One month out from the release of a new album, Black Sheep’s Dres surprised fans this week with a Native Tongues reunion single entitled “Birds of a Feather.”
The song was released yesterday and features founding Native Tongues members Dave (Trugoy) of De La Soul, Q-Tip of A Tribe Called Quest, and Mike Gee of the Jungle Brothers.
The Tough Junkie produced track represents the first collaboration with founding members since 2004, when N*E*R*D* released a “Native Tongues Remix” to “She Wants to Move” with Common, Mos Def, De La Soul, and Q-Tip.
In 2007 Native Tongues affiliate artists Monie Love and Chip Fu (Fu Schnickens) were featured along with Mike Gee and Dres on Nas’ all-star 90’s “Where Are They Now Remix.”
“It’s a long time coming,” Dres explained, referencing the latest track. “’Birds of a Feather’ represents the beauty and strength of kinship and unity. It’s even greater when your family is dope.”
Although never recording a super group album, the Native Tongues were one of the premier collectives of the early to mid 90s. Conceptualized following a Boston show, the Native Tongues were influential in molding what later became known as “conscious Hip-Hop” by addressing many social issues including race, poverty, and sexuality.
Sonically, the founding members revolutionized Hip-Hop by incorporating diverse sampling sources beyond traditional funk and soul breaks (De La Soul), experimentation with Jazz (A Tribe Called Quest) , and House music (The Jungle Brothers) .
Along with numerous seminal albums [Low End Theory, 3 Feet High and Rising, Straight Out the Jungle), the Native Tongues are also known for the classic single “Buddy.”
Black Sheep’s new album From the Black Pool of Genius features the new single and production from Showbiz, Bean One, Willie Evans, Tough Junkie, and the Urban Soul Music Group. The project also boasts guest spots from AZ, Jean Grae, Rhymefest, Rosie Perez, A Tribe Called Quest, and Psycho Les of the Beatnuts.
A From the Black Pool of Genius promotional EP is available now. The full-length LP has a retail date of June 29.
