EP141: Adam Mansbach on Black Sheep’s “A Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing” (1991)

Episode notes

When Black Sheep joined the Native Tongues family in 1989, they brought an irreverent and humorous tone to the hip-hop collective. Native Tongues had lighthearted rappers in the group to begin with, but Black Sheep took it one step further. They were witty, they teased, and they flipped some iconic samples. And oh yea, and they released one of the biggest hits of the ’90s, The Choice is Yours (Revisited).

Writer Adam Mansbach sits down with Oliver to discuss Black Sheep’s debut record, the gangsta rap blacklash happening at the time, and the more problematic parts of the record.

Show Tracklisting (all songs from A Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing unless otherwise indicated):

• Try Counting Sheep
• Flavor of the Month
• To Whom It May Concern
• Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass: In A Little Spanish Town
• Flavor of the Month
• U Mean I’m Not
• Tim Dog: Fuck Compton
• U Mean I’m Not
• Butt in the Meantime
• McCoy Tyner: Impressions
• The Choice is Yours (Revisted)
• Freddie Hubbard: Povo
• Black with NV (No Vision)
• Gary Bartz: Celestial Blues
• To Whom It May Concern
• Black Sheep: Without A Doubt
• L A S M
• Gimme the Finga
• Have U.N.E. Pull
• Shades of Brown: The Soil I Tilled For You
• A Tribe Called Quest: Excursions
• Have U.N.E. Pull
• The Choice Is Yours (Revisited)
• Strobelite Honey
• Are You Mad?
• The Choice Is Yours
• KMD: Humrush
• De La Soul: A Rollerskating Jam Named “Saturdays”
• De La Soul: Skit 2

Here is the Spotify playlist of as many songs as we can find there

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