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Neneh Cherry, Punk, Rap and the Making of a Black Icon
Neneh Cherry sits at the crossroads of punk, rap, pop, and Black music history, and this episode shows how she carved a lane that still feels outside the box. Tracing her...
Show Notes
The Big Picture
Neneh Cherry has been ahead of the curve for nearly four decades, and this episode is long overdue. DJ Sir Daniel and Jay Ray sit down to trace her path from nomadic jazz-world kid to punk London to Video Music Box Fridays — unpacking why she belongs in every serious conversation about hybrid MCs and Black women in music. They dig into the records, the remixes, and the cultural moments that made her feel like family, from Buffalo Stance to the Buddy X Jeep remix with Biggie Smalls. This one is equal parts music school and family reunion.
From Istanbul to the Wild Bunch: Neneh's Origin Story
Long before "Buffalo Stance" existed, Neneh Cherry was living a life soaked in art and music from every corner of the world. Born in Sweden to a Swedish mother and a Sierra Leonean father, she grew up in the orbit of stepfather Don Cherry — the legendary jazz musician — touring in a VW bus, crossing paths with James Baldwin in Istanbul, and breathing in reggae, world music, and jazz like it was air.
Biological father: from Sierra Leone
Stepfather: Don Cherry, famed jazz musician
Key book: A Thousand Threads by Neneh Cherry, where she documents her nomadic childhood
Notable childhood moment: Meeting James Baldwin in Istanbul while on tour
As a teenager, she lands in London and falls in with the punk scene — linking up with members of The Slits, performing with New Age Steppers, and joining Rip Rig + Panic. By the late-80s she’s rapping on a track called "Looking Good Diving with the Wild Bunch" — the song would later be flipped into her solo hit single "Buffalo Stance."
Buffalo Stance and the Pop-Rap Crossover Moment
When that "Buffalo Stance" video hit Video Music Box on Friday nights, Sir Daniel knew instantly: "This isn't giving Elmhurst, Queens. This is definitely from across the pond." The color, the flow, the rigid-motion backup dancers, the cranked-up UK drip — it was different, and it was magnetic.
"Buffalo Stance" is essentially a remix of "Looking Good Diving with the Wild Bunch"
The song crossed over through BET and MTV, placing Neneh alongside Tone Lōc, Young MC, MC Hammer, and Vanilla Ice in the late 80s pop-rap wave
Debut album Raw Like Sushi (Virgin Records) came in the long-box CD era — Neneh on the cover with wet hair, a dollar-chain medallion, biker shorts, and a bra top. Very 1989.
Jay Ray's connection to Neneh deepened when "I've Got You Under My Skin" hit MTV — a track that name-checked AIDS in a rap verse at a time when few artists dared touch the subject. That moment reframed what Black music could do: not just entertainment, but testimony.
Homebrew, Buddy X, and the Biggie Remix Nobody Talks About
By the 90s, Neneh pivoted with the times. She absorbed the jazz-rap wave through her association with Gang Starr, landing collabs with Guru and DJ Premier on her second album. Homebrew (1992) is the record Jay Ray calls her quiet masterpiece — rapping, singing, boom bap, and a jazzy ease all in one place.
Then came "Buddy X" — the video that looked like every woman showed up for a Gap commercial:
Every shade, shape, size, and hair texture represented
A men vs. women visual narrative most viewers didn't fully decode at the time
But the real gem? Sir Daniel dug up the "Buddy X" Jeep Remix featuring a young Biggie Smalls — an up-and-coming rapper from Brooklyn at the time, delivering a quintessential verse over boom bap. The kind of record you could drop in the Tunnel and watch people lose their minds.
Buddy X Jeep Remix features The Notorious B.I.G.
Boom bap production in the tradition of women singers over hard beats, alongside artists like Lashes and G. Simone (KRS-One's wife)
A reminder that remixes are the heartbeat of Black music culture
The Through Line: Forever Cool, Never in a Box
Neneh took a break from recording in the late 90s, but she never disappeared. Jay Ray shouts out "Twisted Mess" from the Best Laid Plans soundtrack (1999) as a hidden gem from her off-period. When she returned in the early 2010s, it was on her own terms — including a full collaboration album with jazz band The Thing called The Cherry Thing.
Sir Daniel places her in a direct lineage: Kelis, Santigold (Santogold), Res — Black women who don't adhere to convention but are forever cool and always delivering.
"There is not a Neneh Cherry project that I don't like. You are getting Neneh every time you get Neneh." — Jay Ray
FAQ: Your Questions About Neneh Cherry
Q: Why is Neneh Cherry left out of the hybrid MC conversation?
A: Sir Daniel and Jay Ray argue it's a gap in the cultural record. She's been doing rap-and-sing fluently for nearly 40 years, predating many artists credited with the format.
Q: What was the Wild Bunch?
A: A Bristol-based sound system crew in the mid-80s. They were foundational to UK dance and hip hop culture, and several members went on to form Massive Attack. They were name checked by Neneh on the track "Looking Good Diving with the Wild Bunch," a B-side remix of Morgan-McVey’s only single “Looking Good Diving” which became the foundation for "Buffalo Stance."
Q: What's on the Buddy X remix?
A: A Jeep mix featuring a pre-fame Biggie Smalls (The Notorious B.I.G.) dropping a full verse over boom bap. Sir Daniel calls it quintessential Biggie — unmistakable flow, elite rhymes, and a record that deserves way more play.
Q: Is there a Neneh Cherry deep cut worth tracking down?
A: Jay Ray's pick is "Twisted Mess" from the Best Laid Plans soundtrack (1999) — a standout from her hiatus years that rarely gets mentioned.
Q: What is The Cherry Thing?
A: A 2012 collaborative album between Neneh Cherry and avant-garde jazz band The Thing, marking her return to active recording. Jay Ray calls it one of his favorites from her whole catalog.
The Ultimate Takeaway
"Her bloodline are the Santi Golds, the Res’s — women that aren't really adhering to anything conventional. But they're forever cool. They know good music. They know what the people are gonna like, and they're always going to give it to you." — DJ Sir Daniel
Bibliography & References
Artists + Music
Neneh Cherry → Spotify
Neneh Cherry & The Thing — The Cherry Thing → Spotify
Gang Starr → Spotify
The Notorious B.I.G. → Spotify
People & Places
Neneh Cherry — Swedish-Sierra Leonean singer, rapper, songwriter
Cameron McVey - Cherry’s husband, collaborator, former member of Morgan-McVey.
Don Cherry — Jazz musician, Neneh's stepfather
James Baldwin — Author, civil rights activist; met Neneh's family in Istanbul
The Slits — Pioneering UK post-punk band; Neneh performed with members
Rip Rig + Panic — UK experimental group; Neneh was a member
Wild Bunch — Bristol sound system; forerunner to Massive Attack
Ralph McDaniel — Host of Video Music Box, NYC's pioneering hip hop video show
Guru — MC of Gang Starr, collaborated with Neneh on "Sassy"
DJ Premier — Gang Starr producer, credited on Homebrew
The Notorious B.I.G. — Brooklyn rapper, featured on “Buddy X” Jeep Remix
Santigold — Artist cited as part of Neneh's lineage
Genres & Formats
Punk — UK rock subculture Neneh moved through in her teens
Ska — Jamaican-rooted genre blended into Neneh's early UK scene
Boom Bap — Hard-hitting East Coast hip hop production style used in the Buddy X Jeep Remix
Sound System — Mobile DJ/speaker setups rooted in Jamaican culture; foundational to UK hip hop
Remix Culture — The practice of reworking existing recordings into new versions; central to the episode's themes
References for Context & Research
Music
Morgan-McVey – Looking Good Diving with the Wild Bunch: This B-side to "Looking Good Diving" features Neneh Cherry and served as the foundational track that was later reworked into the hit "Buffalo Stance."
Neneh Cherry – Buffalo Stance (Official Music Video): The original Virgin Records music video that served as a primary introduction for US audiences to Cherry’s UK hip-hop aesthetic.
Neneh Cherry – Buddy X (Official Music Video): A 1993 single from Homebrew featuring a gender-politics focused video with a notably diverse cast.
Neneh Cherry - Buddy X (Falcon & Fabian Jeep Mix): A specific remix of the single featuring Biggie Smalls.
Neneh Cherry - Twisted Mess: A track from the Best Laid Plans soundtrack, noted as a favorite from Cherry's hiatus period.
Neneh Cherry & The Thing - Accordion (Official Music Video): An avant-garde, jazz-influenced reimagining of the Madvillain classic from the collaborative album The Cherry Thing.
Articles, Interviews + Scene
Neneh Cherry in Conversation with Natty Kasambala – Primavera Award 2019: A comprehensive 55-minute interview covering Cherry’s nomadic roots, punk beginnings, and creative evolution.
Neneh Cherry – Qobuz Interview (2018): A candid video interview discussing her career arc from punk to electro-jazz and music as a form of social commentary.
UK Music & Fashion Icon Neneh Cherry Tells Her Story – Killa Kela Podcast (2018): A deep dive into the Buffalo movement, the stories behind her iconic videos, and her longevity as an artist.
Neneh Cherry Talks "Blank Project," "Buffalo Stance," and Biggie – Complex: A 2014 interview where Cherry reflects on her memories of Biggie Smalls and the lasting impact of her fame.
Keep Those Dreams Burning Forever: Neneh Cherry Interviewed – The Quietus (2012): A long-form feature exploring The Cherry Thing, the Bristol scene, and the influence of her stepfather, Don Cherry.
Neneh Cherry on Motherhood, Sisterhood and Self-Doubt – How To Fail Podcast (2026): A personal interview tied to her memoir, A Thousand Threads, discussing her childhood and raising a family of musicians.
Interview: Neneh Cherry – Nicola Meighan (originally The Herald, 2015): A feature interview covering three decades of genre-bending and her identity as a Black woman in pop music.
Neneh Cherry Celebrates Her Legacy with "The Versions" – Women in Pop (2022): A profile centered on her foundational role in pop and her influence on a new generation of artists.
by:Larm Seminars 2013: Q&A with Neneh Cherry: A career retrospective tracing her trajectory from mainstream pop success to her 2012 jazz revival.
Neneh Cherry – ABC RN Music Show Interview (2015): An Australian radio interview discussing early influences like Miles Davis and how The Cherry Thing helped her find her voice again.
The Wild Bunch (Sound System) – Wikipedia: A foundational reference for the Bristol sound system that launched Cherry’s career and later became Massive Attack.
How '80s Soundsystem Culture Gave Birth to Bristol's Musical Underground – Huck Magazine: Contextualizes the St. Pauls riots and the environment where the Wild Bunch collective thrived.
The Story of the Bristol Sound – British Council: A cultural history of the Bristol Sound’s fusion of reggae, hip-hop, funk, and soul.
Local Groove Does Good: The Story of Trip-Hop's Rise from Bristol – NPR: Journalism covering the rise of trip-hop from the Wild Bunch through Massive Attack and Tricky.
"What Is The Wild Bunch" – Full Documentary (YouTube): A full-length documentary featuring firsthand accounts of Bristol’s sound system culture and the DNA of Cherry’s early recordings.
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