 With his first proper full length album since 2006, Dres of the legendary Queens outfit Black Sheep is gearing up to once again command the airwaves with the April 6th release of his highly anticipated album, From The Black Pool Of Genius. In an effort to holdover his insatiable fans while finishing up the LP, Dres released the five song EP, From The Black Pool Of Genius: The Prelude to much fanfare in December. The EP served as a promising precursor of what fans can expect from the upcoming album, and since its release Dres has been hard at work in the lab perfecting his sound.
Unlike The Prelude, The From The Black Pool Of Genius LP finds Dres enlisting a handful of his hip-hop brethren to elevate the album to the next level. "I would say the major difference [between The Prelude and LP] is the entourage of songs on the LP come with many guests which brings a nice variety to the spices already being served" says Dres. Production duties are handled by Paten Locke, Tough Junkie, BeanOne, ShowBiz, the Beatnuts, and Urban Soul Group, producers of "Forever LuvLee," the only hold over track from the EP, all of who manage to season some new flavor onto the songs while keeping right in tune with Dres' signature sound. The album also boasts performances from lyrical heavyweights AZ, Rhymefest, and Jean Grae, who are all on hand to drop notable guest verses and showcase their verbal dexterity, as well as an appearance from P&V, who provide an R&B touch for the project. A rare Native Tongue's bonus track featuring Q-Tip of A Tribe Called Quest, Dave of De La Soul and Mike G of the Jungle Brothers rounds out Dres' sonic serving of genius.
As one of the most respected and insightful voices in music today, Dres is using the album as means of communicating his beliefs about the meaning of hip-hop. "I once heard a poet say that 'hip hop backward is 'pih poh (people)'- the way I see it, many artists are a lot more hip-hop than they ever realized." As for the album title, Dres explains that, "Black Pool doesn’t refer to black people. It refers to the color black's unique ability to absorb light. This deep, vast pool of soul, of artistic insight; although it's not always understood, the light it reflects back to the 'pih-poh' is necessary." Hip-hop heads are ready and anxiously awaiting to see the light. Dres' From The Black Pool of Genius full length will be available April 6th.
Also, be sure to catch Dres in action as he hits the stage with Serius Jones, Shinobi Ninja and Peter Hadar at Mexicali Live tonight, February 18 at 7:30PM. Located at 1409 Queen Anne Road in Teaneck, NJ, the venue promises to deliver an electrifying genre-spanning night of sounds from the worlds of hip-hop, punk rock and electronica.
Check out, "I Wanna Rock," the first of Dres' Hot Track Of The Week series, which will feature Dres spitting a 16 over current instrumentals: http://media.audibletreats.com/Dres-I_Wanna_Rock_Freestyle.mp3
Also, check out an excerpt from the upcoming Speaking In Tongues documentary. The segment features Dres at work in the studio with Mike G of the Jungle Brothers as they work on the forthcoming, and highly anticipated Native Tongues reunion track: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YZjD9-UIF_0
Prelude buy link: http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/from-black-pool-genius-the-prelude/id342549103
The Background:
It all began with a thundering baseline and an unmistakably classic phrase - "this or that." One of the most widely recognized songs in rap music history, the 1991 classic "The Choice is Yours" was hailed by VH1 in 2008 as one of the best rap songs of all time. The highly respected Queens emcee Dres, along with DJing partner-in-crime William "Mista Lawnge" McLean took the music industry by storm in the early 1990's as part of the groundbreaking collective Native Tongues. Penning such Billboard standouts as "Flavor of the Month" and "Strobelight Honey" for the duo's platinum-selling debut album A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing in 1992, Dres would continue to crank out the hits on the group's second release, Non Fiction. After a brief reunion with Mister Lawnge in 2000, Dres again set his sights on recording. He released the innovative online-only album 8WM/Novakane in 2007. Now he's back in the studio, writing the next chapter of his storied career. Dres' highly anticipated new project, From the Black Pool of Genius, out Spring 2010, promises to pair thought-provoking lyrics with astounding beats constructed by a corps of new and established beatmakers. They include Bean One, Showbiz, Tough Junkie, P. Locke, Urban Soul Music Group, and Willie Evans. He's also got an impressive line-up of guest stars, including De La Soul, A Tribe Called Quest, Rhymefest, AZ, and Tough Junkie, among others. Leading up to the release of his next full-length, Black Sheep have released a precursor EP, From The Black Pool Of Genius: The Prelude, available now. From The Black Pool Of Genius will be available on April 6th. |
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