Andres "Dres" Vargas-Titus (born March 18, 1967) is an American hip hop artist. He is known for being the lead rapper of the

alternative hip hop Alternative hip hop (also known as alternative rap) is a subgenre of hip hop music that encompasses a wide range of styles that are not typically identified as mainstream. AllMusic defines it as comprising " hip hop groups that refuse to confor ...

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 ...

, before recording as a solo artist.

Career

Dres formed Black Sheep in 1989 with Mista Lawnge. Their first appearance together was on

De La Soul De La Soul () is an American hip hop trio formed in 1988 in the Amityville area of Long Island, New York. They are best known for their eclectic sampling, quirky lyrics, and their contributions to the evolution of the jazz rap and alternative ...

's 1991 album ''

De La Soul Is Dead ''De La Soul Is Dead'' is the second studio album by American hip-hop group De La Soul, released on May 14, 1991. The album was produced by Prince Paul, whose work on ''3 Feet High and Rising'' was highly praised by music critics. The album wa ...

''. Dres was featured on the track "Fanatic of the B Word". Their first album, '' A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing'', was released in 1991 and featured the singles "Flavor of the Month", " The Choice Is Yours", "

Strobelite Honey "Strobelite Honey" is a 1991 single by hip-hop duo, Black Sheep. The single was written by William McLean and Dres (rapper), and was the duo's third release from their A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing album. "Stobelight Honey" was the duo's second ...

", and "Similak Child". Due to the lackluster sales of their second album, ''

Non-Fiction Nonfiction, or non-fiction, is any document or media content that attempts, in good faith, to provide information (and sometimes opinions) grounded only in facts and real life, rather than in imagination. Nonfiction is often associated with be ...

'', Dres and Mista Lawnge split up and started independent projects. In 1999, credited as Dres the Black Sheep, Dres released a solo album titled ''

Sure Shot Redemption ''Sure Shot Redemption'' is the debut solo album by the Black Sheep member Dres. It was released in 1999 through Ground Control Records. Critical reception ''Exclaim!'' wrote that Dres's "voice still boasts a suave demeanour and shines on jazzy ...

''. In 2000, Black Sheep reunited and recorded the EP, ''Redlight, Greenlight'', and the title track of the film ''

Once in the Life ''Once in the Life'' is a 2000 American direct-to-video crime film written , directed and starring Laurence Fishburne. He adapted the script from his own play, ''Riff Raff''. Plot Once you're in the life of drug dealing and organized crime, c ...

''. In 2006, Dres released another solo album titled '' 8WM/Novakane''. In 2009, Dres released an EP titled ''From the Black Pool of Genius: the Prelude'', in preparation for his solo LP ''From the Black Pool of Genius'', which was released June 2010.

Personal life

Dres was raised in the

Astoria Houses Astoria is a placename, ultimately named for businessman John Jacob Astor (1763–1848), in the 1840s the wealthiest person in the United States and, as a hotel name, his great-grandson William Waldorf Astor (1848–1919). The name was first used ...

in the Astoria section of

Queens, NY Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...

, and the

Bland Houses Bland may refer to: things that taste like nothing Places *Bland, Missouri, a US city *Bland, Virginia, a US unincorporated community *Division of Bland, a former Australian Electoral Division *Bland Shire, a local government area in New South Wal ...

(commonly known as "The Bland") in the Flushing section of Queens, NY. His family later moved to North Carolina. Dres is the father of

Honor Titus Honor Titus (born July 18, 1989) is an American artist who lives and works in Los Angeles, California. Since his first solo exhibition in 2019, he has received international recognition for his painting practice, which weaves together a surreal ...

, the singer of the punk-rock band

Cerebral Ballzy Cerebral Ballzy is an American punk rock band from Brooklyn, New York, United States. The band was formed in 2008 and released their debut, self-titled, album on 26 July 2011. The album was released in full as an online preview on the ''Revolv ...

. Dres is not blood related to

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

. Dres is of

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

and Puerto Rican descent.

Solo discography

Albums

Featured tracks

*"Fanatic Of The B Word" by

, from its 1991 album ''

''. *"Work To Do" by

Vanessa L. Williams Vanessa Lynn Williams (born March 18, 1963) is an American singer, actress, and fashion designer. She gained recognition as the first African-American woman to receive the Miss America title when she was crowned Miss America 1984. She resigne ...

, from her 1991 album '' The Comfort Zone''. *"Let The Horns Blow" by

, from his 1992 album ''The Fabulous Chi-Ali''. *"Roll Wit Tha Flava" by the Flavor Unit MCs, from the 1993 album ''Roll Wit Tha Flava''. *"En Focus" by De La Soul, from its 1993 album ''

Buhloone Mindstate ''Buhloone Mindstate'' (stylized as ''Buhlo͞one Mind State'' on the album cover) is the third studio album by American hip hop group De La Soul. It was released on September 21, 1993, through Tommy Boy Records, and was the group's last record to ...

''. *"First...and Then" by

Handsome Boy Modeling School Handsome Boy Modeling School is an American collaborative project between hip hop producers Dan the Automator (Gorillaz, Dr. Octagon, Deltron 3030) and Prince Paul (Stetsasonic, De La Soul, Gravediggaz). The collaboration originally lasted from ...

from its 2004 album ''

White People White is a racialized classification of people and a skin color specifier, generally used for people of European origin, although the definition can vary depending on context, nationality, and point of view. Description of populations as ...

''. *"Foolin' Around" by

Rhymefest Che Smith (born July 6, 1977), better known by his stage name Rhymefest, is an American rapper from Chicago whose first official album, ''Blue Collar'', was released in 2006. His prominent songwriting credits include co-writing Kanye West's "Je ...

from his 2008 mixtape ''Man in the Mirror''. * "React with a mic" by

Twista Carl Terrell Mitchell (born November 27, 1973), better known by his stage name Twista (formerly Tung Twista), is an American rapper and record producer. He is best known for his Chopper (rap), chopper style of rapping and for once holding the t ...

from his 1994 album ''Resurrection'' *"Back on the Scene" By

Slaughterhouse A slaughterhouse, also called abattoir (), is a facility where animals are slaughtered to provide food. Slaughterhouses supply meat, which then becomes the responsibility of a packaging facility. Slaughterhouses that produce meat that is no ...

from its 2011 ''

Slaughterhouse EP ''Slaughterhouse'' is the only extended play by hip hop supergroup Slaughterhouse. It was released on February 8, 2011 through E1 Music.Who's the Man? ''Who's the Man?'' is a 1993 thriller buddy comedy film directed by Ted Demme in his feature film directing debut. The film stars ''Yo! MTV Raps'' hosts Doctor Dré and Ed Lover as its two main protagonists and features cameo appearances from s ...

(1993) as Malik *''

'' (2000) as Hector *"Words Up!" a

CBS Schoolbreak Special ''CBS Schoolbreak Special'' is an American anthology series for teenagers that aired on CBS from December 1978 to January 1996. The series began under the title ''CBS Afternoon Playhouse'', and was changed during the 1984–85 season. The concept ...

, Season 10, Episode 2 (1992) as

Aeschylus Aeschylus (, ; grc-gre, Αἰσχύλος ; c. 525/524 – c. 456/455 BC) was an ancient Greek tragedian, and is often described as the father of tragedy. Academic knowledge of the genre begins with his work, and understanding of earlier Greek ...

References

External links

*
Video interviewBlack Sheep official website
*

Black Sheep (group) Black Sheep is an American hip hop duo from Queens, New York (state), New York, United States, composed of Dres (rapper), Andres "Dres" Vargas Titus and William "Mista Lawnge" McLean. The duo was from New York but met as teenagers in Sanford, No ...

African-American male actors American male actors African-American male rappers American people of Puerto Rican descent Hispanic and Latino American rappers Five percenters Living people Tommy Boy Records artists Rappers from New York City 1967 births 21st-century American rappers 21st-century American male musicians 21st-century African-American musicians 20th-century African-American people {{US-hiphop-bio-stub