Thirty-five years ago today, on October 22, 1991, Black Sheep released their debut album, A Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing, on Mercury Records. It gave the world “The Choice Is Yours,” one of the most recognizable records of the golden era, and it still sounds like nothing else from that time.
The Duo, and the Carolina Connection
Black Sheep was Dres and Mista Lawnge. They’re credited to Queens, but here’s the part Carolina should claim: the two New Yorkers met as teenagers in Sanford, North Carolina, where both of their families had relocated, per Wikipedia. Lawnge later recruited Dres, the friend he grew up with down here, to start the group.
Back in New York, Lawnge linked with the Jungle Brothers’ Mike Gee and DJ Red Alert, and that put Black Sheep inside the Native Tongues family with A Tribe Called Quest, De La Soul and the Jungle Brothers. Their first official appearance came on De La Soul’s De La Soul Is Dead, with Dres featured on “Fanatic of the B Word.”
The Album
Produced by the duo themselves, A Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing was funny, sharp and a little bit wicked, poking fun at rap’s tough-guy clichés while still knocking. AllMusic’s John Bush called it “playfully satirical, witty, and incredibly imaginative,” and Entertainment Weekly gave it an A, per the album’s Wikipedia page.
The standout tracks:
- “The Choice Is Yours”: hit No. 1 on Billboard’s rap singles chart and No. 57 on the Hot 100.
- “Flavor of the Month”: the lead single, released in September 1991.
- “Strobelite Honey” and “Similak Child”: the follow-up singles.
- “La Menage” with Q-Tip and “Pass the 40” with Chi-Ali, pure Native Tongues energy.
Charts and Certification
The album peaked at No. 30 on the Billboard 200 and No. 15 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. It went gold in April 1992 after selling more than 500,000 copies in the U.S.
The Legacy
The Source included it in its 1998 list of the 100 Best Rap Albums, and Rolling Stone ranked it No. 146 on its 2022 list of the 200 Greatest Hip-Hop Albums of All Time. VH1 put “The Choice Is Yours” at No. 74 on its 100 Greatest Hip Hop Songs in 2008.
That song never really left. It powered a 2010 Kia Soul commercial and has been covered by Bloodhound Gang, Trik Turner and Deftones. Their 1994 follow-up, Non-Fiction, didn’t land the same way, and the duo split soon after before reuniting in later years.
But the debut is the one that lasts. Thirty-five years later, it’s still proof that the early ’90s had room for rap that was clever, weird and fun at the same time. If you love this era, run it back with our look at Grand Puba’s Reel to Reel, and check out the North Carolina artists carrying things forward today.
Where does A Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing rank in your Native Tongues top five?
Sources: Wikipedia: A Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing, Wikipedia: Black Sheep, Wikipedia: 1991 in hip-hop
