8wm / Novakane

Lyrics.......somebody want lyrics??? Dres has been nice with the flow & slept on for years when it comes to lyrical cadence! His wordlplay has always stood out & it's nice to hear lyrics that make you actually rewind the disc at times. KUDOS Fellas.... VokoZ (The Paragraph Chemist)

After reading the rather long list of high praise reviews touting the return to grace of estranged Hip Hop legends Black Sheep I thought it was necessary to add a bit of balance to the conversation. Hip Hop has endured many years of mainstream stagnation. For a commercial art form to grow it's important for artists whom posess high influence to create works that push their genre/medium forward (eg. Hendrix/Beatles for RockNRoll, Miles/Monk for Jazz or Cash/Almann Bros. for Country). Once you're on top of the world you can turn it in whatever direction you like. Many Emcees/crews have passed on producing that sort of work that in favor of safe bet, flavorless chart toppers. Enter Black Sheep. 8wm/Novakane is not precisely mainstream fluff...it's just not particularly innovative either. It's just, well...okay. Don't get me wrong, there is some strong - in some songs amazing - lyrical work here. The title track "Novakane" and "Everyday" show some artistic growth and reel with social conscience. "Heed the Word" harkens back to the days of Cross Colors and high top fades but beat composition counts for a lot and it is here that "8wm/Novakane" really falls down. The tempo for each track offers the sort of saminess that might make it difficult to distinguish one song from another in some portions of the album - mind you not in a "Demon Days" or "Dark Side of the Moon" track continuity sort of way. Also the bulk of the album could easily be confused with any random deep cut from the Bad Boy or Rockafella late 90's catalogue. The most dissapointing moment came while listening to "Wonder" with its smooth jazz repeatative keyboards accompanied by "oh's" and "ooh's" from an innocuous female RnB vocalist - c'mon y'all. It's not just a bit hackneyed, it's little ways behind it's time. Old timey and unoriginal is too much to bear in one creation, especially from artists for whom I have so much respect. Yes, Black Sheeps latest offering is a lot more interesting than the most recent TI or Lil Wayne LP but then, well, I suppose I'll let the listener decide whether or not that's saying much. I'm happy to hear newer material from Dres and The S.D. Daddy but by and large I expected a lot more. I remain hopeful that they will - if they haven't already - find peace with one another and perhaps one day find a producer with some vision. Until then I'll be replaying "A Wolf in Sheeps Clothing" and longing for what migt have been.

I LOVE IT!! U won't be disappointed..if u know tru hip hop

Black Sheep were the sickest of all time in the early 90's, like their first two albums, the old school flows were so dope, now they are trying to come back in '06.....doesn't even get near close to how sick they were back in the day

Always were, still are and always will be the best!!! Thanks for bringing it back, I really missed this group. Good days of highschool 1992, Fairfax high, wow. Black Sheep forever. It is a sin to not buy this album for ones who love true hip hop. Peace

In a world of little and young boys acting like thugs and promoted by corporate fat cats it's a pleasure to revist the voice of old friends. Dres and Lawnge are back, though lite on Mr.Lawnge's touch, I hear there was some issue between these two, sadly. Black Sheep brings eloquent wordsmith technique a la Dres and the bump of east coast tradition with the ol' jazzy sensibility. It's a rich sleeper of an album. Not a perfect piece, it is still superior to most albums released these days. Dres, if you read this-- Thank You. Some of us heads are over the age of thirty and grew up on soulful thought provoking hip-hop. The Lil Young set would have us believe this was dead. I am sure this album was tough to make. Multifaceted and complex from booty-slapping-nasty to spirtually uplifting. It's more a new starting point to continue the conversation started in the late eighties, than a comeback from long hiatus. Keep the sheep comming.

Nice album, quality production, reminiscent to the 1st album (The Choice is Yours). If you like the WHACK, you won't like this. Me, I LOVE hip hop and I got into this album, big-time. Dres, Mr. Lawng, Keep handlin ya thangs... Thank you for the work. YoHan D. Man

I glad to see real Hip-Hop again this is a great album

Wow! Too bad they've broken up... Whodat? (the single and (Live at Sputnik in Brooklyn) version video is worth the price of the album alone!!! The album itself is 4 to 5 stars but I rounded up!!! Check out You Tube for the video!

What can I say, so many bad albums with so many negative groups, it sgreat to see the old crews putting quality out there to save the music. the youngsters should pay attention!