Neneh Cherry opens her new record, Home Brew with: "Fellas got a give me the most respect 'cause you know I don't waste my time." Like Aretha Franklin before her, Cherry demands a little R-E-S-P-E-C-T and deserves it.
A follow-up to her ferocious debut, Raw Like Sushi, Cherry shows, I mean flaunts, her growth. Thankfully, on Home Brew, she doesn't bust out 10 "Buffalo Stance" remixes, but adopts a more jazzy, mature beat. The songs are stronger as a result.
With Home Brew, Cherry is both soul diva and beat driven tongue twista. The opening tune, "Sassy" establishes her as the latter.
Over the flexible beat, piano trickle and delicate scratching, Cherry raps smooth about her own equality. It's a stunning track, similiar to the effect of classic hip-hop.
"Money Love" continues on the same musical tip, but this time guitar power chords are thrown in for good measure.
It's with "Move With Me," that the listener first hears Cherry as soul diva. Though the song may urge some to reach for the skip button, it warrants attention. Cherry sings with more honesty than anything from Anita Baker or Sophie B. Hawkins.
Cherry cements my respect for her on "I Ain't Gone Under Yet." Recalling Stevie Wonder's "Living In The City," the song has a rumbling reality. Cherry raps about her reality under a low-fi texture, sounding like a used 45 from 1973 but still remaining fresh.
Lyrics such as "The choice is mine/with my ordinary joy and pain inside/I try to get by/and I ain't going under yet" sting after the song is over.
Unfortunately Cherry doesn't sustain her bite throughout the album.
"Somedays" comes off as just bad Lenny Kravitz. Over a light piano, she sings "somedays are better than somedays/good days are better than somedays/today, I even take a bad Monday." Cherry seems to fall into the trap that many seem stuck in: At times her ballads drag.
"Red Paint" and "Twisted" meet that same fate.
The most confounding track is "Trout," her duet with R.E.M.'s Michael Stipe. What seemed to be a record executive's idea of a bad dare, "Trout" is catchy enough to liven up your 13-year-old sister's boy/girl birthday party.
Cherry's missteps are more frustrating because she has more talent than her contemporaries have image changes. But Home Brew still proves Cherry has my respect.
