A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing (Black Sheep album)

A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing is the debut studio album from American hip hop duo Black Sheep, released October 22, 1991, on Mercury Records. The duo supported the album with a North American tour that included the Soup Dragons, Tom Tom Club, and James.[1]

A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing
Studio album by
ReleasedOctober 22, 1991 (1991-10-22)
RecordedNovember 1990 – August 1991
GenreEast Coast hip hop
Length70:40
LabelMercury
Producer
Black Sheep chronology
A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing
(1991)
Non-Fiction
(1994)
Singles from A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing
  1. "Flavor of the Month"
    Released: September 23, 1991
  2. "The Choice Is Yours"
    Released: October 29, 1991
  3. "Strobelite Honey"
    Released: December 28, 1991
  4. "Similak Child"
    Released: March 3, 1992

The album peaked at number 30 on the Billboard 200 chart. By April 1992, it was certified gold in sales by the RIAA, after sales exceeding 500,000 copies in the United States.

Release and reception

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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic     [2]
Entertainment WeeklyA[3]
RapReviews7/10[4]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide     [5]
The Village Voice [6]

The album peaked at thirty on the U.S. Billboard 200[7] and reached the fifteenth spot on the R&B Albums chart.[8] It was certified gold in April 1992.[9]

John Bush of AllMusic called the album "playfully satirical, witty, and incredibly imaginative," and stated that "Black Sheep hit a height with their debut that few hip-hop acts would ever reach."[2]

In 1998, the album was selected as one of The Source's "100 Best Rap Albums".[10]

Track listing

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All music is composed by W. McLean and A. Titus except where noted

No.TitleMusicLength
1."Intro" 0:49
2."U Mean I'm Not" 1:25
3."Butt... In the Meantime" 4:13
4."Have U.N.E. Pull" 3:48
5."Strobelite Honey" 3:05
6."Are You Mad?" 0:43
7."The Choice Is Yours" 3:23
8."To Whom It May Concern" 4:04
9."Similak Child" 4:27
10."Try Counting Sheep"Cornelius Grant, Edward Holland, Jr., McLean, Titus, Cornelius Whitfield4:24
11."Flavor of the Month" 4:17
12."La Menage" (feat. Q-Tip)McLean, Q-Tip, Titus3:23
13."L.A.S.M."McLean, Jennifer Perry, Titus, Gwen Watts2:12
14."Gimme the Finga" 4:25
15."Hoes We Knows" 4:20
16."Go to Hail" 1:02
17."Black with N.V. (No Vision)" 3:56
18."Pass the 40" (feat. Chi-Ali)Chi-Ali, Dave Gossett, Joe Jones, Clifton Lighty, McLean, Titus4:46
19."Blunted 10" 1:56
20."For Doz That Slept"Jackson, Klein, McLean, Titus2:39
21."The Choice Is Yours (Revisited)" 4:03
22."Yes" 3:20

Chart history

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Singles

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Year Single Peak chart positions[13]
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 U.S. Dance Music/Club Play Singles U.S. Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales U.S. Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks U.S. Hot Rap Singles
1991 "Flavor of the Month" 18 2
"The Choice Is Yours" 57 9 6 21 1
"Strobelite Honey" 80 1 4 5
1992 "Similak Child" 44

Personnel

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  • William McLean, Andre Titus – arranging & production
  • Lisle Leete – engineering
  • Lisa Cortes, Dave Gossett – executive production
  • Tom Coyne – mastering
  • Gregg Mann, W. McLean, A. Titus – mixing
  • Angelique Bellamny – vocals
  • Chi-Ali – vocals (background)

References

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  1. ^ Arnold, Chuck (Oct 1, 1992). "Black Sheep's Dres on Afrocentric Fadding". Philadelphia Daily News. p. I13.
  2. ^ a b Bush, John. "A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing Review". AllMusic. Retrieved November 14, 2017.
  3. ^ Bernard, James (April 10, 1992). "Music review – A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing (1992) – Black Sheep". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on December 22, 2009. Retrieved September 24, 2010.
  4. ^ Fatboy, DJ. "Black Sheep A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing". RapReviews. Retrieved September 24, 2010.
  5. ^ McLeod, Kembrew (2004). "Black Sheep". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. p. 79. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
  6. ^ Christgau, Robert (June 2, 1992). "Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. Retrieved September 4, 2022.
  7. ^ a b "Black Sheep Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved November 14, 2017.
  8. ^ a b "Black Sheep Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved November 14, 2017.
  9. ^ "RIAA – Gold & Platinum – Black Sheep". RIAA. Archived from the original on 2024-06-20. Retrieved June 20, 2024.
  10. ^ "100 Best Rap Albums". The Source (100). New York. January 1998. ISSN 1063-2085. Archived from the original on 2024-05-03. Retrieved November 14, 2017.
  11. ^ "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 1992". Billboard. Archived from the original on 2021-03-07. Retrieved March 29, 2021.
  12. ^ "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 1992". Billboard. Archived from the original on 2021-04-21. Retrieved March 29, 2021.
  13. ^ "A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing § Charts & Awards > Billboard Singles". AllMusic. Retrieved November 14, 2017.