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History
Lyrics
Dr GreenthumbInsane In The BrainHow I Could Just Kill A ManHole In The Head|
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| History |
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| Cypress Hill IV This fall's release of IV, produced by DJ Muggs for the Soul Assassins, marks a welcome return to the groundbreaking hip-hop group's roots in atmospheric, cutting-edge rap in all its wide-screen, larger-than-life glory. Cypress Hill revisits some of its most chilling street scenarios in "Looking Through The Eye of A Pig," the rumbling "Prelude To A Come Up" (with a guest rap by MC Eiht and samples from Mobb Deep and Amon D¸¸l [!]) and the eerie funhouse-mirror carnival send-up, "16 Men Till There's No Men Left." The quartet's audio-visual flair comes through in such cinematic set-pieces as the gangsta homage, "Steel Magnolia" (featuring newcomer Barron Ricks), the disaster epic blueprint "Feature Presentation" (featuring Ricks and Chace Infinite) and the Latin-flavored "Tequila Sunrise" (also with Ricks and slated as the radio impact single), while the mythic "Clash of the Titans" and the closing "Lightning Strikes" provide a suitably apocalyptic one-two punch finale. And of course, there's a coupla odes to the chronic in the light-hearted "Dr. Greenthumb" (the b-side to the single) and the anthemic "High Times." The first single, "Tequila Sunrise" b/w "Dr. Greenthumb," will include a remix featuring Latin hip-hop icon Fat Joe and a Spanish language version. The video for "Tequila Sunrise" is being directed by Kevin Kerslake, known for his work with Smashing Pumpkins, the Offspring and Nirvana, among others. As always, Cypress Hill defy categorization and accusations of sell-out by doing things their way and not following the commercial trends of the moment. They're not just alternative, hip-hop, rock, jazz, punk, thrash, skate-core or metal, but a melting pot of cross-cultural references that go together like prime buddage and a bong. Answering critics who say the band has strayed from its hip-hop heritage, B-Real says: "What people don't understand is, if we take the music as high as we can, we're not leaving it behind to do another kind of music. We're taking it with us.... taking advantage of the doors that were kicked the f**k open!" With IV, these smokin' legends prove the sky's the limit for how high their potpourri of modern hip-hop and rock can fly. HISTORY: 1988: Havana-born Sennen Reyes (Sen Dog) and younger brother Ulpiano Sergio (Mellow Man Ace), who moved from Cuba to the L. A. suburb of Southgate with their family in 1971, form the rap quartet DVX with an Italian-American transplant from Queens, N.Y. named Lawrence Muggerud (DJ Muggs)ówho had previously been with the hip-hop outfit 7A3óand L.A native Louis Freese (B-Real). After Mellow Man Ace splits to launch a solo career, remaining three members form the group Cypress Hill, named after Cypress Avenue, a street that runs through the South Central L.A. turf where they live. 1990: With a hard-core rapping style laced with a pro-hemp message, the trio perform to mostly Latin audiences in and around Los Angeles, recording early demo versions of "Real Estate," "Light Another," "The Phuncky Feel One," "Psychobetabuckdown" and a song called "Trigga Happy Nigga," which later became their first hit, "How I Could Just Kill A Man." Trio signs with Philadelphia's RuffHouse label, which has a distribution deal with Columbia Records. 1991: Debut album, Cypress Hill, comes out in November, with re-recorded versions of "Real Estate," "Light Another" and "Psychobetabuckdown" as well as brand-new classics like "Stoned Is The Way of the Walk," "Something For The Blunted," "Latin Lingo" and "Hand On The Pump." 1992: The band release the single, "The Phuncky Feel One," but it is the b-side, the controversial gangsta rap classic "How I Could Just Kill A Man," which starts to get college radio airplay, leading to N.Y.'s influential WBLS adding the song, where it became the station's most requested track. The resulting video spurs the band's album to sell almost two million copies in the U.S., breaking into the Top 40 and earning the group the "Hot Rap Singles" nod at the Billboard Music Awards that December. Meanwhile, Muggs begins his own producing career by helming House of Pain's eponymous debut, which cracks the Top 20 of the album charts. He would go on to produce such acts as Funkdoobiest and the Beastie Boys with his cutting-edge hip-hop pastiches. The band appears on the side-stage at Lollapalooza '92, anticipating their headlining stint in '95. 1993: Cypress Hill releases its second album, Black Sunday, which was heralded by the hit single, "Insane In The Brain," launching the band's influential horror-core hip-hop imagery. The disc shattered records by debuting at #1, registering the highest first-week SoundScan sales for any rap album in history up to that point. Thanks to subsequent singles like "I Ain't Goin' Out Like That," which sampled fellow horror fans Black Sabbath's "The Wizard," Black Sunday went on to sell more than two million albums in the U.S. and over three and a quarter million around the world. The group appears on "Saturday Night Live" for the first and last time; they're banned after Muggs lights up a blunt on-air while the group trashes their equipment during the aptly titled second number, "Ain't Goin' Out." They also headline the SRO "Soul Assassins" club tour with House of Pain and Funkdoobiest followed by a stint of college dates with 7 Year Bitch and Rage Against the Machine, showing their versatility and ability to play for different audiences and with a variety of groups. Further proof of their desire to push the envelope is borne out by the trio's two collaborations on the hit "Judgment Night" soundtrack, recording songs with alternarock gods Sonic Youth ("I Love You Mary Jane") and Pearl Jam ("Real Thing"). 1994: After a U.K. tour that winter, Cypress Hill once again appear on the side stage at the '94 Lollapalooza festival and perform at that summer's Woodstock concert with newest member, one-time Beastie Boys percussionist Eric Bobo, son of salsa legend Willie Bobo. The group was named the Best Rap Group in the annual Rolling Stone Music Awards poll by both critics and readers. 1995: Cypress Hill headlines Lollapalooza '95 with Hole, Sonic Youth, Pavement, SinÈad O' Connor, Beck, Jesus Lizard, Mighty Mighty Bosstones and others. The band contribute a track, "I Wanna Get High," to the Capricorn release of the High Times magazine-sponsored "Hempilation" compilation to benefit the group's pet charity, NORML (National Organization to Reform Marijuana Laws). The trio release their third album, III (Temples of Boom), which debuts on the U.S. charts at #3, on its way to platinum-plus sales of more than 1.5 million despite limited radio and video airplay. The record featured the hit single, "Throw Your Set In The Air," and such special guests as Wu-Tang's U-God and the RZA, who produced the track, "Killa Hill." Shortly after finishing the record, Sen stopped touring with the band to pursue other musical interests, including his band SX-10. 1996: Cypress Hill spend much of the year on the road, headlining shows with 311 and The Pharcyde before going out as one of the featured acts on the inaugural "Smokin' Grooves" tour that summer with Ziggy Marley, the Fugees, Busta Rhymes and A Tribe Called Quest. Later that year, they release a nine-song EP, Unreleased and Revamped, which brought together rare remixes never before available commercially. 1997: Group members take time to get involved in individual projects. Muggs cuts a solo album, Muggs Presents... The Soul Assassins, with members of Wu Tang Clan, Dr. Dre, KRS-One, Wyclef Jean, Mobb Deep and the rest of Cypress Hill. B-Real collaborated with Busta Rhymes, Coolio, LL Cool J and Method Man on the cut, "Hit 'Em High," from the multi-platinum "Space Jam" original soundtrack. He also hooked up with Dr. Dre, Nas and KRS-One on the track, "East Coast Killer, West Coast Killer," on Dre's hit Aftermath album, and recorded his solo debut, The Psycho Realm, with L.A.-based Latino rappers Duke and Jacken. During the summer, Cypress Hill once again set out on the "Smokin' Grooves" tour with George Clinton and the P-Funk All Stars and Eryka Badu, among others. 1998: After releasing the record Get Wood Sampler with his punk-metal hybrid SX-10 on Jordan Schur's Flip label, Sen Dog returns to the Cypress Hill fold just in time to record the band's fourth album and join them for their third consecutive appearance on last summer's "Smokin' Grooves" tour with labelmates Wyclef Jean & the Refugee Allstars, Busta Rhymes, Gang Starr and Canibus. |
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