Black Sheep

Black Sheep

Black Sheep are a hip hop group from Queens, United States, active from 1991 to the present. The group consists of Dres, also listed as Andres Dres Titus, and Mista Lawnge, also listed as William Mista Lawnge McLean. They are associated with the Native Tongues collective, alongside acts such as Jungle Brothers, A Tribe Called Quest and De La Soul.

Career

The group debuts in 1991 with the single “Flavor of the Month”. Their first album, A Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing, brings them recognition in hip-hop circles for its unusual rhythms and intelligent lyrics. The album appears on the Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart three times in 1992, including “The Choice Is Yours” at number 9 and “Strobelite Honey” at number 1.

Black Sheep also feature on Vanessa Williams’ track “Work To Do”, which reaches number 8. The group is noted as one of the first to parody gangsta rap, through the track “U Mean I’m Not”, which presents an exaggerated account of violent dreams and ends with the line about feeling “hard”.

Later work and related projects

Their second album, Non-Fiction, receives a weaker response and sells poorly. After that, Titus and McLean part ways to work on separate projects. They reunite in 2000 to record a song for the film Once in the Life. Dres also appears on Handsome Boy Modeling School’s second album, White People, on the track “First...and Then”.

Black Sheep are also linked to a planned mixtape called 8WM under the Black Sheep name, while Mista Lawnge later uses the name Mr. Long.