Their first album, which was self-titled, was released in August 1991. Its single was "Phuncky Feel One", but it was the B-side "How I Could Just Kill A Man" (formerly "Trigga Happy Nigga") that attracted more airplay on urban radio and college radio. Based on the success of the single and other tracks such as bilingual track "Latin Lingo" and X-rated Spanish track "Tres Equis", the album sold two million copies in the US alone. Subsequently, DJ Muggs produced the first House of Pain album, then worked on other projects like Funkdoobiest. The band made their first appearance at Lollapalooza on the side stage in 1992.
Black Sunday, the group's second album, debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 in 1993, recording the highest Soundscan for a rap group up until that time. Also with their debut still on the charts they became the first rap artists to have 2 albums in the top 10 of the Billboard 200 at the same time. With "Insane in the Brain" becoming a crossover hit, the album went triple platinum in the U.S. and sold about 3.25 million copies.
Cypress Hill was banned from Saturday Night Live after Muggs smoked cannabis on-air and the band trashed their instruments while playing their second single "I Ain't Goin' Out Like That". The band headlined the "Soul Assassins" tour with House of Pain and Funkdoobiest as support, then performed on a college tour with Rage Against the Machine and Seven Year Bitch. In 1993, Cypress Hill also had two tracks on the Judgment Night soundtrack, teamed up with Pearl Jam and Sonic Youth.
The band played at the 1994 Woodstock Festival introducing their new member Eric Bobo, formerly a percussionist with the Beastie Boys. Bobo is the son of salsa musician Willie Bobo. Rolling Stone magazine named the band as the best rap group in their music awards voted by critics and readers. Cypress Hill played at Lollapalooza for two successive years, topping the bill in 1995. They appeared on the The Simpsons episode "Homerpalooza".
Their third album Cypress Hill III: Temples of Boom was released in 1995 selling 1.5 million copies and reaching number 3 on the Billboard 200 on the strength of the hit single "Throw Your Set in the Air". Cypress Hill also contributed a track "I Wanna Get High" to the High Times sponsored Hempilation album to support NORML.
Feud With Ice Cube
Ice Cube asked to put "Throw Your Set in the Air" on his Friday soundtrack, but B-Real refused, prompting Cube to record a new song "Friday" with a similar chorus; Cypress Hill responded with the track "No Rest For The Wicked." Westside Connection replied with the diss track "King Of The Hill" and "Cross Em Out & Put a K", to which Cypress Hill replied with "Ice Cube Killa," which uses the same beat as "King Of The Hill" and disses Ice Cube and Mack 10. "Ice Cube Killa" has never been released officially. In 1997 B-Real of Cypress Hill and Ice Cube were invited to a late night talk show in order to reconcile their differences for the benefit of the hip hop community, and the feud thus ended. Cube And B-Real would work together later that year as guest features on the track "Men of Steel" for the soundtrack of Shaquille O'Neal's film Steel. B-Real and Cube did even feature as guests in Warren G's single "Get U Down" which also featured Snoop Dogg.
Continued career
Sen Dog took a break from the band to form a Los Angeles based punk-rap band SX-10. Meanwhile in 1996, Cypress Hill appeared on the first 'Smokin' Grooves' tour, featuring Ziggy Marley, The Fugees, Busta Rhymes and A Tribe Called Quest. The band also released a nine track EP Unreleased and Revamped with rare mixes. In 1997, band members focused on their solo careers. Muggs released Muggs Presents ... the Soul Assassins featuring contributions from Wu-Tang Clan members, Dr. Dre, KRS-One, Wyclef Jean and Mobb Deep. B-Real appeared with Busta Rhymes, Coolio, LL Cool J and Method Man on "Hit Em High" from the multi-platinum Space Jam Soundtrack. He also appeared with RBX, Nas and KRS-One on "East Coast Killer, West Coast Killer" on Dr. Dre's Dr. Dre Presents the Aftermath album, and released an album entitled "The Psycho Realm" from his side project of the same name. Though the focus that year was not on Cypress Hill, the band played Smokin' Grooves with George Clinton and Erykah Badu.
Cypress Hill released IV in 1998 which went gold in the U.S., even though the reviews were somewhat negative,[citation needed] on the backs of hit singles "Tequila Sunrise" and another tribute to smoking cannabis "Dr. Greenthumb." Sen Dog also released the Get Wood sampler as part of SX-10 on the label Flip. In 1999, Cypress Hill helped with the PC crime/very mature video game Kingpin: Life of Crime. Three of their songs from the 1998 IV album were in the game ( "16 Men Till There's No Men Left", "Checkmate" and "Lightning Strikes"). B-Real also did some of the voices of the people in the game. Also in 1999, the band released a greatest-hits album in Spanish, Los grandes éxitos en español. Cypress Hill then fused genres with their two-disc release, Skull & Bones, in 2000. The first disc, "Skull" was comprised of rap tracks while "Bones" explored further the group's forays into rock. The album reached the Top 5 on the Billboard 200 and number 3 in Canada. The first single was "Rock Superstar" for rock radio and "Rap Superstar" for urban radio. The band also released Live at the Fillmore, a concert disc recorded at the Fillmore (in San Fransico) in 2000. Cypress Hill continued their experimentation with rock on the Stoned Raiders album in 2001. However, its sales were a disappointment, as the disc did not even reach the top 50 of the U.S. album charts. In 2001, the group appeared in the film How High.
Cypress Hill recorded "Just Another Victim" for the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) as a theme song for Tazz. At the time, WWE was using original music for almost all of the wrestlers, so this was an unusual step for the company to take, but it remains one of the more memorable songs to emerge from the wrestling organization. The band released Till Death Do Us Part on March 23, 2004. The album saw the band experiment with reggae especially on the lead single "What's Your Number". The track features Tim Armstrong of Rancid on guitar and Rob Aston of The Transplants on backup vocals. It is based on the classic song "Guns of Brixton" on The Clash's London Calling and has proven to be a success on the modern rock charts. However, the album represented a further departure from the signature sound of their first four albums. The album also features appearances by Damian Marley, son of Bob Marley, Prodigy and Twin of Mobb Deep and producer the Alchemist.
In 2004, the song How I Could Just Kill A Man was included in the popular videogame Grand Theft Auto San Andreas created by Rockstar Games, playing on West Coast hip hop radio station Radio Los Santos. In December of 2005 a best of compilation album titled Greatest Hits From the Bong was released including 9 hits from previous albums and 2 new tracks. The group's next album was tentatively scheduled for an early 2007 release. In the summer of 2006, B-Real appeared on Snoop Dogg's single "Vato". Pharrell Williams produced the track, and originally sang the hook, but because of the video idea, B-Real was asked to sing the hook. Sen Dog is now currently touring with the Kottonmouth Kings, Kingspade and Dogboy on the Joint is on Fire Tour
In 2007 Cypress Hill toured with their full line up as a part of the Rock the Bells tour, held by Guerilla Union, and headlined with Public Enemy, Wu-Tang Clan, Nas, and a reunited Rage Against the Machine. Other acts included Immortal Technique, Mos Def, Talib Kweli, The Roots, EPMD, Pharoae Monch, Jedi Mind Tricks, Erykah Badu, MF Doom, Sage Francis, Brother Ali, The Coup, Blue Print, Lucky I Am, Living Legends, Felt, Cage, Mr. Lif, Grouch & Eligh, and Hangar 18.
Departure from Sony
Having fulfilled their contractual obligations with Sony Music, Cypress Hill will release an as-yet untitled album through a different record label in 2008.
Recently, it was announced that Cypress Hill will be members of the Kannabis Kartel along with the Kottonmouth Kings and Potluck. Their album will be released on Suburban Noize Records.
STYLE
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Production
One of the band's most striking aspects is B-Real's exaggeratedly high-pitched nasal vocals, which fits and emphasizes the lyrics' concentration on parodied gangster stories.
Sen Dog's lyrics are progressively more violent and tend to involve fewer rhyme schemes compared with B-Real's. In addition, as the style is today, some words are emphasized by adding a background voice to say them, however, Sen Dog's emphases are always more prominent, mostly shouted alongside with the rapping.
The sound and groove of their music, produced by Muggs, is also notable for its influence and stoned aesthetic; with its bass-heavy rhythms and odd sample loops ("Insane in the Brain" is notable for having a horse neigh looped in its chorus), it carries a psychedelic value, which lessened in the later albums.
The band is also known for involving rock instruments in their songs. This has caused the band to sometimes be classified as a rapcore group. In IV, there is Lightning Strikes which doesn't truly use electric guitars, but a synthesized version of it. Skull & Bones has an entire disc using such instruments, labeled Bones. As for their later works, their involvement in rock ended with the album Stoned Raiders (the tracks Trouble (also the first single of the album), Amplified and Catastrophe being the songs).
The band's music is constantly subject to change; while the first album follows a more minimalistic and funky sound, Black Sunday, the successor, has a slightly darker side to it. III (Temples of Boom) and IV are mostly influenced by psychedelic music. The band abandoned that on Skull & Bones and got closer to the modern rap as it is today. Stoned Raiders has a more authentic sound than the rest, and Till Death Do Us Part carries reggae influences.
The band is also known to involve horns in their songs, and often have guitar and horns together in the instrumentals. What's Your Number?, Trouble, Tequila Sunrise, and (Rock) Superstar have become some of the bands most popular songs featuring these elements. Cypress Hill's experimenting in different genres of music even includes reggaeton in their track "Latin Thugs" which features Tego Calderon.
Some fans feel that the band has drifted somewhat from the values of their earlier albums. For example in "Strictly Hip Hop" from Temples of Boom, the band complain about hip hop artists who have an album of hardcore tracks but have one or two pop songs which just so happen to be the singles. Cypress have arguably fallen into this trap with the single "What's You Number?"
The sound contribitions of DJ Muggs seems to be clearly influenced by marijuana consumption. Since one of the effects of a cannabis high is an altered audio sensual perception, the often slow paced and deep bass can be better appreciated. Furthermore, psychedelic sequences underly some parts of certain tracks such as "I Wanna Get High" for example. This is an interesting feature of their music, that had also been used before, especially during the 60's and 70's (e.g. Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band by The Beatles).
Lyrics
The lyrics of tracks like "How I Could Just Kill A Man" offer an insight into the cultural expression of social stratification in L.A. at that point in history. Many other songs have cited topics such as police brutality, racial profiling, gang violence and anecdotes about invasion of privacy by police.
Furthermore the celebration of marijuana consumption is what they are often associated with in songs like "I Wanna Get High", "Stoned Is The Way Of The Walk" or "Hits From The Bong", the themes of recreational use of marijuana are prevalent.
Many of their songs also protest the current marijuana laws and voice their opinions on the hypocrisy of drug enforcement institutions.
Their lyrics often reflect the hip hop culture of Los Angeles in their earlier work such as their self-titled album and Black Sunday, which were very influential not only to Latino hip hop of the time but to many other hip hop groups around the world as well.
Throughout their career they have commonly incorporated Spanish into their lyrics as well as slang used by some Latinos in Los Angeles on songs like "Latin Lingo". Their album "Los Grandes Exitos En Espanol" features Spanish translations of many of their hit songs.
Years active 1987 - present.
Checkmate
Cypress Hill Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
No me llames policía porque nada te protecta
Empina ese pie, persina mas un poquito
Con el perro a hueso yo lo necesito
Si estás a 5 pies de mí, yo te lo quito
Pido la espalda, 'tas ahí, un payasito
Te tumbo, como un control remado
Te persigo y te sigo y te meto como un palo
Sorpresa, te rompí la cabeza
Te pongo a dormir, con abrazo de pescuezo
No me importa lo que tengo que hacer, yo hago queso
Pásele, cuidado con mi estilo
Te mato bien matado, ya dormí un ratico
(Checkeame tu!) Te cuelgo alto
Tenemos lo que suena, verde y te parto
Tira la bala de la loma con la bomba
(Checkeame tu!) Ten cuidado que no te rompa
(Checkeame tu!) Te cuelgo alto
Tenemos lo que suena, verde y te parto
Tira la bala de la loma con la bomba
(Checkeame tu!) Ten cuidado que no te rompa
Mira mira, ten cuidado, ponte en fila
Matando raperos y quitándote la vida
Me llevo la tuya, simple, no vales nada
El ultimo imagen que ves, es mi cara
Si quieres la bomba na'mas llámenme a mi
Cypress Hill vive, siempre 'tamos aquí
Corriendo el juego con el mismo fuego
Quemando los demás, tirándolo en el hueco
Ya después que queme, yo bajo la llama
Corre, escóndete bajo la cama
No te hagas bobo, mi juego apretado
Listo, preparado, como un soldado
Te corto tan malo tu madre ni te conoce
A cuantos se lo hice? Tengo mas que 12
No juegues conmigo, tengo dedo cohete
Ten mucho cuidado o esta en la muerte
Pego duro, tan duro que tu no sabes
Cuando suene la campana eres uno de mis esclavas
(Checkeame tu!) Te cuelgo alto
Tenemos lo que suena, vente y te parto
Tira la bala de la loma con la bomba
(Checkeame tu!) Ten cuidado que no te rompa
(Checkeame tu!) Te cuelgo alto
Tenemos lo que suena, vente y te parto
Tira la bala de la loma con la bomba
(Checkeame tu!) Ten cuidado que no te rompa
Voy a patear (uh!) Como un sonero
Dame mi dinero, lo meto de mal empleo
Y nadie ha venido a mi
Hablando del oeste, largo de aquí
So como quieras
Y no me importa a que grupo tu perteneces
No venga por aquí hablando tierra ese
Como les tumbo pandilleros, se derriten como hielo
Les gusta hablar mucho pero no tienen huevos
Mis negros están en juego, no te recuerdas
Haciendo los shows rapeando contra cualquiera
Fuerte con estilo que gente ni sabia
Mira que matamos a muchos ese día
No tenían chance, los desbaratamos
Y hasta este día todavía melozamos
Vete pa' tras, negro te doy patadas
No vale na, dale con la mota
Te rompo la quijada, estoy en tu ciudad
Si tienes una esposa la dejo viuda
(Checkeame tu!) Te cuelgo alto
Tenemos lo que suena, vente y te parto
Tira la bala de la loma con la bomba
(Checkeame tu!) Ten cuidado que no te rompa
(Checkeame tu!) Te cuelgo alto
Tenemos lo que suena, vente y te parto
Tira la bala de la loma con la bomba
(Checkeame tu!) Ten cuidado que no te rompa
The lyrics to Cypress Hill's "Checkmate" paint a vivid picture of a group of tough guys ready to defend their turf by any means necessary. The lines are filled with references to chess and hunting, underscoring a sense of strategy and precision in their approach. B-Real and the DOG are presented as fearless leaders, unafraid to take on anyone who dares to cross them. The language is raw and confrontational, with aggressive imagery like "cuttin' n****s up like Muggs on the wheels" and "hanging the wack n****s up" used to emphasize the brutality of their tactics.
The chorus of "Checkmate" further reinforces this sense of dominance, as the repeated phrase "hang 'em high" suggests a willingness to exact punishment on those who oppose them. The call to "shoot to thrill, be at the Hill, we take 'em all" similarly highlights their determination to fight and win, with no mercy shown. Overall, "Checkmate" is a kinetic, in-your-face anthem that celebrates violence and aggression as a means of survival in a violent world.
Line by Line Meaning
Bout to mash these niggas man
I am going to defeat these individuals in a forceful and impressive way
Don't come in my backyard motherfucker
Stay away from my territory or you will face the consequences
B-real and the DOG, motherfucker!
I am represented by B-real and the DOG, and you better not mess with them
Here we go y'all, that's the nigga head dog
Let's begin, that person is leading the group
Lunatic smokin' loops, loose in your sector
We are smoking and acting wildly in your area
Got my eye on em, on the apparatus
I am watching them closely, focusing on their equipment
Like a bone to a dog, yea you know I gotta have it
I desire that thing intensely, like a dog desires a bone
Anywhere you get it shit, and I'ma grab it
I will take that thing wherever I find it
Turn around stares to your face and I jab it
I will confront you face-to-face and attack
Drop you, like one of those ill bad habits
I will defeat you easily, like breaking a bad habit
Hunt you, like a hillbilly hunting a rabbit
I will pursue you relentlessly, like a hillbilly hunting a rabbit
Cuttin' niggas up like Muggs on the wheels
We are cutting people up skillfully, like DJ Muggs on the turntables
For reals, penitentiary steel
We are serious, like the bars of a prison cell
Pull heads to bed from the choke of a headlock
We are so powerful that we can force people into submission and defeat them
Fading bald heads to perms, even dreadlocks
We are so dominant that we can defeat anyone, regardless of their physical appearance
Boy! Rudebwoy with me style
I am a rude boy with my own unique style
I can get foul or wild, or just cool for a while
I can be unpredictable and aggressive, or relaxed and easygoing
(Checkmate fool!) Hang 'em high
I have won the game and am now defeating my opponent
Got the live shit, bang 'em whenever you/he want to try
We have the energy needed to overcome any opponent, and can strike at any time
Shoot to thrill, be at the Hill, we take 'em all
We are fearless and unstoppable, and can defeat anyone who tries to challenge us
(Checkmate fool!) Wherever the pawns fall
I am victorious, regardless of where or how the opponents fell
Look look punk, every way you get shook
You should be afraid, no matter which way you approach me
To the pawn, taking out the rook, off of the book
I am taking out your strongest pieces, and rendering your plan ineffective
Lights get tooken, taken you for Satan
I am taking everything from you, leaving you feeling hopeless and desperate
You can't breathe, no need to look up and see me
You are so oppressed and unable to fight back, that you don't even need to look up to know that I am there
The last hope, when you mellow you call whoever
When you are feeling defeated, you will turn to anyone for help
For the hype shit, you call the Hill, put it together
When you need excitement and energy, you will come to us for help
Running this game, bringing the same, raw shit
We are in control of this situation, and are bringing our best efforts
Over the hills, through the city we come equipped
We are prepared to face any obstacle, whether it be in the hills or the city
To the letter, keeping your temperature down low
We are very exact and controlled, and can keep you calm and subdued
What I reveal, the good shit to heal all souls
I am sharing positive and uplifting truths that will help people
Making you roll late night, you tripping, my game's tight
My skills are so impressive that they will make you feel confused and off-kilter, even late at night
To the new shit I bring, never the same hype
I am always introducing new and exciting ideas and concepts, never repeating what has come before
So push that shit off, get up, don't let off
Don't waste your time and energy on negative things, focus on being productive and moving forward
No matter how much blood you spit up
Even if you are defeated, and are bleeding from your mouth, you should keep going
You could never be, fucking with Greenthumb
You could never compare to my skills and abilities
The outcome's specific, you spliff it, collapsed lung
You will experience severe consequences if you try to challenge me
We hit hard, breaking your guard, you can't tell
We are very forceful and can destroy any obstacles in our way, leaving you feeling helpless
When the bells ring, busting your shell, the pawn fell
I have won the game, and defeated the weakest member of your group
(Peek-a-boo, you fuck you!)
I see you, and am not afraid to confront you
I'ma freak that funk yea slam it in the trunk
I am going to use my unique style and creativity to create something new and exciting
I'ma kill all junk with the suicide clunk
I am going to eliminate all of the things that are holding me back, using all of my energy and enthusiasm
Ain't nobody came my way, talking bout
Nobody has tried to challenge me or stand in my way
The Westside of L.A., so whatever
Even if someone were to try to oppose me from the Westside of L.A., I am not afraid
Punk-ass click you claim, you keep bumping that shit
The people who are trying to challenge me are irrelevant, and keep talking nonsense
And elevate your frame, cause I want that
I am going to make you feel superior, so that I can more easily defeat you
Big-time, asshole, studio gangsta
You may be pretending to be tough, but you are just an arrogant person who spends time in a studio
Worth a lot of shit, but that's not the main factor
Even if you have some value, you are still not important enough to challenge me
My nigga Sen's rolling again, remember when
My friend Sen is doing well again, and we remember good times from the past
We rocked shows, battling foes, the time's been long
We have a history of success and hard work, and have been doing this for a long time
Strong with the styles, you ain't hear to win
My style is very strong, and you are not prepared to beat me
Like blood pouring out of the pen, the ink stains
My creativity and talent are flowing freely, and leaving a lasting impression
Slim chance if it gets in your brain, the hot flash
You are unlikely to understand and appreciate my unique abilities, causing you to feel inferior
Got you heated with repeated attacks over the tracks
I am doing everything I can to provoke you and raise your anger, attacking you repeatedly
Smack niggas up, back niggas up, hack niggas up
I will defeat my opponents using any means necessary
Jack niggas up, hanging the wack niggas up
I will defeat any weak or incompetent people, hanging them up for all to see
Snowball effect, we rolling the city limits
We are gaining momentum and taking over the entire city
Crushing the bitch-ass niggas with all the gimmicks
We are defeating and defeating anyone who relies on cheap tricks or gimmicks
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: Larry Muggerud, Louis Freeze, Senen Reyes
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind