Cherrywine
Bright Black
Former Digable Planets member Ishmael Butler is still “cool like dat.” But “Bright Black,” his first album as Cherrywine, leaves serious vocal rhyming, tightly machined beats and turntables behind for dark soul, sloppy syruplike rhythms, and the not-quite-rap sexual boasting of “Dirty Mind”-era Prince. Standouts include “Anchorman Blues” “Girlcrazy (My Cream Gets It Done),” which combines love for the ladies with grand piano breaks, reggae bass lines and Vocoder freakiness. Along with artists such as Cody Chesnutt and Outkast, Cherrywine is one of the bridges to a new black sound.
Take Away: Still Cool
Also out this week: Mary J. Blige, “Love & Life”
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Edited by Cara DiPasquale ([email protected]) and Kris Karnopp ([email protected])