Queens Hip Hop duo Dres and Mista Lawgne — collectively known as Black Sheep — rose to prominence in the 1990s as part of Native Tongues collective. Their first official appearance was on De La Soul’s 1991 album De La Soul Is Dead on the track “Fanatic of the B Word.”
Their 1991 debut, A Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing, is largely celebrated by Hip Hop purists thanks to the single “The Choice Is Yours (Revisited).” While the song peaked at just No. 57 on the Billboard Hot 100, it’s still an undeniable classic. But aside from Dres’ impact on golden era Hip Hop, the 54-year-old MC apparently made a lasting impression on Kanye West.
On Sunday (January 23), Dres tweeted about the time Kanye told his team he should give the Hip Hop mogul fashion advice. Looking back, Dres regrets not helping him and insinuated Ye’s drab color choices weren’t exactly his cup of tea.
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“@kanyewest once told his entourage that I’m the one who should be dressing him (was dead serious) … I should have helped him.. I inspire color. @drinkchamps I’m sayin.” He added, “Word to @Drinkchamps … I am not bragging when I say I dress better than @kanyewest … you can ask him yourself.”
Dres followed up with a clip from his forthcoming Drink Champs interview on Monday (January 24) and made another reference to his fashion sense with the caption, “Catch me and @chialibx and @_thelegion_ (Molecules) on @drinkchamps this week and hear me reiterate… I dress waaaaay better than @kanyewest and a few other things. Big Love to @whoscrazy @therealnoreaga @vlambino76 and the whole @drinkchamps and @revolttv staff.”
Kanye West’s foray into fashion is began over a decade ago. In 2009, he and the late Virgil Abloh got internships at Fendi, which ultimately led to Abloh founding Off-White. In a 2016 interview with W Magazine, Kanye claimed he was misunderstood in the fashion industry after his Yeezy Season 4 show was criticized by many fashion experts, with some saying he was “irresponsible” for using amateur models.
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“Very few people even knew that I have a fucking Ph.D. in art, you know?” he said at the time. “And not that that would even make the difference, but me saying that makes the difference to the exact people I’m talking to it’s, like, shut the fuck up. I will fucking laser you with alien fucking eyes and explode your fucking head. Shut the fuck up – try to write a rap.”
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He also noted he was thinking beyond money and simply wanted to make an impact on people. “I am a creator and it’s my responsibility,” he explained. “There is no amount of money, like as I tell my managers right now, ‘What is your opinion of success?’ So many people look at success is just like having money.
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“True, not having money can be a sign of a lack of success and also can deter you from being successful at other things that you do, but if you take guys like [luxury holding companies] LVMH and like Kering, they might only have two or three businesses that are actually profitable and they all work together, but they are successful at taking brands that mean something to people.”
In the years since, Kanye’s partnership with adidas has exploded with the Yeezy brand. As for his recent Gap collaboration, Ye debuted a new commercial for a Yeezy Gap hoodie during the NCAA championship game earlier this month as part of his “Heaven & Hell” video. The Yeezy Gap sweatshirt is currently available for purchase on the Gap website, but consumers must sign up to see how much it’s going to cost them. The item ships in four to eight weeks. Find it here.
