Black Sheep (hip hop group)
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Black Sheep | |
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Origin | The Bronx, NY, USA |
Years active | 1991–1995 2005 — Present |
Genres | Hip-Hop |
Labels | Mercury Records Universal Records |
Members | Andres "Dres" Titus |
Black Sheep is an alternative hip hop duo from The Bronx, New York, consisting of Andres "Dres" Titus and William "Mista Lawnge" McLean. They were a part of the Native Tongues Posse, which included The Jungle Brothers, A Tribe Called Quest and De La Soul. They debuted in 1991 with the hit song "Flavor of the Month" and later released their first album, A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing, which gained them praise and recognition in the hip-hop community for its unique rhythms and intelligent lyrics.
A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing charted three times on the Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart in 1992 with "The Choice Is Yours" (#9), and "Strobelite Honey" (#1). Black Sheep were also featured on Vanessa Williams' album, Work To Do (#8).
Black Sheep was also one of the first groups to parody gangsta rap (still in its infancy when A Wolf In Sheep's Clothing was released) in the hilariously over the top "U Mean I'm Not." It describes in cringing detail a dream Black Sheep member Dres had about shooting his sister for using his toothbrush, and his mother for breaking his egg yolk while cooking breakfast. When he is roused from his sleep, he tells his friends in a bewildered, almost frightened voice, "I dreamed that I was... hard."
The group's second album, Non-Fiction, was seen as not living up to the group's well-established talents. Due to virtually no promotion and a generally poor reception, the album managed only lackluster sales. Titus and McLean would separate soon afterwards to attend to various independent projects. In 2000, they reunited to record a track for the movie Once in the Life.
According to Allhiphop.com, Mr. Lawnge has now gone solo, a little before the release of the new 8WM/Novokane album. He has now changed the spelling of his name to Mr. Long, and according to Dres through MySpace, although he was involved in the new project, he is no longer with the group. Reasons for his departure were not given, but Dres says that it was amicable.
Dres was featured on the second Handsome Boy Modeling School album, White People, on the track "First...and Then". He subsequently released a solo album under the Black Sheep name on October 23 of 2006. The album was an online-only release entitled 8WM/Novakane. "8WM" stands for "Women With Women With Weed With Wine With Me". Dres' lyrical style has changed, becoming slightly more aggressive and sometimes absurdist, but his energy is renewed. He appeared on the '90s installation of Nas' February 2007 Where Are They Now Remix.
Contents |
[edit] Discography
Album cover | Album information |
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A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing
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Non-Fiction
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8WM/Novakane
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[edit] Singles
- "Flavor of the Month" (1991)
- "The Choice is Yours" (1991)
- "Strobelite Honey" (1992)
- "Similak Child" (1992)
- "Without A Doubt" (1994)
- "North South East West" (1995)
- "Whodat?" (2006)
[edit] Music Videos
- Black Sheep - Flavor of the Month (1991)
- Black Sheep - The Choice Is Yours (1991)
- Showbiz & A.G ft. Black Sheep - Bounce Ta This (1992)
- Black Sheep - Similak Child (1992)
- Black Sheep - Strobelite Honey (1992)
- The Legion ft. Black Sheep - Jingle Jangle (1993)
- Black Sheep - Without a Doubt (1994)
- Black Sheep - Whodat? (2006)
[edit] See also
- List of number-one dance hits (United States)
- List of artists who reached number one on the US Dance chart