Black Sheep

Black Sheep ranked among the most inventive pairs to surface in hip-hop’s golden era. Tied to the Native Tongues collective, they echoed A Tribe Called Quest’s jazz-sample approach and De La Soul’s playful spirit yet delivered socially conscious rhymes with a sharper comedic edge that frequently lampooned rap conventions and the duo itself. Dres and Mista Lawnge notched success with the 1991 debut A Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing, one of rap’s most engaging first albums, but split after 1994’s Non-Fiction failed to match its predecessor’s commercial reach. They briefly reformed in the early 2000s before Lawnge departed; Dres retained the Black Sheep name for later releases, including From the Black Pool of Genius (2010) and Tortured Soul (2018).

New York natives Andre Titus (Dres) and William McLean (Mista Lawnge) were raised in North Carolina, Titus the son of a military father. Both immersed themselves in mid-’80s hip-hop, Dres as an MC and Mista Lawnge as a DJ. Seeking a contract, Lawnge returned to New York—where he had spent part of his childhood—and performed at a gig with DJ Red Alert, who introduced him to Mike Gee of the Jungle Brothers. Gee’s link to the newly formed Native Tongues inspired Lawnge to assemble Black Sheep and recruit Dres as its MC.

The duo’s first single, “Flavor of the Month,” stood among 1991’s most prominent rap tracks, and the growing visibility of Native Tongues acts De La Soul and A Tribe Called Quest further elevated their profile. Issued on Mercury late that year, A Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing climbed to number 30 on the album charts; the follow-up single “The Choice Is Yours” became an MTV staple via director Chuck Stone’s video and an unexpected college-radio favorite, despite rap’s limited presence on such playlists beyond specialty shows. The album approached one million copies sold, and the pair appeared on the Brand New Heavies’ Heavy Rhyme Experience, Vol. 1 alongside Main Source, Gang Starr, the Pharcyde, and other respected rap acts.

Black Sheep’s long-delayed second album, Non-Fiction, finally surfaced at the end of 1994. It received almost no promotional support and earned far less acclaim than A Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing. The single “Without a Doubt” secured modest airplay, after which the duo parted ways. Both members pursued separate projects, and Dres issued his solo debut Sure Shot Redemption in 1999. The next year he appeared in Laurence Fishburne’s directorial debut Once in the Life as a bagman for a drug kingpin. Black Sheep reunited to record a track for the film’s soundtrack, toured with Das EFX, and released the three-track EP Redlight, Greenlight in 2002.

Black Sheep returned with 8WM/Novakane, initially offered as a digital download in 2006 and later given a physical release. Although Lawnge contributed, he left before the album surfaced, and production fell to Showbiz, BeanOne, and Vitamin D. Dres guested on tracks by Nas and Handsome Boy Modeling School, and Black Sheep’s fourth album, From the Black Pool of Genius, arrived in 2010 featuring Q-Tip, Jean Grae, and Rhymefest. In 2012 Dres and Jarobi (formerly of ATCQ) formed the duo evitaN and released Speed of Life. Dres continued issuing new material throughout the decade, occasionally posting tracks to SoundCloud, including a collaboration with jazz pianist Robert Glasper. Black Sheep’s full-length Tortured Soul, featuring Jarobi and Sadat X (Brand Nubian), appeared in 2018.