''A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing'' is the debut studio album from American

hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...

duo

Black Sheep In the English language, black sheep is an idiom that describes a member of a group who is different from the rest, especially a family member who does not fit in. The term stems from sheep whose fleece is colored black rather than the more comm ...

, released October 22, 1991, on

Mercury Records Mercury Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group. It had significant success as an independent operation in the 1940s and 1950s. Smash Records and Fontana Records were sub labels of Mercury. Mercury Records released ...

. The duo supported the album with a North American tour that included

the Soup Dragons The Soup Dragons are a Scottish alternative rock band of the late 1980s and early 1990s. Named after a character in the 1970s children's television series ''Clangers'', the group is best known for its cover of the Rolling Stones' song " I'm Fre ...

Tom Tom Club Tom Tom Club is an American new wave band founded in 1981 by husband-and-wife team Chris Frantz and Tina Weymouth as a side project from Talking Heads. Their best known songs include the UK top 10 hit " Wordy Rappinghood" and the US top 40 hi ...

, and James. The album peaked at number 30 on the ''Billboard'' 200 chart. By April 1992, it was certified gold in sales by the

RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

, after sales exceeding 500,000 copies in the United States.

Release and reception

The album peaked at thirty on the U.S. ''Billboard'' 200 and reached the fifteenth spot on the

R&B Albums Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums is a music chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine that ranks R&B and hip-hop albums based on sales in the United States and is compiled by Luminate. The chart debuted as Hot R&B LPs in the issue dated January 30, ...

chart. It was certified gold in April 1992. John Bush of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

called the album "playfully satirical, witty, and incredibly imaginative," and stated that "Black Sheep hit a height with their debut that few hip-hop acts would ever reach." In 1998, the album was selected as one of ''

The Source The Source may refer to: Film and television * ''The Source'' (1918 film), 1918 American drama directed by George Melford * ''The Source'' (1999 film), a 1999 documentary film about the Beat generation * ''The Source'' (2002 film), a 2002 scienc ...

''s "100 Best Rap Albums". In 2022, ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' placed it at number 146 on their list of the "200 Greatest Hip-Hop Albums of All Time".

Track listing

Chart history

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Singles

Personnel

* William McLean, Andre Titusarranging & production * Lisle Leeteengineering * Lisa Cortes, Dave Gossettexecutive production * Tom Coynemastering * Gregg Mann, W. McLean, A. Titusmixing * Angelique Bellamnyvocals *

Chi-Ali Chi-Ali Griffith (born May 27, 1976), better known by his stage name Chi-Ali, is an American rapper from The Bronx, best known for his debut album, '' The Fabulous Chi-Ali'', released in 1992, and as a member of hip-hop collective Native Tongues ...

vocals (background)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wolf In Sheep's Clothing 1991 debut albums Black Sheep (group) albums Mercury Records albums