Neneh Cherry (born Neneh Mariann Karlsson on March 10, 1964 in Stockholm, Sweden) is a female singer\rapper.
Nenah comes from a musical, creative family and even her half-brother is musician Eagle-Eye Cherry. At the age of 14, she dropped out of school and joined a punk band called The Cherries. She moved through several various bands.
Nenah began her solo career with a protest song called, "Stop the War." In 1987, she was featured on English music group, The The's song, "Slow Train to Dawn" which was moderately successful in the UK and Australia.
In May of 1989, Neneh released her debut album, "Raw Like Sushi" which peaked at #40 on the Billboard 200 and #62 on Billboard's R&B Albums chart. The album went Gold in Canada, the Netherlands and Switzerland, but it only charted at #3 in her native Sweden.
Neneh's first single and biggest hit to date "Buffalo Stance" became her big international breakthrough hit song. The song topped the charts in Sweden and the Netherlands. In the UK, it peaked at #3 on the UK Singles chart.
In the US, the song peaked at #3 on the Billboard Hot 100, topped Billboard's dance charts, peaked at #16 on Billboard's Hot Rap Singles chart and #30 on Billboard's Hot Black Singles chart, staying on the chart for 11 weeks.
Neneh notably performed "Buffalo Stance" live on "Top of the Pops" when she was 8 months pregnant which caused controversy because of the gyrating choreography while she was performing the song.
The second single from the album, "Manchild" peaked at #5 on the UK Singles chart, but failed to chart at all in the US. Internationally, the song was moderately successful.
Her third single from the album, "Kisses on the Wind" became another US hit for her, peaking at #8 on the Billboard Hot 100, #9 on Billboard's Hot Dance Music\Maxi-Singles Sales chart, and #19 on Billboard's Hot Dance Music\Club Play chart.
The song managed to peak at #20 on the UK Singles chart. Internationally, the song was moderately successful.
The last two singles, "Heart" and "Inna City Mamma" were moderately successful internationally, but not so much in the US.
In 1990, Neneh was featured on the AIDS benefit compliation album, "Red Hot + Blue" with a cover of Cole Porter's song, "I've Got You Under My Skin." The song peaked at #25 on the UK Singles chart.
Neneh was nominated for a Grammy in 1990 for "Best New Artist," but she lost out to Milli Vanilli (who later got their Grammy revoked).
She won the Brit Award for her debut, "Raw Like Sushi" and Soul II Soul member Jazzie B is quoted, saying, "
Neneh smashed her Brit Award in half and gave Soul II Soul a piece of the trophy." She worked as an arranger on Massive Attack's album, "Blue Lines."
In 1991, Neneh returned to England to work on her sophomore album "Homebrew" which was released in October of 1992. The album didn't reach the same success as her debut album, but it received critical acclaim.
The first single "Money Love" peaked at #23 on the UK Singles chart. The song was moderately successful in New Zealand and Australia.
The second single "Move With Me" failed to chart at all in the UK, the US, or anywhere else internationally.
The third single "Buddy X" peaked at #35 on the UK Singles chart. In the US, the song peaked at #43 on the Billboard Hot 100, #22 on Billboard's Top 40 Mainstream chart, #29 on Billboard's Rhythmic Top 40 chart and #96 on Billboard's Hot R&B Singles chart, staying on the chart for 2 weeks. The song managed to peak at #35 in the UK and #23 in the Netherlands.
The last single, "Trout" featuring REM's Michael Stipe managed to peak at #2 on Billboard's Modern Rock Tracks chart. The song was popular on college radio.
In 1994, Neneh was featured on musician Youssou N'Dour on the song "7 Seconds" which managed to peak at #3 on the UK Singles chart, #98 on the Billboard Hot 100 and in France, the song peaked at #1 and stayed on the charts for 17 weeks.
The song was moderately successful internationally. The song was certified Gold in Austria, France, Germany, and Switzerland. It remained on the charts for nearly half a year and Neneh was nominated for a Grammy in 1994 for the duet. At the 1995 MTV Europe Music Awards, it won "Best Song."
A year later in 1995, Neneh was featured on the number-one UK single "Love Can Build a Bridge" (a cover version of the Judds' Top Five country hit) with musicians Cher, the Pretenders' Chrissie Hynde, and singer\guitarist Eric Clapton. The song was chosen for 1995's official Comic Relief single.
In September of 1996, Neneh released her third album to date "Man" which peaked at #16 in the UK, #22 in Sweden, #19 in Norway, #4 in France, and #5 in Switzerland and Australia.
The album also managed to peak at #187 in the US on the Billboard 200. She released a remix version of the album in 1997 called "Neneh Cherry Remixes."
The single "Kootchi" peaked at #38 on the UK Singles chart. Internationally elsewhere, the song failed to chart at all.
Another single "Feel It" peaked at #68 on the UK Singles chart and another one, "Woman" failed to chart at all. She released a cover version of Marvin Gaye's "Trouble Man." It's unknown how or if it charted at all.
In 2006, Neneh announced the formation of a new band called, cirKus which includes herself, her husband, her daughter Tyson and her daughter's boyfriend. They have toured extensively in small venues in Europe with a single performance at the Montreal Jazz Festival in July of 2006 and a few dates in Brazil back in 2008 & they have released two albums.
In April of 2007, Neneh presented a 6-part cooking show called "Neneh and Andi: Dish it Up" with her good friend, Andrea Oliver for the BBC2 channel.
These days, Neneh continues to be active in the music business, working on various projects.
To see the music video for "Buffalo Stance," go to:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JWsRz3TJDEY
To see the music video for "Manchild," go to:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OJ9VBMBS3qE
To see the music video for "Kisses in the Wind," go to:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MVdy0CaB2Uk
To see the music video for "Heart," go to:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e_SunceWvjU
To see the music video for "Inna City Mamma," go to:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZknyDAqPPE
To see the music video for "I've Got You Under My Skin," go to:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3RWEF_xbGfM
To see the music video for "Money Love," go to:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=prMXw5xKXtM
To see a fan-made video for "Move With Me," go to:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9JsvM5F2sIw
To see the music video for "Buddy X," go to:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6LMTtsM95XE
To see the music video for "7 Seconds," go to:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wqCpjFMvz-k
To see the music video for "Love Can Build a Bridge," go to:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cDZCFHaOCMw&
To see the music video for "Woman," go to:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z0W212af1uk
To see the music video for "Kootchi," go to:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RifileavVdo
To see the music video for "Feel It," go to:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sVZERmRZ3cI
To see the music video for "Trouble Man," go to:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=twxEtfdw82Y
To see a fan-made video for "Trout," go to:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kq8hQ_lyMBs
I've recently started a Facebook page for the "Rare and Obscure" music blog. Keep in mind it's a work in progress, but I promise to have more stuff on the Facebook page for you to see.
Jermaine Stewart (born William Jermaine Stewart on September 7, 1957 in Columbus, Ohio) was a male pop singer who became known as a "one-hit wonder" back in the 80's.
In 1984, Jermaine released his debut album, "The Word is Out" which peaked at #90 on the Billboard 200 and #30 on Billboard's R&B Albums chart.
The title song became Jermaine's first hit, peaking at #41 on the Billboard Hot 100, #4 on Billboard's Hot Dance Music\Club Play chart, and #7 on Billboard's Black Singles chart, staying on the chart for 19 weeks.
Jermaine's biggest and only hit song, "We Don't Have to Take Our Clothes Off" peaked at #5 on the Billboard Hot 100, #35 on Billboard's Hot Dance Music\Maxi-Singles Sales chart, #41 on Billboard's Hot Dance Music\Club Play chart, and #64 on Billboard's Hot Black Singles chart, staying on the chart for 15 weeks. It also peaked at #2 on the U.K. Singles chart.
The follow-up single from the album, "Jody" (written about Shalamar's Jody Watley) peaked at #42 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #18 on Billboard's Hot Black Singles chart, staying on the chart for 12 weeks. The song also peaked at #50 on the UK Singles Chart, staying on the chart for 4 weeks.
In 1988, Jermaine released his third album, "Say it Again" which peaked at #98 on the Billboard 200 and #45 on Billboard's R&B Albums chart.
Jermaine scored his last Top 40 hit with the title song, which peaked at #27 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #15 on Billboard's Hot Black Singles chart, staying on the chart for 14 weeks. In the UK, the song peaked at #7 on the UK Singles chart.
The follow-up single, "Get Lucky" didn't chart at all on the Billboard Hot 100, but managed to peaked at #69 on Billboard's Hot Black Singles chart, staying on the chart for 8 weeks. The song was moderately successful in the UK, peaking at #13 on the UK Singles chart.
In 1989, Jermaine released his fourth and last album for Arista Records, "What Becomes a Legend Most" which failed to chart at all on the Billboard charts. 
Neneh Cherry (born Neneh Mariann Karlsson on March 10, 1964 in Stockholm, Sweden) is a female singer\rapper.
In May of 1989, Neneh released her debut album, "Raw Like Sushi" which peaked at #40 on the Billboard 200 and #62 on Billboard's R&B Albums chart. The album went Gold in Canada, the Netherlands and Switzerland, but it only charted at #3 in her native Sweden.
Neneh's first single and biggest hit to date "Buffalo Stance" became her big international breakthrough hit song. The song topped the charts in Sweden and the Netherlands. In the UK, it peaked at #3 on the UK Singles chart.
The second single from the album, "Manchild" peaked at #5 on the UK Singles chart, but failed to chart at all in the US. Internationally, the song was moderately successful.
Her third single from the album, "Kisses on the Wind" became another US hit for her, peaking at #8 on the Billboard Hot 100, #9 on Billboard's Hot Dance Music\Maxi-Singles Sales chart, and #19 on Billboard's Hot Dance Music\Club Play chart.
In 1991, Neneh returned to England to work on her sophomore album "Homebrew" which was released in October of 1992. The album didn't reach the same success as her debut album, but it received critical acclaim.
The first single "Money Love" peaked at #23 on the UK Singles chart. The song was moderately successful in New Zealand and Australia.
The second single "Move With Me" failed to chart at all in the UK, the US, or anywhere else internationally.
The third single "Buddy X" peaked at #35 on the UK Singles chart. In the US, the song peaked at #43 on the Billboard Hot 100, #22 on Billboard's Top 40 Mainstream chart, #29 on Billboard's Rhythmic Top 40 chart and #96 on Billboard's Hot R&B Singles chart, staying on the chart for 2 weeks. The song managed to peak at #35 in the UK and #23 in the Netherlands.
In 1994, Neneh was featured on musician Youssou N'Dour on the song "7 Seconds" which managed to peak at #3 on the UK Singles chart, #98 on the Billboard Hot 100 and in France, the song peaked at #1 and stayed on the charts for 17 weeks.
A year later in 1995, Neneh was featured on the number-one UK single "Love Can Build a Bridge" (a cover version of the Judds' Top Five country hit) with musicians Cher, the Pretenders' Chrissie Hynde, and singer\guitarist Eric Clapton. The song was chosen for 1995's official Comic Relief single.
In September of 1996, Neneh released her third album to date "Man" which peaked at #16 in the UK, #22 in Sweden, #19 in Norway, #4 in France, and #5 in Switzerland and Australia.
The single "Kootchi" peaked at #38 on the UK Singles chart. Internationally elsewhere, the song failed to chart at all.
Gina Thompson (born Lugenia Thompson in Vineland, New Jersey in 1974) is a female R&B singer who started her career in the 90's.
In 1996, Gina released her debut album "Nobody Does it Better" which peaked at #26 on Billboard's Heatseekers Albums chart and #36 on Billboard's R&B Albums chart. The album was certified Platinum in 1998.
Gina's biggest hit to date, "The Things That You Do" peaked at #41 on the Billboard Hot 100, #3 on Billboard's Hot Dance Music\Maxi-Singles Sales chart, and #12 on Billboard's Hot R&B Singles chart, staying on the chart for 29 weeks.
In 2008, Gina started work on a new album and released the song, "We Don't Talk No More" which was #1 on the Musica Urbana Music Channel for a week.
Mantronix were a hip-hop\funk group whose members consisted of DJ Kurtis Mantronix (born Kurtis el Khaleel on September 4, 1965 in Jamaica) and rapper MC Tee (born Touré Embden in 1966 in Haiti).
In 1985, Mantronix released their debut album, "The Album" which peaked at #47 on Billboard's R&B Albums chart.
Their debut single, "Fresh is the Word" became a hit, peaking at #16 on Billboard's Hot Dance Music\Maxi-Singles Sales chart.
Mantronik's second single, "Needle to the Groove" was moderately successful, peaking at #23 on Billboard's Hot Dance Music\Maxi-Singles Sales chart. Two more singles, "Bassline" and "Ladies" were also released.
In 1986, Mantronix released their sophomore album, "Music Madness" which peaked at #27 on Billboard's R&B Albums chart. The album attracted more electronic dance and funk music fans than hip-hop fans.
The first single from the album, "Who Is It" peaked at #21 on Billboard's Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles chart and #68 on Billboard's Hot Black Singles chart, staying on the chart for 11 weeks. Two more singles from the album, "Scream" and "We Control the Dice" were also released.
In 1988, Mantronix released their third album, "In Full Effect" which peaked at #18 on Billboard's R&B Albums chart and #108 on the Billboard 200 chart. This was the last album for MC Tee, who left to join the U.S. Air Force.
The only single to chart, "Simple Simon (You Gotta Regard)" peaked at #19 on Billboard's Hot Dance Music\Club Play chart and #31 on Billboard's Hot Dance Music\Maxi-Singles Sales chart.
In 1990, the newly formed Mantronix released their fourth album, "This Should Move Ya" which peaked at #161 on the Billboard 200 and #61 on Billboard's R&B Albums chart. They were now signed to Capitol\EMI Records.
The first single from the album, "Got to Have Your Love" peaked at #4 on the UK Singles Chart. In the US, the song peaked at #82 on the Billboard Hot 100, #26 on Billboard's Hot Black Singles chart (staying on the chart for 12 weeks), #13 on Billboard's Hot Dance Music\Maxi-Singles Sales chart and #6 on Billboard's Hot Dance Music\Club Play chart.
The follow-up single, "Take Your Time" peaked at #10 on the UK Singles Chart and in the US, the song peaked at #15 on Billboard's Hot Dance Music\Club Play chart and #37 on Billboard's Hot Dance Music\Maxi-Singles Sales chart.
In 1991, Mantronik released their last album, "The Incredible Sound Machine" which peaked at #36 on the UK Albums chart, but failed to chart in the US.
The only single released, "Don't Go Messin With My Heart" managed to peak at #22 on the UK Singles chart, but not in the US at all. After their European tour and promotion of their album, Mantronix split up. Kurtis Mantronix left the music biz for seven years.
In the late 90's, Mantronix came back to the music scene in Britain, producing music for house and techno musicians.
Bryce Wilson went on to be a member of Groove Theory with singer Amel Larrieux and produce music along with acting.