Neneh Cherry's 1989 hit "Buffalo Stance" began life as a rap she improvised for a 1987 B-side, "Driving With The Wild Bunch," before she and producers Tim Simenon and Mark Saunders reworked it into one of the decade's most distinctive pop singles. The story illustrates how a seemingly finished piece of music can be salvaged and transformed with fresh production into something far more culturally significant, turning a minor side project into a defining hit of the era.

Cherry, raised in Sweden with musical roots through her Sierra Leonean father and stepfather Don Cherry, had recorded her original rap for a B-side released by her future husband Cameron McVey and Jamie Morgan. A year later, with a solo deal secured, she rebuilt the track with Simenon and Saunders, who added scratching, samples, guitar and a signature synth hook. The reworked song, "Buffalo Stance," reached number three on the pop charts in 1988, became the centrepiece of her debut album Raw Like Sushi, and its lyrics—dismissing a flashy "gigolo" in favour of genuine affection—cemented its status as a feminist pop anthem.