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 England 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.

It was her collaboration with the duo Morgan-McVey, who only released the one single “Looking Good Diving” that argubaly launched Cherry’s career. The single’s B-side featured Cherry rapping over an instrumental version of the A-side with lyrics that were then used in her 1988 debut breakout single “Buffalo Stance”. Cherry would later go on to marry Cameron McVey in in 1990. They had two children together whom also grew up to be musicians, singer-songwriter and Dean Blunt collaborator TYSON and popstar Mabel, known for her hit song “Don’t Call Me Up”. Cherry also has another daughter whose identity is not known to the public.

“Buffalo Stance” reached the top 10 in eleven countries and her debut album Raw Like Sushi quickly followed, spawning several more successful singles including “Manchild”, which reached the top 10 in seven countries, and “Kisses on the Wind”, which made the top 20 in six countries.

Cherry’s next two albums Homebrew and Man found continued success in the UK, and moderate success internationally – the most successful being 1996’s “Woman”. Between those albums, Cherry found major success with two collaborations: Cher’s “Love Can Build a Bridge” (also featuring Eric Clapton & Chrissie Hynde) and Youssou N'Dour’s “7 Seconds”.

Ten years would pass until Cherry formed the trip-hop project cirKus alongside her husband McVey and her daughter TYSON, as well as Wiltshire-born electronic producer Matt Karmil in 2006, and in 2012 she collaborated with jazz ensemble The Thing. Her fourth solo album Blank Project arrived in 2014, eighteen years after her previous one. It was followed by another full-length LP, Broken Politics, in 2018.