Black Sheep: In the Midst of it All

Black Sheep has often been referred to as one of the better groups to come out of hip hops Golden era. Having dropped timeless classics such as “Flavor of the Month” and the sure to drive a crowd nuts “The Choice is Yours” Black Sheep has cemented it’s place in hip hop history. Being part of the highly talented but loose knit Native Tongue clique, Black Sheep is now composed of Dres who showed during a recent performance in Philadelphia at the famed Blue Funk that real Hip Hop is still needed and that Black Sheep still can provide. Shortly after the performance, Scheme Magazine had a chance to catch up with Dres to get his views on the current state of things and how the future is shaping up.

Scheme: Obviously people know you from the string of classic hits that many artists strive their whole careers to get. With the amount of exposure and experiences that come from that what has been the biggest blessing in your career?

Dres: I’d have to say family members that are around me, my children and the people in my life that where there no matter what was going on with me musically. No matter if we were charting (billboard) or not doing much musically. My close circle of friends that have dealt with me because of me and not what I do. The people in my camp have been with me for years and we have a friendship that has nothing to do with the music.

“That was the beginning for me, I started taking it seriously and since then I can truly say I’ve become a student of hip hop. I know what it is, what it can be, what it should be, what’s going on with it, and where it’s coming from.”

Scheme: Family comes first! Hoping into one of my personal favorites that not many heads know about, you did a song on the album Non Fiction called “Autobiographical” that ran around 11 minutes and you basically take people on a musical journey of your childhood in which you reveal moving down south for a summer as a teenager and then moving back to NY. How did the experience of moving down south as a teenager, a time when most peoples musical taste are molded, affect your perspective on music and how you make music?

Dres: It’s kinda bugged because I was always somewhere else musically. Hip hop was definitely a hobby for me and it was introduced to me and I started dabbling in it. I had a cousin who had equipment and a very good friend who had equipment so I spent a lot of time DJing and rhyming but it was more of a hobby, I didn’t have any specific intentions. I listened more to my parents music, the Stevie Wonder’s and those real lyricists because they would take me places and I would always listen to this music my parents were playing. I actually took listening to my parents music more seriously than hip hop.

“We can choose to use our voices wisely or we can use them Laffy Taffily. People rather talk about the crib, the cars or what have you and turn their backs on the rest of society.”

Scheme: So what lead you to finally take up hip hop and dedicate yourself to it beyond being a hobby?

Dres: Well I had a friend that always supported me and thought I was a real talented dude. Even though I didn’t have any aspirations of doing it my man presented me with a situation, it was a tangible one, a real one and at the same time I had gained a true appreciation of the art form having walked it even though it was inadvertently. That was the beginning for me, I started taking it seriously and since then I can truly say I’ve become a student of hip hop. I know what it is, what it can be, what it should be, what’s going on with it, and where it’s coming from.

Scheme: Getting into your new Album, 8WM/Novakane put us onto game about this and what you’re trying to do with it.

Dres: It’s really more of a conceptual joint. The Novakane side is saying that we all breathe is Novacane nowadays meaning we are numb to everything that’s not on our agenda. We have this attitude that “If it’s not on my agenda then I really don’t care”. We have a war going on and people in our community act as if they don’t care and that it doesn’t affect them. We can choose to use our voices wisely or we can use them Laffy Taffily. People rather talk about the crib, the cars or what have you and turn their backs on the rest of society. People in society need to realize that yo; words are real. The energy that we are sending out here now, we have seen the effects of it on numerous opportunities and the bad that comes of it. We can have that numbed feeling towards the world like novacane or we can do positive. I mean I’ve done everything they rap about regarding hustling but I choose not to use my time on the mic to visit that. I don’t make those kinds of records for a reason because artistically we need to elevate ourselves beyond talking about that. Don’t get it twisted, I might visit it once in a while but the gutter is no place to live because most of us have been there, and lot of people are fronting but its not the thing to glorify. No one should have to live like that so we shouldn’t constantly talk about it. The world is a bigger place than just you living in the gutter. We are pumping novacane into people’s ears nowadays and it’s making them numb to societies ills.

“People need to start learning to be leaders, people are running around like sheep and I’m gonna say like white sheep because they are definitely not black sheep.”

Scheme: Now this new album is available exclusively online for purchased download. With the technology allowing you to do that type of thing, are you embracing this new technology or do you miss the way things were done before with the distribution to physical outlets and the large scale marketing and promotion plans and performances?

Dres: I’m definitely embracing the technology, on the real I’m an advocate of artist embracing this technology and using it to our advantage. Too many of us get stuck in a time zone and are not willing to gravitate to where life is going and its unfortunate because your just falling behind. With this technology the industry is now more consumers driven and I can get to them quicker. If you’re a DJ who only plays vinyl and can’t integrate the Mac laptop or cds into your gig then at the end of the day your not gonna be able to do the things that are offered to you. Everything has parameters and as a person looking to evolve not only in this industry but life we need to adapt to advances in life to give ourselves that advantage and expand the parameters to our liking.

Scheme: Definitely! With that being said, where can we go online to find 8WM/Novakane ?

Dres: You can find us at any of the outlets such as iTunes, Emusic, Napster and all the usual online spots. You can find out more about it at www.myspace.com/blacksheep, we got a few songs on there and you can order yourself a nice shirt and a few other things. It’s an independent venture through my label and I’m trying to doing something that’s unprecedented. Like I said before, this is a consumer driven industry now so I don’t need those crazy budgets or drive the crazy cars with the million dollar videos in order for me to be effective as an artist as long as the music is true. That’s where my head is at now, I’m gonna give it a shot. People let record labels dictate their habits too much. People need to start learning to be leaders, people are running around like sheep and I’m gonna say like white sheep because they are definitely not black sheep. I’m black sheep and you can’t control my process, I’m the master of that!

Scheme: Word! So what’s up next for Black Sheep?

Dres: Right now I’m pushing the 8WM/Novakane, I’m hitting the road and doing shows and hopefully coming to a city near you. I’m giving people a show with some of the old catalogue and then exposing you to the new stuff. I got another album I want to get out by the end of the year. I got some music in me that I want to get out to my fans.

15 Years later, Black Sheep is still moving in its own direction and making us follow. Real hip hop or the processed garbage, in the words of Black Sheep “The Choice is Yours”.