопом пободрее и поинтереснее, но я все равно не насладилась. Разве что узнала кусочек, взятый для моего любимого Brand E Фрушанте... Даже полезла читать отзывы, чтобы понять, что тут такого, почему это great album... Нашла довольно точное определение: несмотря на его революционность в свое время, альбом не выдержал испытание временем.

Not for me. In 2023 it's sounds to generic.

This was reaching beyond her grasp. She had a lot to say about a wide range of topics but her ability to effectively communicate those positions was... not great. But... buffalo stance, amIrite? Super standard style of the time.

Meh, didn't catch my ear.

Oooooffff was this rough. I couldn't get through 30 seconds without visually cringing. It's so 90s, trying-too-hard-to-be-energetic since the execution of almost everything is just bad. 3/10

Not my thing. I think I'm missing some context for where this fits in the history of rap and hip-hop, but the record generally lacks in interesting melodic ideas and groove. In both ways, it's very much of its time for successful pop. The Next Generation isn't bad, but I nearly quit during Love Ghetto, which uses a baseball metaphor for its refrain but seems to misunderstand how a home run is talked about in that sport. Not a godawful record, just a bit boring to my tastes.

I did not like this at all. Granted in a very small and bad mood when listening to this but still it just grated on me the entire time. Repetitive and dull

Album had it's enjoyable moments, but they were brief. Sounds like a mashup of everything 80s.

I can understand why people listened to this album back in the days, but unless you were a big fan, I don't see how any new listeners could really appreciate this album in 2023.

I don’t wanna listen to this. I know the first song. It’s fine. More like Nono Cherry

This album isn't sure what it wants to be. Is it R&B? Is it pop? Is it hip-hop? Is it trip-hop? Too convoluted. I wish it was more rap because those songs work better and it would have been a more interesting album. Instead the pop stuff sounds so dated and meh.

Some catchy lyrics but there’s a lot going on here and I’m not sure I like it.

Not my cup of tea, didn't really vibe with this. One track was alright but can't remember which one.

dated. corny/cheesy with some enjoyable moments here and there but five tracks in i was ready for it to be over. i like a lot of the instrumentals, but the rapping is sooooo of its time.

Me in jr high asking girls to dance to this...it happened

- Clearly not the target audience for this album tbh - Funky and fun - A 2.5 but recognize it's not for me

Recognised the first and second song, from then onwards, more of the same. Pretty good; i liked the well weighted and consistent use of genre crossovers. However, feels a bit dated; it seems half of all music for the thirty years after this uses the same techniques, and the same blends of generic modes of pop, and hip hop music.

This was not for me. It was too 80s pop but I did like the rap that was parsed in throughout.

raakaa... ei oo näin RAAKAA musiikkia koskaan tehty... rraaaaaaaaww shit... totas nois mitäs nyt sanois totanoin...joo-o. hyvähyvä...semmonen tänään taas semmonen stoori niin sanotusti heh.. noh, juu kai tässä, kai tässä mennään seuraavaan sitten katotaas mitä huomenna löytyy ja love ghetto

extremely 2000's for an album from 1989. thats the most impressive thing about it.

I’m not sure what happened here, but this sounds like it should’ve been a lot bigger album than it was. It’s not exactly my flavor, but Buffalo Stance is a GREAT opener. The album does lose some steam from there on, but it is peak 80s pop.

Left me feeling unsatisfied and a bit queasy, like gas station sushi.

It's really all about the first song - nice number. The second song has a nice chord progression. Other than that, the tracks are kind of ordinary.

There are beats and (I assume they're) samples that I like on this album, and sometimes the way Neneh Cherry raps reminds me of Chuck D's flow of all things, but the album feels like a bygone era that struggles to be interesting both in the realm of pop and hip-hop, so a mix of both just spoils moments after starting, and while this album isn't too long, each song feels like it drags. It's okay in short doses, but a whole album can be a bit much. Just a whatever album.

All the tracks sounded the same, not for me but it’s fine I guess. Only good song was My Bitch

It sounds outdated, but it's not the worst of that time. The singing is not that good. The rapping has a more natural flow than a lot of her contemporaries. The first three songs were big hits here, but they definitely wouldn't be if they were released now. Favorite song: So Here I Come.

Ei osunut meikäläisen makuun ja varsin nopeasti mielenkiinto lopahti.

Siinä se meni taustalla ärsyttämättä

Hmmmm not for me

I expect that this was a culturally important album given the time, but it doesn't do much for me.

Buffalo stance was catchy, but the rest of it was hot garbage. Sounded like if AI created a new Michael Jackson album

I was intent on hating this and eventually succeeded, but not without uncovering some interesting factoids about this person ... like, you know that dude Buck? Buck Cherry, that's her brother, and the dude Eagle Cherry, that's her other brother, and did you know she was an original member of the Sex Pistols!? Ok, that's not true, but she does evidently have some limited street cred across the pond which is why I have to expect more from this album. This entire sounds like some ripoff 1980's commercial that runs on Saturday morning cartoons and advertises Kool-Aid with some dork on a skateboard... pretty lame.

Good that it’s not raw like milk (apparently an actual trend in this Bizarro world America of 2025). Sushi, on the other hand, is raw and fantastic. Neneh Cherry is neither raw milk nor sushi, but “Raw Like Sushi” is so very 1989. Not in the birth of Taylor Swift kind of way, but in the rap/R&B/rock fusion that walks a fine line between cheesy and hard. Cherry finds herself too often on the wrong side of that line though. She may have a great musical pedigree, but despite (or perhaps because of) her heritage and background she comes off a bit fake. “Buffalo Stance” is a bop though, and makes you want to know how to hit the buffalo stance. But then you find out that a buffalo stance is, as Cherry told The New York Times, "an attitude you have to have in order to get by. It's not about fashion but about survival in inner cities and elsewhere." I’ve got the elsewhere part down. I’m hanging in a buffalo stance.

Lost a star for all the lyrics that embodied that time period where the message seemingly everywhere was that sex is terrifying and men are terrible.

"Buffalo Stance" is a classic, but it appears there's a reason I only know one of her songs: the rest of the album isn't great (and at times it's outright cheesy).

Hmmm 3

At the time, there was something unique and original about the Neneh Cherry sound (not so much today, but let's give Cherry the credit she deserves). Alas, this unique sound is only well expressed in 2 tracks, with the rest drowning in repetitive mediocrity.

Other than a nostalgic trip back to my junior year in high school and reminding all to not get fresh with me, not all that rememberable of an album.

There’s a bunch of great tracts on here but the album has lots of filler to make up the time.

This was a fine album, not my particular music taste. Interesting combo of raps and 80's beats.

Disappointing really; it sounds dated (to be fair, most stuff of this ilk does) but beyond "Buffalo Stance" and "Manchild" (both great) I really couldn't take much interest.

Not really into this one

meh

tries a little bit of everything that was cool in 1989, fails in almost every aspect

A few nice old school hip-hop moments with kick-ass beats, but when I say a few, it's like 2% of the album. Overall, it ages very bad and it's mostly boring to annoying point.

I get it, she's Swedish and was a power figure in the British urban scene. Somehow she was a major influencer in the industry and opened the doors for the Wild Bunch, which led to Massive Attack / Tricky / Goldfrapp. I remember this record from the 80's and I couldn't get into it, and decades later it hasn't aged well either. I can't discern anything innovative, compelling or talented, other than the deft DJ and studio engineering chops. However, though it may not count to the score of this record, I'm still wrecked by "Move With Me" which was featured in Wim Wenders' "Until the End of the World."

I still can’t tell what the big deal is with this record.

Meh, I liked it when it cane out but not my jam anymore

Ok. Very niche 80 sound

Yeah, you guys pretty much covered it. Honestly, I had a moment early on where I thought, "You know, this is kind of nostalgically fun." But that lasted maybe two songs? Craig, that lyric you quoted is terrible and it's not even the worse line in that song! Bad, bad. Sadly, I guess my takeaway is that Neneh Cherry is horny?

album feels quite dated, got a couple catchy hits.

Mixed feelings "eh, it's not that bad" with "when will it end??". Nothing changed in my life after hearing this album

It took me a while to get through this one, not because it's a bad album, but it just was not my jam. 2.25/5, rounding down to 2/5.

wow, i really thought this would be right up my alley but i didn't end up liking it at all. pretty bummed about this one.

What a dumb title and the production has held up over time just about as well as sushi does, which is to say not very. The whole thing sounds thin and tinny and like they played the most basic beats on discount-store equipment, and like a lot of other reaching pop/R&B acts of the time (hello Bill Biv Devoe). There's some likable energy here, but this feels like a kids records – made by and made for – with not much heft and one guesses most of these protagonists long since would have outgrown and/or have fett a bit embarrassed by it.

It’s too bad this album doesn’t feature 7 seconds, (with Youssou N’Dour) which IMO is her best song. Buffalo Stance is a decent cover of Malcolm Mclaren’s hit, but the rest of this album sounds dated and doesn’t grab me at all.

Not my bag

Meh

Not for me

I bet this felt so progressive when it came out but feels extremely dated.

Found it quite boring, with a lot of the songs sounding the same to me.

not for me

This sounded like a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles album if the turtles were angsty teenage girls. if I were a teenage turtle or teenage girl I’d probably give this 4 but I’m neither so 2.5 stars from me

Buffalo Stance is a nostalgia grenade for me, but the rest of the album didn’t particularly stand out as anything more than fine.

Instant hate. What the fuck is wrong with you, 1001 guy?

Mais pourquoi Robert a t'il selectionné pour sa liste elitiste, un album d'une rappeuse suedoise des années 80 ? Cette question m'empêche de dormir depuis plusieurs jours, je suis actuellement interné au Triemlispital de Zürich afin que plusieurs médecins puissent m'aider à retrouver le sommeil.

Too 80’s sounding for me.

Not a big fan…

Corny rap from the late 80's with production that is distinctly electro synths and hip hop beats. Buffalo Stance is memorable for it's incredibly busy hooks and interesting production choices. The truth is that Neneh Cherry is remembered mainly for being one of the few women rapping during this period. This is especially notable because she was born Swedish, but moved to New York in the early 70's, and then again to London in the late 70's. It was there she remained, though the pop rap influence of New York would also cross the Atlantic into the 80's. This would serve as the basis for Raw Like Sushi, along with the typical 80's dance-pop production that was shifting and adopting various different elements from subgenre such as new jack swing, trip hop, and freestyle. This smorgasbord of production styles comes across as disjointed and poorly conceived. Oh, and dated. This album has aged like milk. It's a skip from me.

Didn't activity make me want to not listen. I tolerated it, more than I enjoyed it. 33/112

Can appreciate it was a trailblazing album for 1989, but it's just way too cheesy for me. Doesn't hold up well now.

hopefully the worst album to make this list. horrible, trite, affected, sophomoric lyrics. despite that, some of the tracks are definitely fun listens, and she got better at least.

klarte ikkje høyra heile

Ya know what, I like most music. It's only if it annoys me that I tend to actually dislike a particular song or artist. And this album definitely annoyed me. 2 stars because it wasn't actually terrible. Just annoying.

Great opener with Buffalo Stance, then Manchild is okay, but it's all downhill from there on out.

Not my cup of tea.

Kasariretroilua, joka onkin tehty jo kasarilla. En osaa suhtautua tähän millään tasolla romanttisesti, minkä takia tuskin kuuntelen levyä koskaan uudelleen, mutta on tällä tarttuvatkin hetkensä.

- [ ] This really isn’t my style, but it’s fine pop music. I do think the novel 80s pop trends (drum machines, synth, sampling) have aged incredibly poorly. And this CD is super-long on them. But like peak MJ, there’s enough of classic R&B here to make it worthwhile. Nehneh herself has a nice voice, although I don’t care for her rapping, and there’s too much of that. The opener is the strongest song, a nice upbeat pop hit, with fairly effective use of sampling (although instantly dateable in a not-totally-good way). The rest is similar, barring a couple just totally-garbage all-rap songs like “Next Generation”- it’s just not as catchy, which is the only goal here. On a list of 1001, this almost certainly gets a boost for early influential female rap-pop plus Latin crossover, which I don’t care about at all (wrong kind of influential). And I’d never pick it for myself, but I actually thought it was a nice listen, or most of the songs at least- just a few too many duds, and not at the next level like some other comparably 80s pop (eg Whitney).

This is a horribly dated album. On top of that, the list's entry for it namedrops her stepfather, Don Cherry, despite not having a single album by him or his bandleader, Ornette Coleman, on the list. What is this garbage? Why isn't there a single album from the founder of free jazz but there's this dated, obnoxious, late-80s rap album from one of his bandmembers' step daughter? Can we get someone who knows something about music to curate this stupid list?

The hit is pretty good I suppose. But this is just early 90s pop. Not for me.

This is not a genre of music I tend to enjoy listening to and that didn't change for this album. I found the lyrics clunky and the songs too long for how repetitive they were. I also dislike when singers start speaking during songs and there was SO much of that in her music. Not for me.

Damn that's an "old school 80" style album. Not my style unfortunately.

Nah. Uninspiring pop.

Some numbers are okay and even recognizable (buffalo stance); some are really not for me (especially the rapping parts).

I honestly don't understand how this one made it into the book. To my ears, the album is chock-full of mediocre-at-best hip hop.

Zeer pop-achtige hiphop en R&B muziek. Goed als achtergrond voor mij

this sucks expect manchild was kinda nice

Mñe, no mi estilo pero bien. 2

not my thing, soz