Still Relevant? Dres From Black sheep

You may not have heard much from the Queens duo Black Sheep since the early ‘90s. That’s because Dres and Mista Lawnge have been working on solo endeavors since their breakup in 1994. After over a decade apart, Black Sheep are back with 8WM/Novakane, an album that primarily features the work of Dres as Lawnge left midway through production. HHLO’s Pete the Meat had the chance to talk to Dres about the album, his relationship with Lawnge and what he’s been up do in the past 14 years.

Hip Hop Lives Online: So how are you?

Dres: I’m good. Feeling very blessed.

HHLO: Doing some press lately?

Dres: Yeah. Yeah. No doubt. Doing a lot of interviews, some shows, about to do a European run for the month of May, been doing a lot of spot dates here in the states in the interest of myself and the new project.

HHLO: Re-introducing yourself?

Dres: Yeah, I just released a new album on my own label called Bumrush. The name of the new album is called 8WM/Novakane. I put out a new album that I feel great about. I think it speaks on volumes as to what it could be or what it should be. I feel like it’s great. It’s not even a attempt to get back in the game.

HHLO: You call it a solo album but it’s under the Black Sheep name, right?

Dres: It’s the Black Sheep Dres. It’s just me though, but definitely I’ll keep the Black Sheep logo going strong.

HHLO: Why did you decide to keep it even though Mista Lawnge left?

Dres: Well, I would advise Lawnge to do the same if he decided to do something. It would totally be on him, but ultimately we’re the only two people in the world known as Black Sheep and it would be foolish to not put that in our moniker. And basically it’s the Black Sheep Dres, you know?

HHLO: Did you break up on good terms?

Dres: Well, we had kind of broken up maybe six or seven years ago and it wasn’t necessarily on good terms. We attempted to get back together a couple of years ago and it just wasn’t really for us. I felt we’d be able to put it together on a business level but towards the middle of the project he felt that he wanted to do his own thing and I respected it and wished him well.

HHLO: So there’s no chance of getting back together again?

Dres: I’m hoping somewhere down the line there’s a Native Tongues reunion at which point I would entertain doing some work with him, but probably not ‘till then.

HHLO: Do you want to talk about what happened at all?

Dres: Nah, I’m not really one of those cats. I’ll leave it at we just parted amicably.

HHLO: Well, it’s pretty big of you to keep his material on there and keep the Black Sheep name.

Dres: Yeah, he’s on a couple of hooks. I mean, at the end of the day we started it to be a Black Sheep project and at the end of the day I’m definitely not trying to fool the consumer. That’s not where my head is at. I think anybody that kind of knows anything about us would probably be more used to my voice than Lawnge’s as far as being an MC and that he did have something to do with it. I mean, it started off as a Black Sheep project and at the end of the day that’s the project that got presented. It might not be both of as at this point but it’s the Black Sheep project of the new millennium. The fact that he’s not there probably says a lot more about him than it would say about the project.

HHLO: So coming back with a new album, how do you find a balance between keeping the old fans happy and still staying fresh and relevant?

Dres: To be honest with you, I really just turned the radio off, turned off the television, I really was not concerned with what was going on with hip-hop at this point, and just did what I felt. It wasn’t so much that I was really trying to get caught up with what’s going on with the politics of hip-hop at this point. I come from a place where I didn’t really make a record to garnish anything; to have anything in my life as far as a car, a chain, a building, whatever. I did this out of the love of me liking to make hot music and I just took the time and said a lot of things that I felt weren’t being said or at least I wasn’t hearing and just tried to give up myself musically. I’m not trying to steal Ciara’s fans or Chris Brown’s fans, I’m not trying to be Jay or 50 or any of the above. I have my own lane in this game that I’ve been in for quite a while and I’m kind of just jumping back on the highway and decided to do me.

HHLO: So how do you make your old school fans aware that you’re back?

Dres: That’s why I’m on the phone with you. Just for me to do as much press as I can and as many shows as I can. Get the word out that there’s a more than credible project that’s available to people right now. I’m definitely trying to blow up the Myspace and as much as I can do on an independent level. Like I said, I have my own label and I feel really great about it. I’m making really solid strides even though it may not be on the level of what it once was, I’m probably much more happy that I’m not making records for Philip Slight who owned PolyGram at the time. I’m making records for myself and it’s a huge difference. Even me going through the negotiation processes of solidifying a distribution deal, recording, mix and mastering a project or shooting videos out of my own pocket, these are all new endeavors to me as far as the business aspect of it whereas if you’re on a major label a lot of things are done for you. These days I do a lot of things for myself and I feel really good about it. I feel really proud about that and I feel like it’s the kind of example that really needs to be displayed at this point. A lot of cats are very accustomed to having people do things for them and I took the mindset a long time ago that it’s nobody’s job to make sure I’m okay; you know what I’m saying? I’ve got to do what I’ve got to do for myself.

HHLO: With work in general, a sense of self-gratification is a lot more important than making all the money in the world and feeling like a slave.

Dres: Exactly, and I come from that. I was one of the cats that had a record on top of the charts and didn’t feel good and wasn’t happy and was definitely trying to find myself in the midst of all that. It was definitely a contrast in my life. Today, I’m elated who I am and how I move and what I’m doing. Even though it might not be something that’s in your living room every day, I’m cool with that. It seems like other people have more of a problem with it than I do, but that’s on them.

HHLO: So you were on the Nas “Where are they now” remix last year?

Dres: Oh, the little guest appearance. Yeah, that was a good look for real for real.

HHLO: How did that whole thing come about?

Dres: Actually, through my man DJ Ready Cee. He reached out to me and was like, “Yo, why don’t you jump on this track I got an opportunity for? Nas is putting some stuff together, blah, blah, blah.” There’s not too many MC’s that I would definitely call myself a fan of, but Nas would be one of them. I am definitely a fan of Nas and I was elated to write a verse for it.

HHLO: So he’s someone you really respect?

Dres: Just as far as his body of work. I think his first album was forever the quintessential hip-hop album.

HHLO: I was reading an interview with you where you said sense of self is very important with MC’s.

Dres: Without question. I feel like these days a lot of the kids get a lot of grief about their subject matter or how they present themselves. But in my opinion, who’s the bigger fool, the kid that makes the record or the person who follows them? So if you don’t have a sense of self, not only can you not make that record but you’re also going to be one the people that follows the kid who makes that record. Once you have a sense of self you can really differentiate what’s real life and what’s not and where you fall within those realms.

HHLO: Do you find a lot of people don’t have that, or too many people are emulating?

Dres: Yeah, big-time. When I was coming up you got a deal for sounding like no one else. These days you get a deal for sounding exactly like someone.

HHLO: I look at your whole movement in the early ‘90’s as really being the pioneers of the whole originality and being yourself mentality in hip-hop.

Dres: Yeah, and that’s still what I am trying to do at this point. In my opinion, that’s really how you win. You don’t win by tracing somebody else’s steps. You win by really going out and doing your own thing and finding your own way and being yourself. It’s really the simplest thing that you could do, but cats really overlook it.

HHLO: Yeah, there are still people out there that are doing it. Sometimes you just have to dig deeper and it’s not going to be presented to you.

Dres: Yeah it’s definitely not something that’s going to be on the radio or on BET or MTV. The game has definitely taken the corporate route and we really have to embrace that as well. It’s not even about a record as much as it is about the things that go on around it at this point. You become a brand and an entity and you literally change not only your life but the lives of your entourage. The life of everyone around you can change with success in the industry at this point, and that didn’t exist before. On that level, you try to embrace the good in everything. It’s come to a place where not only did people think it was going to be a fad but its prevalent now. You hear hip-hop being used in not only commercials but just every aspect of music has really become hip-hop savvy.

HHLO: Well even a lot of rock music, I mean…

Dres: Yeah, I won’t even say hip-hop savvy, I’ll say rap savvy. You hit it right on the head because hip-hop is still trying to get a little equated. But at the end of the day, it’s all steps in the right direction. You can’t bump your head but so many times. At the end of the day, the music is still growing up, the cats in it are still growing up and we are all not going to move at the same speed. Maybe something I saw 15 years ago, it might take a cat a little minute to see it. An analogy I use it some people walk, some people take a train, some people take a plane, some people take a boat, but the object is to get where you’re going. I feel like cats are going to get where they’re going, but we all travel in different ways.

HHLO: Do you ever get sick of the whole ‘where are they now’ thing?

Dres: Not really. As far as me, I’m very active, so I think there is a certain contingency of people who know what’s going on with me. Those that don’t, I have something that I want to give you. It’s not just talk with me. I’ve got a brand new album that’s probably hotter than most of the shit that’s out and I can say that so wholeheartedly and so freely that I walk around New York with my chest out sincerely. It’s something I did on my own and I feel great about it and it’s just a matter of time before cats realize it’s even available and when they do see it and when they do hear it, I think it speaks for itself. It wasn’t a mistake. Anything that’s happened with me musically definitely wasn’t a mistake. I feel like my endeavors from here forth are going to show it. Not only do I have a new project that I just released but I’m also working on another album to release at the end of the summer as well as some film work. I’m into a few different things right now and everybody might not know at the same time, but they’re going to find out.

HHLO: What film stuff are you working on?

Dres: I’m doing a short film right now. It’s pretty cool. I’m not even going to stress it. I’ll wait until it’s finished. But I’m trying to do a little bit of transitioning.

HHLO: What other future plans do you have?

Dres: Well, like I said, I’ve got the label so I’m going to be looking to bloom a couple acts, develop a couple situations as far as that goes. But as well, just to feel free and be able to put out music and know that there are people that want it. Slowly but surely, the more people that find out that I’m making music is the more people that are getting with it and looking for something that’s not available to them right now. So I’m feeling good. My whole thing right now, I’m not really caught up in what cats’ thoughts of what music in the past is. I’m really trying to bring something new, something relevant and just keep it fresh within myself. I’m not even caught up in what other people’s perception of what new music is because it was the same thing when I was coming up out before. There was a sound and there were things that were prevalent and I really couldn’t look at that to do my project. I had to do what I do and if anything I think it’s much better at this point because I’m not a kid anymore. The things that I’m saying, I know are relevant. I wasn’t sure of my relevance when I was 19 years old. I know how relevant my words are today and not only can I make something that’s bragadocious and fun, but I can also make something that’s serious and make you reflect on something that’s a little bit more relevant than maybe what’s being offered. And I’ll let you know, at the end of the day, it’s cool to be you. There’s nothing wrong with being you. You don’t need to be some of the things that come across your television screen or you hear on your radio. A winner is himself.