Black Sheep (hip hop group)

Infobox musical artist
Name = Black Sheep


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Origin = Bronx, New York, United States
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Genre = Hip hop
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Years_active = 1991–1995
2000 to present
Label = Mercury/PolyGram Records
Bumrush
Associated_acts = Showbiz & A.G.
Chi-Ali
Native Tongues Posse
The Legion
URL = http://www.blacksheeponline.com
Current_members = Dres
Past_members = Mista Lawnge
Notable_instruments =

Black Sheep is an alternative hip hop duo from Queens, New York, comprised of Andres "Dres" Titus and William "Mista Lawnge" McLean. The duo are native New Yorkers but met as teenagers in North Carolina where both of their families relocated. [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:w9frxqr5ldfe~T1] The group was an affiliate of the Native Tongues Posse, which included The Jungle Brothers, A Tribe Called Quest and De La Soul. It 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 the album’s unique rhythms and intelligent lyrics.

Overview

Black Sheep was the first hip-hop act to appear on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" after the departure of Johnny Carson. 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." In the song, Dres describes in detail killing his sister, his parents, and his letter carrier. At the end, he is roused from his sleep and tells his friends bewilderedly, "I dreamt that I was...hard."

"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 was also featured on the remix Vanessa Williams' single, "Work to Do" (#8). The group's relationship with its label, Mercury/PolyGram, was so good that the label allowed the duo to establish a boutique label through which it could sign its own acts. Mercury distributed the imprint, which was called One Love, through PolyGram's Independent Label Sales division rather than PolyGram Group Distribution. However, only one full-length title was ever released, the only album by affiliated act the Legion, titled "Theme + Echo = Krill", from 1994.

The group's second album, " Non-Fiction", was released later that year. Due to virtually no promotion and a generally poor reception, the album managed only lackluster sales. Titus and McLean would separate soon afterward to work on various independent projects and left their label. This resulted in Dres's solo album "Sure Shot Redemption" and being billed as Dres the Black Sheep. In 2000, the duo reunited to record the title track for the movie "Once in the Life", in which Dres had an acting role. In the same year, the duo made a 12-inch EP called "Redlight, Greenlight (EP)". It was released two years later and was not covered by the media. Dres was featured on the second Handsome Boy Modeling School album, "White People", on the track "First...and Then." In 2006, the group released an online-only album "8WM/Novakane". "8WM" stands for "Women with Women with Weed with Wine with Me". Shortly before the album's release, Mista Lawnge left the group a second time. According to AllHipHop.com, he has changed the spelling of his name to Mr. Long and is working on a solo project. According to Dres through MySpace, although Lawnge was involved in the album, he is no longer with the group. Reasons for his departure were not given, but Dres says that it was amicable. Dres appeared on the '90s remix of Nas' February 2007 song "Where are They Now?"

Discography

Albums

ingles and EPs

* "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)
* "Redlight, Greenlight (EP)" (recorded 2000, released 2002)
* "Whodat?" (2006)

Music videos

* Black Sheep - Flavor of the Month (1991)
* Black Sheep - The Choice Is Yours (1991)
* Black Sheep - Strobelite Honey (1992)
* Vanessa Williams ft. Black Sheep - Work to Do (Remix) (1992)
* Showbiz & A.G ft. Black Sheep - Bounce Ta This (1992)
* Black Sheep - Similak Child (1992)
* The Legion ft. Black Sheep - Jingle Jangle (1993)
* Black Sheep - Without a Doubt (1994)
* Black Sheep - Whodat? (2006)
* Black Sheep - Novakane Groove (2007)

External links

* [http://www.blacksheeponline.com Black Sheep official site]
* [http://www.latinrapper.com/featurednews53.html Dres of Black Sheep interview]
* [http://www.myspace.com/blacksheep Black Sheep on Myspace.com]
* [http://www.mrlongmusic.com Mr. Long's (nee Lawnge) Solo site]
* [http://halftimeonline.com/hip-hop-icon-series/black-sheep/ Last Black Sheep Interview as group]
* [http://hhlo.net/still-relevant/still-relevant-dres-from-black-sheep/ Still Relevant: Dres of Black Sheep] April 2008, Interview with Hip Hop Lives Online, HHLO.net