Cypress Hill

During the 1990s Cypress Hill established themselves as central figures in hip-hop while openly celebrating marijuana, their abrasive and uneasy productions paired with intoxicated verses driving multi-platinum sales and establishing the act as the first major Latino rap stars. On the self-titled 1991 debut, DJ Muggs supplied looping and abrasive beats that meshed with B Real’s pinched nasal rhymes and Sen Dog’s deep, forceful delivery, the whole package wrapped in recurring images of gunfire and cannabis smoke to produce an entirely new atmosphere. Beyond the multiplatinum certifications earned by that album and its 1993 successor Black Sunday, the group’s approach left a lasting imprint on 1990s rap, surfacing in Dr. Dre’s G-funk as well as the frosty textures of British trip-hop. Although the original members parted ways and later reunited on several occasions, Cypress Hill stayed active well after their commercial zenith. Early flirtations with rap-rock surfaced on the 2000 album Skull & Bones, while subsequent stylistic shifts appeared on the production-heavy 2018 release Elephants on Acid and on 2022’s Back in Black, the band’s tenth studio album and a deliberate return to straight hip-hop.

DVX, the first version of Cypress Hill, assembled in 1988 when Cuban-born brothers Sen Dog (born Senen Reyes, November 20, 1965) and Mellow Man Ace joined forces with fellow Los Angeles residents Muggs (born Lawrence Muggerud, January 28, 1968) and B Real (born Louis Freese, June 2, 1970). The lineup began forging a blend of Latin and hip-hop phrasing, refining that approach before Mellow Man Ace departed in 1988. After taking the name Cypress Hill from a neighborhood street, the remaining members continued performing throughout Los Angeles and eventually secured a contract with Ruffhouse/Columbia in 1991.

The self-titled debut, built on languid beats, B Real’s pronounced nasal whine, and expansive scenes of urban violence, broke through in early 1992 months after its first appearance. Singles “How I Could Just Kill a Man” and “The Phuncky Feel One” circulated widely underground, while the group’s vocal support for marijuana drew followers from the alternative-rock audience. Black Sunday arrived in summer 1993 and, although sonically close to its predecessor, debuted at number one on the album charts and yielded the crossover single “Insane in the Brain.” The new record charted while the debut still sat inside the top ten, an achievement no prior rap act had matched. In 1994 former Beastie Boys percussionist Eric Bobo joined, and the band performed on the fifth Lollapalooza tour ahead of the fall 1995 release of their third album, Temples of Boom. Darker and more somber than the first two projects, Temples of Boom received mixed notices, sold strongly at first, yet failed to produce a major pop single; it nevertheless fared better on the R&B charts than on the mainstream lists. During this period Cypress Hill leaned further into mainstream visibility, pursuing alternative-rock crossovers that included collaborations with Sonic Youth and Pearl Jam for the Judgment Night soundtrack as well as shared bills with Rage Against the Machine and 7 Year Bitch on a college tour.

Sen Dog exited in early 1996, after which Muggs devoted most of the year to his solo project Muggs Presents the Soul Assassins, issued to strong reviews in early 1997 and leaving the group’s prospects uncertain until IV appeared in 1998. Sen Dog rejoined for that record, having left earlier over limited microphone time yet returning after several years fronting a rock band. Two years later the double-disc Skull & Bones arrived, pairing one hip-hop disc with another devoted to rock-oriented material. The album presented both rock and rap versions of the single “Superstar,” completing the circle of crossover ambitions. Videos for each version showcased numerous prominent rap and rock figures discussing their craft, helping the track gain heavy MTV rotation. Stoned Raiders followed in winter 2001 and again emphasized rock elements. Three years later the band issued ’Til Death Do Us Part, which folded in several Jamaican styles. In 2010 they announced their move to Priority Records under creative director Snoop Dogg; the label released the eighth studio album Rise Up that same year. Eight years passed before new material surfaced with 2018’s Elephants on Acid, the first project produced by DJ Muggs since ’Til Death Do Us Part. The psychedelic track “Band of Gypsies” served as the initial preview. Its follow-up, the tenth album Back in Black, arrived in 2022; billed as a return to roots, it offered unadorned hip-hop with appearances from Demrick and Dizzy Wright.