The 10 Best Black Sheep Songs of All-Time
Black Sheep was a hip-hop duo that became well-known in the early 1990s. It consisted of Dres and Mista Lawnge, though the latter would change the spelling of his stage name to Mista Long in later times.
Amusingly, the duo met as teenagers in Sanford, NC even though both of them had come from New York City. Black Sheep released a debut studio album called A Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing in 1991, which became one of the most notable hip-hop releases of the decade.
Sadly, the second studio album called Non-Fiction met with a much less enthusiastic response in 1994. It seems safe to say that played a part in Dres and Mista Lawnge going their separate ways just a short while afterward.
Here is our opinion oof the 10 best Black Sheep songs ever released:
10. “Whodat?”
“Whodat?” didn’t come from either A Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing or Non-Fiction. Instead, it came from a third studio album called 8WM/Novakane, which was Dres’s work for the most part but featured Mista Lawnge on some of the tracks.
It didn’t get much attention in 2006. However, that isn’t 100 percent fair because the third studio album was far from unlistenable. “Whodat?” is a good way for interested individuals to get started.
9. “Work to Do”
Technically, “Work to Do” is a Vanessa Williams song. She was the first African-American woman to become Miss America in 1984. Unfortunately, she was forced to resign when Penthouse got its hands on unauthorized nude photographs before publishing them.
Despite this, Williams managed to enjoy a successful career as an actress and singer. Regardless, “Work to Do” still qualifies for this list because it features a Black Sheep rap. Its viewpoint character is very sympathetic as someone who can’t spend as much time with their significant other as they would like because their work takes up so much of their time.
8. “To Whom It May Concern”
“To Whom It May Concern” was one of the more memorable tracks from A Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing. It criticized hip-hop artists without any real artistry to them.
However, it was never specifically addressed to anyone. Instead, the title is an open-ended one, thus making it easy to follow up on anyone taking offense by pointing out that they are effectively admitting a lack of artistry to their work.
7. “North, South, East, West”
Boasting is a time-honored practice in hip-hop. “North, South, East, West” is an excellent example of the skill, which came out on the studio album called Non-Fiction. Indeed, it was one of the studio album’s two singles, which managed to secure the number 22 position on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs in 1995.
Chances are good that interested individuals can guess what “North, South, East, West” is about just by hearing its name. After all, a boast wouldn’t be much of a boast if the artist limited their claims to just a single area.
6. “Black with N.V. (No Vision)”
Black Sheep was a part of the Native Tongues collective. The hip-hop artists that belonged to the latter were famous for performing on a wide range of topics. Sometimes, they were more interested in mindless fun than anything else. Other times, well, suffice it to say that they are considered one of the pioneers of political hip-hop.
“Black with N.V. (No Vision)” is a great reminder of Black Sheep’s membership in the Native Tongues collective. It is a meditation on what it means to be African-American that continues to resonate in modern times.
5. “Without a Doubt”
“Without a Doubt” was the other single from Non-Fiction. It managed to place higher than “North, South, East, West” by securing the number one position on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs in 1994.
“Without a Doubt” is similar to its counterpart in that it is another song in which the duo boasts about their skills. However, it has a better flow and a more clever set of lines, thus enabling it to pull ahead.
4. “Similak Child”
Released as the fourth single from A Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing, “Similak Child” sees the viewpoint character enraptured by a woman. The end of the song is a bit ambiguous. It is possible that the viewpoint character likes the woman for her mind more than her body.
However, it is also possible that the viewpoint character admits that the woman is smart but wants her because of her beauty anyway. Ambiguity can make songs more intriguing than otherwise possible. This one is no exception to that rule.
3. “Strobelite Honey”
“Strobelite Honey” was Black Sheep’s second single from A Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing. It did well enough. Number 80 on the Billboard Hot 100 might not sound very impressive, but no more than a small number of songs ever make it onto that chart.
Besides that, “Strobelite Honey” was also very popular as a dance song, which makes sense because its lyrics describe exactly that kind of mood and exactly that kind of scene.
2. “Flavor of the Month”
Black Sheep was formed in 1989. Subsequently, the duo released “Flavor of the Month” as their debut single in 1991. It met with a very favorable reception, as shown by how it secured the number two position on the Billboard Hot Rap Singles chart in 1991. As such, it is no exaggeration to say that “Flavor of the Month” provided Black Sheep with a massive dose of momentum at the moment they needed it the most.
1. “The Choice Is Yours (Revisited)”
“The Choice Is Yours (Revisited)” is undoubtedly the best-known of the singles from Black Sheep’s debut studio album. It went number one on the Billboard Hot Rap Singles and number 57 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Moreover, it is often recognized as one of the greatest hip-hop songs of the era, so much so that it is one of the chief reasons why A Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing is so well-liked. Reputedly, Black Sheep wanted to set themselves apart when they came up with the song. It seems safe to say they succeeded by any reasonable standards.
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