IN a career spanning just a few years, Top Cheri has become a Namibian household name in the music industry and one of its leading ladies.
With a sound that transcends language, age, culture and gender, the singer’s likeability is undeniable – which she proves once again with her latest project, ‘The Matrimony’, released at the end of 2019.
This album follows her critically acclaimed debut, ‘Fertile’, which Top Cheri dropped at Walvis Bay in December 2018. After touring, appearing on the biggest stages in the country and building her brand, she’s offering fans another musical treat.
‘The Matrimony”s album art features an illustrated male figure in a shiny suit, complete with a microphone for a head, alongside the singer in a white wedding gown. Symbolically it implies that Top Cheri is in love and wedded to the music industry as opposed to the album actually being about a traditional marriage.
The 13-track album starts off with ‘Calling Heaven’ an emotional piece which reaches out to lost loved ones and interacts with an audience who experienced the pain and journey of overcoming loss. Although the theme of this track is morbid, the singer delivers the message with beautiful instrumentals which incorporate slow Afro-pop sounds nuanced with traditional township disco, creating a soothing, healing and enjoyable track.
The following track ‘Let It Go’ follows a similar path, this time only dealing with the ability to leave painful and unproductive situations that hold us back from reaching our full potential. The electrical guitar shades in the backdrops of the track, giving it a different edge.
Heading onto an upbeat Afro-pop and hip-hop track, Lioness and Top Cheri collaborate on ‘Money’.
Top Cheri also introduces traditional shambo sounds on ‘Fire and Force’, ‘Enghono’ and ‘Kulu Wonale’ featuring veteran singer/songwriter Jackson Wahengo. Another enjoyable track on the album is ‘Good Loving’ performed alongside D’Money.
One of the more outstanding tracks on ‘The Matrimony’ and one perhaps with a hidden theme which speaks of a forbidden love is ‘Eve & Eve’ which is hard to ignore, especially considering the hints of a non-binary love which makes this track meaningful and complex.
Overall, Top Cheri delivered a cohesive album with interesting intertwining of different genres while keeping it entertaining and sending out a message. This mellow album is different from the upbeat and energetic work the artist often practises and it shows a different and multiplex side to Top Cheri.
