Wolf in Sheep's Clothing
Dres and Mista Lawnge kicked off their careers in high style as the bratty kid brothers--the, uh, proverbial Black Sheep--of the Native Tongue family. It's not a completely deserved reputation, since the pair's debut disc is a slickly produced effort with smooth rhymes and strong beats. The guest spots are kept to a minimum, though they remain choice, especially when kid MC Chi Ali raps, "pass the 40, 'cause my mother's not looking." The duo's style pulls toward humor, which they try to keep understated (in their sexual boasts), but it sometimes goes way over the top--most notably on the gangsta-rap parody "U Mean I'm Not," in which the narrator kills his sister for using his toothbrush.--Randy Silver