For Doz That Slept……..

Black Sheep: City Lights and Lets Get Cozy
From: Non Fiction (Polygram, 1994)

I said it before and I’ll say it again, Black Sheep’s debut album A Wolf In Sheep’s Clothing is one of my favorite hip hop albums of all time. I love everything about it from the production of Mr Lawnge to the lyrical play Dres brings to the mic.

So, like many others, I couldn’t wait for their follow up to hit the shelves. However, after three long years of waiting I, like many others, was heavily disappointed with the result. Gone were the native tongue jazzy beats and also gone was a lot of the playfully carefree aspect of the lyrics.

The album was listened to a few times and then filed away on a shelf to gather dust in true fickle fan style. Most listeners did the same as Black Sheep, never the most popular of the Native Tongue crew, found their album slept on in a year where there was an abundance of good hip hop to listen to. In fact, so ignored was Non-Fiction, many rap fans seem to believe that the duo only ever produced one album.

However, with Dres’s cameo on last year’s Handsome Boy Modeling School and the imminent release of a third Black Sheep album (take your time guys, only been waiting 11 years) reminding me of their talents I unearthed Non-Fiction and gave it another listen and, you know what, It’s not a bad album at all.

Yes the beats have lost much of their Prince Paul flavor and the album is certainly a lot darker in its outlook and feel but, now removed from the initial shock of the change in style, it holds up pretty well as a brave attempt at the difficult second album. Lawnge’s production is still essentially jazz tinged with some sublime touches and the social commentary that popped up occasionally on their debut on tracks like Black With N.V. now takes centre stage with the Sheep tackling a wider range of issues.

City Lights is a perfect demonstration of how the group had developed since their debut. As on AWISC Lawnge lays the beat with a falling bass but, unlike their debut, he’s not afraid to play around with the formula, mixing up the basslines and introducing unexpected breakdowns and off key chords, creating a rawer, harder sound. The “brother from another mother” Lawnge gets half the mic time on this track and demonstrates how far his abilities have developed since the first album. Still, Dres easily outshines him when it’s his turn, his customary tight flow proving that he really doesn’t get the props he deserves for his lyrical prowess. This man can spit hard.

Lets Get Cozy is the track closest to the style of AWISC. Utilizing another Slick Rick sample from La Di Da Di and sultry jazz sounds of Les McCann’s Roberta this is a sequel to the first album’s La Manage in all but name. Dres once again lays on his smoothest chat up lines, so thick with sleaze you can’t help but admire the man’s style. Lawnge also gets a say, getting to mouth off on his favorite subject, his own highly rated sexual skills. Sure it’s childish but when it’s this much fun is that necessarily a bad thing?

While not an all time classic this underrated album is well due a reappraisal so go dust off your copy now….

You can read an illuminating interview with Dres about his time in the game and the new album 8WM here.