The story behind Black Sheep’s ‘The Choice Is Yours (Revisited)’
Black Sheep, composed of Dres and Mista Lawnge, were stars of the golden age and the East Coast hip-hop scene.
Affiliates of the legendary Native Tongues collective, whose alumni also include the likes of De La Soul, A Tribe Called Quest, Jungle Brothers, Queen Latifah and, later, Busta Rhymes and Mos Def, Black Sheep were witty, intelligent and playful, with their rhymes often set upon a distinctive bed of jazz samples. But, from within an impressive back catalogue, one of their songs stands out above all others: ‘The Choice Is Yours (Revisited)’.
When Black Sheep were starting out in the early 1990s, they were keen to forge a sound that was distinct from that of their Native Tongues peers. That meant a willingness to experiment and not follow any particular formula, as Mista Lawnge told HalftimeOnline in 2006. “It wasn’t no real science to it, we just did what the fuck we felt like doing,” he said. “We’re not following nobody’s format. We’re just doing what we think is hot and keeping it moving.”
Lawnge elaborated on his approach to making music during those early days of experimentation, describing how his cut-and-paste production technique worked – even though he didn’t personally own much in the way of specialist equipment. “It’s basically starting from many different bits and pieces from many different albums, and I’d fold them together like cards,” he said. “Then I’d take them to the studio to use the equipment I didn’t have, like AKAIs and all that, and then direct the engineers on what I wanted to have done. Each piece of each record went down on its own track.”
Working this way allowed Black Sheep to make their debut album, A Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing, but, because it contained so many samples, it took a long time for the label to clear all the rights for release. During this period of waiting around, Lawnge kept on developing his skills as a producer – so much so that he started to feel he could do better than what he’d already achieved on A Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing.
When, eventually, the album was released, the duo released the track ‘Flavour of the Month’ as the lead single. But for the second single, the label wanted something harder. The song ‘The Choice Is Yours’ was chosen, but given all his new production skills, Lawnge felt he could do better. So he remixed it. “Production-wise, I appreciated what I did a year earlier,” he explained to Ambrosia For Heads in 2016. “But I was on a next level [by the time the album came out] with finding samples and putting stuff together. I was evolving with the samples.”
For a time, Lawnge considered giving the new track to fellow Native Tongues member Chi-Ali to rap on, but, in the end, he kept it for Black Sheep. It was the right decision, as ‘The Choice is Yours (Revisited)’ became a big hit within the hip-hop community, reaching number one on the US Hot Rap Singles chart. The song is now considered to be a classic, and it enjoys a second life these days by frequently appearing in movies, games and adverts.
‘The Choice is Yours (Revisited)’ was Black Sheep’s greatest triumph, and the duo understands that perfectly well. As Dres noted in that same Ambrosia for Heads feature, “You know, sometimes, I think about that song sonically and lyrically, that song is nailing it. Not to say we didn’t nail other ones, but that one in particular, that one’s hammered in.”