Neneh Cherry

Released: October 26, 1992

Songwriter: Gang Starr Booga Bear Neneh Cherry

Producer: Booga Bear Jonny $

I'm just another voice from the street
And since it's my choice, I feel that I must speak
Now I know that you won't listen to little me
But I can't rest unless I get this off my chest, see
The city's my home the streets where I roam
But still I leave the drugs and violence alone
And so I try to stay in the right frame of mind
Although I know some people who might say that I'm
Crazy and lazy for not breakin' out
But the city has soul and that's what I'm about
I have an appetite that must be fed
No longer blind and being led
The kind of freedom that you can buy
My bank won't lend me yet
But still I can get by--and even smile
So don't judge me by the colour of my skin
My blood runs as deep as your runs red
So you can see it ain’t over yet which takes me out of the rap

The choice is mine with my joy and pain inside
I try to get by and I ain't gone under yet!

See bodies with souls living in the street
No one wants to live with nothing to eat
But to climb over living people and feel
That they brought in on themselves cause they lazy or would rather steal is a mystery--
So don't judge me by the colour of my skin
My blood runs as deep as your runs red
So you can see it ain’t over yet which takes me out of the verse

Your under is my over, I’ve never seen your over yet
But don't forget: I ain't gone under yet!

I don't steal I don't run tricks or scams
Cause I'm a strong young woman yes I know who I am
But sometimes it's so hard to get by
And touch circumstances make me want to get high
But I don't go too far cause that ain't my style
So why don't you come live next to me for a while

Neneh Mariann Karlsson was born in Sweden to a Swedish mother and a father from Sierra Leone. Her mother raised her in a commune with her stepfather, jazz musician Don Cherry (father of Eagle Eye Cherry).

She moved to London in the 1980s and immersed herself in the Bristol music scene (where Massive Attack and Portishead would form), getting involved with bands such as The Cherries, The Slits, New Age Steppers, Rip Rig + Panic and Float Up CP.

But it was her collaboration with the duo Morgan-McVey, who released only the one single “Looking Good Diving”, that would be the springboard to launch her into international stardom. The single’s B-side featured Cherry rapping over the A-side’s instrumental tracks with what later became the lyrics to her 1988 debut breakout single “Buffalo Stance” (its music reworked by Bomb The Bass' Tim Simenon) – which reached the top 10 in eleven countries.

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