Audio Cheri Dennis
Portrait of Love

Originally from Cleveland, Cheri Dennis relocated to NYC in the late 1990s, appearing on records from Mase and Puff Daddy. She soon signed with Bad Boy, hit the mixtape circuit, and started work on her solo debut. After enduring several delays, the album is finally out; available now on iTunes, with a retail version dropping next year.

MP3: Hey, Cheri. How you doing? Cheri Dennis: Hi. How are you? Not too bad. How's it going? I'm good. I'm good. I'm having a good time on this radio tour. Just like, from one place to the next. I hear you. So yeah, I just wanted to talk a little bit about the new album. Cool. I know it's been a long time coming. It has been. What can you tell us about it? Well, it's called In and Out of Love, and, you know, going into it I don't think that's the concept that we had, but after listening to all the records and trying to come down with that 12 that we were supposed to initially have, that was the overall theme, in and out of love. You know, a lot of the songs are about being in love when the relationship's really good, and then some of them are more sad about when a relationship… Where there's a struggle or something. Yeah. When the relationship is not all peaches and cream. So, you know, that's what the album is about. It's about being in and out of love. A couple of them are just about me, you know, not so much about love. Just describing who I am. But for the most part that's what the album is about. Cool. And are you writing those tracks yourself or co-writing them? Or do you have team that you work with? I do. I write, I co-write. You know, and I don't have a problem supporting records that I didn't write. I just need to feel that it's a message that I could have written or it's a message that I've been through. You know what I mean? I don't just sing records for the sake of saying, "This is a nice record." It has to have some sort of a meaning to me. Right on. And who are you working with as far as producers on there? Timbaland, Rodney Jerkins. Soul Diggaz did the first single. Amadeus, Eric Hudson. Oh, gosh. Let me think. Am I forgetting anybody? Mario Winans. We worked with a lot of producers. Excellent. Now, you know, you've been signed and had your deal and been working on other people's albums for a while now. You've been in the business for a while, but this is your first solo full length. Do you feel like it's a proper introduction to Cheri Dennis, the artist? I feel like this is a proper intro, yes. But I feel like it's only an introduction. Right. There's a lot more. You know what I mean? We're just, like, scratching the surface. I really don't think that this is a full reflection of who I am as an artist, but I definitely think it's a great intro. And are all these tracks stuff that you've had kind of in the vaults for a while? Or is it all new recordings or what? Well, no. The record was supposed to be released last June, and it didn't, and I'm so happy that it didn't because we've had records but then we went back in and we recorded new music. So we went back and we listened to everything, and we just picked, you know, the best 16 that we had, that we felt. So it's a new and improved version, basically. Yes. Nice. So I know you've got Jim Jones, and you've got Yung Joc. Who else is on there in terms of guests? Well, on this new single we have Yung Joc and Gorilla Zoe. It's not an album full of features, though. You know, we waited so long to put it out, I think we really want to introduce the world to this voice. I didn't want to over saturate it with a bunch of artists. I would love to collaborate with other artists in the future, but I think that this project was definitely about getting the world familiar with me and my voice and my artistry. I don't think we needed to put a bunch of other artists on it. That's the way to do it, especially being that it's your first one. Because so many people, they put out a record that's, like, I mean, they look like a guest star. It's somebody else's album. Totally. I hear you. So are you going to be doing a full-on tour once the album drops or what? Yeah. Well, I'm definitely going to do a promo tour. Right now I'm just doing a radio tour but in January we're going to do a promo tour. But I would love to when the album drops to get on, you know, a go-hard tour. You can really get to see just what it is that I do. Because the performing part is the most fun for me. That's the best part of being an artist for me. Now, being that you're on Bad Boy, are you dealing with Diddy directly in terms of him giving you direction on stuff? Or is he more behind the scenes? No, I've always dealt with Puff first-hand. You know, so he's had a lot of influence over the years with the recording and with everything. With the look. With the imaging. Like, he's had a lot to do with everything. So I can definitely say that Puff has been pretty hands-on with my project. Cool. Now, being that you got your deal a while ago and there's a couple of pushbacks and it's taken a while, I know how frustrating that can be. What got you through those tough times when you were like, "Man, you know, another pushback!" or whatever. Was there something specifically that helped you along to get through those times where it's kind of discouraging and whatnot? My faith. My faith in God, like, definitely kept me encouraged from not doing bodily harm to other people. [laughs] But yeah, just seriously my faith. And just knowing really, like, that I really believe in my heart that I have a calling for music. And whatever that calling is, it will definitely show itself. So, I mean, I've had my moments where I was discouraged and definitely feeling some type of way, but never at any point did I not think that it wasn't going to happen. And that's just an honest, like, in my heart and my soul I never actually felt like this will not happen. Did I know if it would always happen on Bad Boy? No, I didn't know. You know what I mean? But I always felt like it would happen for me. So my faith in God, you know, just always trying to stay encouraged has definitely gotten me through and kept me sane because the music industry is bananas, you know. It's crazy out there. It's a crazy industry. I think entertainment period is a crazy industry. No doubt. You know, music, fashion, art, I'm sure it's all the same. But definitely my faith. Right on. So what's the street date? Well, the iTunes is November 13 and the in-store is February 26. Okay, excellent. Have you got any messages you'd like to throw out there for the people that’s going to be checking this out? I just really want to thank any and everybody that has followed my career and supported my music. I just want to thank them for waiting patiently and still being so receptive and, you know, just support. Like, I had the support that I needed, when, you know, you feel like "why is that not happening?" You know you always get out there and those fans are like, "I remember you when you did this song and it got me through." I just want to thank them so much. Please don't forget to thank the fans for support. And I needed it, and I still need it, and I just appreciate it. Well, thanks for taking the time to do this. I appreciate it, Cheri. Thanks for interviewing me, and you go out and get it, too. November 13. In and Out of Love. And in-store, February 26. I promise you will like it. All right. Take it easy and have a good one. You, too. Enjoy.