IPOD
RADIO
Black Sheep
By Daniel Robert Epstein
Nov 9, 2006
Black Sheep is best known for their early 90’s hit single The Choice Is Yours from the album A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing. Now half of the group, Dres, has put aside his high-top fade and released a digital-only Black Sheep album called 8WM/Novakane. I had a chance to speak with Dres about his attempt to makes the world his own.
Check out the official site for Black Sheep
Daniel Robert Epstein: What are you up to today?
Dres:
Today I’m just running around and I have a dinner meeting with some writers. During the day I’m really just taking it easy. I’ll probably go hit some golf balls with my friend, in fact that’s exactly what I’m going to go do.
DRE:
How has it been releasing this album on your own?
Dres:
At the end of the day I’m real grateful. It’s been a great experience because I’ve been doing so much on my own. It’s a great opportunity to see all the different aspects and make some more money at the same time. I’m hoping that the project gets supported so I could do it again next year. Maybe even afford the possibility of other artists, will be able to come through my situation. It’s been real cool being on my own. It’s been real painstaking though, it doesn’t happen overnight. I definitely had to crawl to get to this point.
DRE:
But you would do it again?
Dres:
Oh yeah, definitely. Nowadays artists look for a label to validate what they do. At the end of the day the label doesn’t really know you. If you have a following, then gamble on yourself.
DRE:
Did you ever look into a label doing all the work for you?
Dres:
I took some meetings with labels early on but I didn’t get the response I felt the project warranted. I didn’t feel they shared my vision. They weren’t in a rush to jump in bed with me and I wasn’t in a rush to jump in bed with them. That gave me the opportunity to do it on my own.
DRE:
Do you feel like they were being condescending?
Dres:
Yeah, I do, but I felt it put me in the right frame of mind as far as me going into this project. No one owes me anything. It’s my job to establish myself. It’s not their job to make sure I release a Black Sheep album this year. I do think they would be doing their job a little better if they did though. They don’t see the possibilities with what I’m bringing to the table but that’s their short-sightedness.
DRE:
What made you decide to go all digital instead of doing an album on CD?
Dres:
That was real simple for me because there’s such a huge online population now. I don’t think I would have gone this route five years ago. People are buying everything online these days from music to clothing to furnishings to cars to homes. Also it afforded me the opportunity to cut out the middle and establish my own label called Bum Rush where I own the lion’s share of the purse. I have the opportunity to change the world. The album won’t initially be in stories but it has afforded me the opportunity to shoot my own videos and to make money off of my efforts as opposed to pennies on the dollar, which is what I would make at a major label. This has afforded me the opportunity to do something on a huge level. Granted, it won’t be in stores around the country but I think it’s even better that it’s going to be on computers around the world.
DRE:
How big has the response been so far?
Dres:
It has been overwhelming. Anyone that’s heard any of the project has fallen in love with it, even the young cats. I know in my heart I made the right decisions.
DRE:
Was producing the album any different than what you had done in the past?
Dres:
Definitely. I feel like I found the sound that accented what I had to say. I found some beautiful production and I took my time with the writing. There are artists that say, “Yeah I did this album in three weeks.” I finished ours in a year and a half and that was exactly what I needed.
DRE:
Why did it take so long?
Dres:
It took me a year and a half for every single aspect of it, from the recording to the mixing to the mastering to everything and I did it all out of my own pocket.
DRE:
Is it easier to make fun of rap now?
Dres:
It was easy to plug in because that’s who I am but also because I’m not feeling the majority of the music out there today.
DRE:
Do you feel like this is a real Black Sheep album since Lawnge didn’t have much to do with the album?
Dres:
Lawnge is on a couple of hooks. But about ¾ into the project Lawnge decided he wanted to do a solo project. I felt that if you he wanted to do something like that then he should do it. We never had this great friendship. We grew up together to a certain degree but it was much more of a business situation. That’s basically where I stand with him. I wish him the best in his endeavors and now it is just me, there’s nobody to lean on. This is me and I have to stand on my own.
by Daniel Robert Epstein
SG Username: AndersWolleck
Black Sheep is best known for their early 90’s hit single The Choice Is Yours from the album A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing. Now half of the group, Dres, has put aside his high-top fade and released a digital-only Black Sheep album called 8WM/Novakane. I had a chance to speak with Dres about his attempt to makes the world his own.
Check out the official site for Black Sheep
Daniel Robert Epstein: What are you up to today?
Dres:
Today I’m just running around and I have a dinner meeting with some writers. During the day I’m really just taking it easy. I’ll probably go hit some golf balls with my friend, in fact that’s exactly what I’m going to go do.
DRE:
How has it been releasing this album on your own?
Dres:
At the end of the day I’m real grateful. It’s been a great experience because I’ve been doing so much on my own. It’s a great opportunity to see all the different aspects and make some more money at the same time. I’m hoping that the project gets supported so I could do it again next year. Maybe even afford the possibility of other artists, will be able to come through my situation. It’s been real cool being on my own. It’s been real painstaking though, it doesn’t happen overnight. I definitely had to crawl to get to this point.
DRE:
But you would do it again?
Dres:
Oh yeah, definitely. Nowadays artists look for a label to validate what they do. At the end of the day the label doesn’t really know you. If you have a following, then gamble on yourself.
DRE:
Did you ever look into a label doing all the work for you?
Dres:
I took some meetings with labels early on but I didn’t get the response I felt the project warranted. I didn’t feel they shared my vision. They weren’t in a rush to jump in bed with me and I wasn’t in a rush to jump in bed with them. That gave me the opportunity to do it on my own.
DRE:
Do you feel like they were being condescending?
Dres:
Yeah, I do, but I felt it put me in the right frame of mind as far as me going into this project. No one owes me anything. It’s my job to establish myself. It’s not their job to make sure I release a Black Sheep album this year. I do think they would be doing their job a little better if they did though. They don’t see the possibilities with what I’m bringing to the table but that’s their short-sightedness.
DRE:
What made you decide to go all digital instead of doing an album on CD?
Dres:
That was real simple for me because there’s such a huge online population now. I don’t think I would have gone this route five years ago. People are buying everything online these days from music to clothing to furnishings to cars to homes. Also it afforded me the opportunity to cut out the middle and establish my own label called Bum Rush where I own the lion’s share of the purse. I have the opportunity to change the world. The album won’t initially be in stories but it has afforded me the opportunity to shoot my own videos and to make money off of my efforts as opposed to pennies on the dollar, which is what I would make at a major label. This has afforded me the opportunity to do something on a huge level. Granted, it won’t be in stores around the country but I think it’s even better that it’s going to be on computers around the world.
DRE:
How big has the response been so far?
Dres:
It has been overwhelming. Anyone that’s heard any of the project has fallen in love with it, even the young cats. I know in my heart I made the right decisions.
DRE:
Was producing the album any different than what you had done in the past?
Dres:
Definitely. I feel like I found the sound that accented what I had to say. I found some beautiful production and I took my time with the writing. There are artists that say, “Yeah I did this album in three weeks.” I finished ours in a year and a half and that was exactly what I needed.
DRE:
Why did it take so long?
Dres:
It took me a year and a half for every single aspect of it, from the recording to the mixing to the mastering to everything and I did it all out of my own pocket.
DRE:
Is it easier to make fun of rap now?
Dres:
It was easy to plug in because that’s who I am but also because I’m not feeling the majority of the music out there today.
DRE:
Do you feel like this is a real Black Sheep album since Lawnge didn’t have much to do with the album?
Dres:
Lawnge is on a couple of hooks. But about ¾ into the project Lawnge decided he wanted to do a solo project. I felt that if you he wanted to do something like that then he should do it. We never had this great friendship. We grew up together to a certain degree but it was much more of a business situation. That’s basically where I stand with him. I wish him the best in his endeavors and now it is just me, there’s nobody to lean on. This is me and I have to stand on my own.
by Daniel Robert Epstein
SG Username: AndersWolleck
by Daniel Robert Epstein
SG Username: AndersWolleck
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