Cypress Hill biography

CYPRESS HILL BIOGRAPHY

The stoned beats, cartoonish violence and tireless, pro-cannabis stance, meant rap act Cypress Hill would become instantly recognisable - their pioneering stoner funk would later influence Dr. Dre and the trip hop movement in England.

The band, originally formed as DVX in Los Angeles in 1986, was put together by Cuban-born brothers Sen Dog (Senen Reyes) and Mellow Man Ace. The pair hooked up with fellow LA residents DJ Muggs (Lawrence Muggerud) and B Real (Louis Freese). By the time Mellow Man Ace had left the group in 1988 they had already pioneered a unique fusion of Latin and hip-hop slang set to lazy stoner beats and B Real's exaggerated nasal whine.

After signing to the Columbia label in the US through their own Ruffhouse label, the rappers cracked the US and UK Top 40 in 1992 with their eponymous debut album. The band became instantly notorious for their pro-weed stance. DJ Muggs crafted the stoner sound while B. Real's pinched, nasal whine crafted the rhetoric on controversial tracks such as the single I Could Just Kill A Man and Something For The Blunted. The band's music was so claustrophobic and oppressive it sounded as if they'd been stoned since birth.

Influenced by the infamous Rodney King incident in Los Angeles (where King was beaten by police after a routine traffic stop), the band's second album, Black Sunday, took a darker turn in 1993. Interspersed with the trademark homages to hash, was gangsta-like bravado on the tracks Lick A Shot and Cock The Hammer. But album track Insane In The Brain would become the band's signature tune when it was released as a single and was the first in a string of UK hits. The band consolidated their success in the UK by playing at a number of rock festivals in 1993 - their crossover audience attracted by their pro-pot stance. Infact Cypress Hill's audience had become predominantly white, causing them to lose support within the hip-hop community. Undeterred the band hitched their wagon to the US Lollapalooza rock festival in the US in 1995 prior to the release of their third album, Cypress Hill III (Temples Of Boom). The album upped the gangsta ante with subtle tracks like Killafornia and Killa Hill Niggas. A darker and gloomier affair than their first two albums, Temples Of Boom was greeted with mixed reviews although the stoned vibe was still sufficiently head-nodding to satisfy most fans.