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
______________________________________________________________________________________________
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.
Lick a Shot
Cypress Hill Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
All original boy-)
Lick a shot
(Oh)
Comin' at ya
(Fiya!)
Zippedy-doo-da, zippedy-ayy
Then get on the way
On a mission, puffin' on a fat ass jay
Prude, you can't hang
Flash back on the skills when I used to bang
On the corner
I'll warn ya
Gonna roll on ya
Fool
Hit ya with the golden rule
Don't turn your back on the street
When I hit that corner, feel the concrete
If ya push that button like nothin'
Watch me turn to a psycho all of a sudden
Blastin' at these fools with a passion
Look at the Glock when it's time for some action
Let the gat hum
Lick a shot!
So I let the gat hum
Let the gat hum
Lick a shot!
So I let the gat hum
Sunday mornin'
Wake up it's stormin'
Raindrops fallin' on my head, it's pourin'
Cats an' dogs
Pigs in a wagon
Lookin' for the Afro one that's saggin'
Scooby-Doo
And fuck you too
Try me
Won't let your punk ass try me
Gonna take more than you
Better call your backup team
And wait for the crew
I'm the one flippin'
Keepin' the clip on my hip and
Just watch your back if you're slippin'
Ooh, where did that .22 come from
When the bullet past through my lung?
I've lost my breath, I'm winded
I've been hit by a slug that wasn't intended
I hear thunder, I wonder
If a nigga like me's goin' under
Take a number
Let the gat hum
Lick a shot!
So I let the gat hum
Let the gat hum
Lick a shot!
So I let the gat hum
Had a bad dream woke up in a casket
Now I can't even get back at the bastard
Bull-shit!
This pine box ain't strong enough to contain the Afro Marx
Critical bell rings, snapped out the dream
What the fuck's up with the funny red beam
Pointin' at me, I got no strap G
What now? Gotta duck, they're gonna gat me
Bam, I feel numb
Where did the shotgun blast come from?
Let the gat hum
Lick a shot!
So I let the gat hum
Let the gat hum
Lick a shot
So I let the gat hum
The lyrics to Cypress Hill's song "Lick a Shot" is a rap that highlights the violence and danger associated with gang life in inner-city neighborhoods. The first verse talks about how the singer is always prepared to defend himself from rivals who might try to attack him. He reminisces about his past experiences on the street, where he was always one step ahead of those who tried to bring him down. The rapper warns his foes not to turn their back on the street, as they may become a target of his violent tendencies.
The second verse is about the aftermath of a violent encounter. The singer wakes up on a rainy Sunday morning, reflecting on his life as he hears thunder in the distance. He thinks about the possibility of death and how he could easily become a victim of gang-related violence. The verse is filled with imagery of death and despair, with references to a casket, a critical bell ringing, and a shotgun blast.
The chorus of the song, "let the gat hum, lick a shot" is a repeated mantra that highlights the violent tendencies of the singer. The "gat" is a reference to a gun, and "lick a shot" means to fire a gun. The chorus serves as a reminder that the singer is always prepared to defend himself from those who would harm him.
Overall, "Lick a Shot" showcases the dangers of gang life and the violent tendencies that often come with it. The lyrics paint a vivid picture of the harsh realities of life on the streets, where survival often depends on being tougher and more ruthless than the next person.
Line by Line Meaning
Lick a shot
Preparing to fire a gun
Comin' at ya
Directing the shot towards a target
Zippedy-doo-da, zippedy-ayy
Expressing excitement and enthusiasm
Cried oh my, wanna get that punk with my AK
Feeling the desire to take down an enemy with a specific weapon
Then get on the way
Starting a mission to eliminate the target
On a mission, puffin' on a fat ass jay
Having a purpose while smoking marijuana
Prude, you can't hang
Addressing someone who cannot handle the lifestyle
Flash back on the skills when I used to bang
Reflecting on past experiences of engaging in violent activity
On the corner
Positioned in a dangerous location
I'll warn ya
Issuing a threat to anyone who may try to cross you
Gonna roll on ya
Taking action against the enemy
Fool
Insulting the target
Hit ya with the golden rule
Using force to show superiority over the enemy
Don't turn your back on the street
Reminding the listener to always be vigilant in a dangerous area
When I hit that corner, feel the concrete
Making a threatening statement about the consequences of crossing the singer
If ya push that button like nothin'
Warning the target that they will experience negative consequences if they continue to act recklessly
Watch me turn to a psycho all of a sudden
Showing that the artist is capable of extreme violent behavior
Blastin' at these fools with a passion
Shooting towards the target without hesitation
Look at the Glock when it's time for some action
Preparing to use a specific type of pistol for fighting
Let the gat hum
Pulling the trigger of the gun and letting it fire
Sunday mornin'
A change of pace in the song's narrative
Wake up it's stormin'
The weather sets a dark tone for what's to come
Raindrops fallin' on my head, it's pourin'
Describing the dreary and dismal atmosphere
Cats an' dogs
Saying that it's raining hard
Pigs in a wagon
Police are present in the area
Lookin' for the Afro one that's saggin'
Referring to the singer and urging them to evade the police
Scooby-Doo
A reference to the animated character, possibly mocking the police
And fuck you too
An aggressive statement directed at the police
Try me
Challenging anyone who dares to cross the artist
Won't let your punk ass try me
Confidently asserting the singer's refusal to be intimidated
Gonna take more than you
Believing that the singer is stronger and tougher than the enemy
Better call your backup team
Warning the enemy to bring reinforcements if they want to engage in a fight
And wait for the crew
Inviting the enemy to make their move and see what happens
I'm the one flippin'
Describing the artist's aggressive attitude in a fight
Keepin' the clip on my hip and
Always armed and ready for conflict
Just watch your back if you're slippin'
Telling the listener to be vigilant and cautious
Ooh, where did that .22 come from
Surprised by a smaller gun
When the bullet past through my lung?
Expressing the shock and pain of being shot by the smaller weapon
I've lost my breath, I'm winded
Struggling to breathe after getting shot
I've been hit by a slug that wasn't intended
Being shot by a smaller bullet than expected
I hear thunder
Describing the sounds of a fight
I wonder
Reflecting on the possibility of dying in this situation
If a nigga like me's goin' under
Acknowledging the possibility of death
Take a number
Defiantly suggesting that the enemy will have to wait in line to take the artist down
Had a bad dream woke up in a casket
A nightmare about being dead and buried
Now I can't even get back at the bastard
Feeling powerless and unable to seek revenge
Bull-shit!
Dismissing the negative thoughts and emotions
This pine box ain't strong enough to contain the Afro Marx
The artist believes they are too powerful to be contained even in death
Critical bell rings, snapped out the dream
Waking up abruptly from a bad dream
What the fuck's up with the funny red beam
Noticing a laser sight on the singer
Pointin' at me, I got no strap G
Feeling vulnerable and unarmed in the face of danger
What now? Gotta duck, they're gonna gat me
Scrambling to avoid getting shot
Bam, I feel numb
Being shot and losing sensation
Where did the shotgun blast come from?
Questioning where the gunshots originated from
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Larry Muggerud, Louis Freeze, Senen Reyes
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@NorthShoreJoe
Does anyone know the lyrics? This is what I hear....
Had a Bad Dream
Woke Up in a Casket
Now I can't even get back at the Bastard
Oh Shit
This Pine Box ain't Strong Enough to contain the Afro Locks
Heard a Door Bell Ring
Snapped out the Dream
What the Fuck's Up with the Funny Red Beam
Pointed At Me
I got no Strap G
What Now
Gotta Duck
They're Gonna Gat Me
BAM!!
I Feel Numb
Where did the Shotgun Blast come from
Let the Gat Hummmm....
@birk3383
This album is an all time classic. Will never get old
@crisscross3422
CLASSICS, im glad my father made me grow up on this and not baby songs🙏🏽
@RitchieMoon
You mean trash music.. or should I say mumble rap 😂
@mrturchin
Amen!!!
@handyman3320
Your Father is a great man for MANNING you up.
@hidenwatch8219
Naw..baby songs is mad accurate..this new shit, is shit. spits on new rap
@cypresshillcollection8554
Te llevaron por el buen camino
@nelsonsaunders6449
This entire album is fucking great. Just fucking amazing. Huge part of my young years and still in heavy ro.
@richunclejoey2249
Worn out this cassette in my walkman everyday in the 5th grade banging this album
@ElbowJoe
i hear ya bro