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.
Put It Down
Cypress Hill Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Kottonmouth kings, and cypress hill"
You know southern california be home of the highest
Between the hill and kottonmouth we smoking nothing but the finest
The weed incredible, we unstoppable teams
We down with cypress like how essays be down with 13's
Never punk rice cause they simply below us
And everybody who know us we get outta space high
Be like by bitty bye biddy biddy byebye
Put the blunt down, here's the rundown
Riding sundown slide us out the front
Ill get you high, won't come down
Catch a contact homie watch as I take hits
Show me who you know that take nigga vap hits
Everybody grows let me know if you need some
Tell me what you want; you can call Dr. green thumb
Put the blunt down if I'm wrong well homie then I'm stoned
That's what happens when you hit the fucking bong well
Put the pipe down, put the, put the, put the pipe down
Put the, put the, put the pipe down put the pipe down
Put your bong down, put your, put your, put your bong down
Put your, put your, put your bong down put your bong down
Put the blunt down, put the, put the, put the blunt down
Put the, put the, put the blunt down put the blunt down
Put the pipe down, put your bong down, put the blunt down
And listen up now
Y'all mother fuckers no the deal
Its kottonmouth kings and cypress hill
Gotta sip that bud, ya'll know whats up
Its d double dash don't give a fuck
Got a kush wrapped up, and I gotta kill
Don't act tough or you will get real
Nickel bags don't, be slick
I'm feeling kinda good, I got an itch
Its time for your mind
Here I go with my rhyme
I'm gonna get him from the front
You can get him from behind
Sen dog gonna be real
Putting it down for the crown
Got the people shook up
Off the smoke from the pounds
Pack another bowl in the pipe if you want hell
Maybe we can lace another load make the song sell
Let me roll this hash leaf kush in the middle son
If you never putting then we rollin' you a little one
Dude put the brownie down you fucking light weight
We smoking after 21 just searching for the right date
High, ? get you hammered in a second son
Take a fucking hit and get in line for the second one
Put the pipe down, put the, put the, put the pipe down
Put the, put the, put the pipe down put the pipe down
Put your bong down, put your, put your, put your bong down
Put your, put your, put your bong down put your bong down
Put the blunt down, put the, put the, put the blunt down
Put the, put the, put the blunt down put the blunt down
Put the pipe down, put your bong down, put the blunt down
And listen up now
So now you know, you better stop all you busts better hit the back door
We ain't fronting, that's what its all about, somebody put this gun up in his mouth
Welcome to the west coast, where the real tokers stay
They should rename this the cannabis state (cannabis state)
We cant relate if you ain't from the area
We got the one hitter quitter that'll bury ya
It gets scarier when clones cross polonaise
Hydroponic, cryptnotic, supersonic, madocnize
You wake up and you still feeling groggy yeah
Heads foggy like cereal that's soggy yeah
You pack a bowl but you cant find your lighter still
A loaded crisis somebody call cypress hill
Sen dog you got some fire for a brother man?
"I got some fire but your lighter's still up in your hand"
Put the pipe down, put the, put the, put the pipe down
Put the, put the, put the pipe down put the pipe down
Put your bong down, put your, put your, put your bong down
Put your, put your, put your bong down put your bong down
Put the blunt down, put the, put the, put the blunt down
Put the, put the, put the blunt down put the blunt down
Put the pipe down, put your bong down, put the blunt down
And listen up now
Hit 'em with a sick shit, just like the misfits
Kottonmouth and cypress hill, always kick the dope shit
Down with daddy x, d-loc and johnny richter
Southern cali most high do ya get the picture?
We don't stop, we just keep on thumping
With the skills that kill home boy ain't lacking nothing
From the streets of ? all the way to the o.c.
Any way around the world we smoke the dope weed
We got what it takes, cush, bud, hash cakes
Smoke filled room when the hits take place
I becoming mad stoned on the phone with Tommy Chong
Beating on my chest mad dog, King Kong
Here's another verse from the dirt that came first
We coming at ya hard from the ghetto to the surf
I be putting in work, so just stay up off my turf
Or I'll have your homeboys straight calling for a hurst
Put the blunt down and listen up now
The song "Put It Down" by Cypress Hill and Kottonmouth Kings is all about indulging in marijuana and enjoying it to the fullest. The lyrics talk about how Southern California is the home of the finest marijuana, and between the two groups, they smoke nothing but the best. The lyrics depict how potent and incredible the weed is and how they don't mess around with street vendors but only go straight to the growers. They encourage everyone to try it as it can make you go outta space high and relieve the stress of everyday life.
Although it seems like just another song about smoking weed, the lyrics have deeper meaning. They are encouraging everyone to be careful and only buy from the right sources. The writers want to ensure the listener is protected while enjoying the substance that can have a powerful impact on one's senses. Furthermore, the song also speaks to the relationship between Cypress Hill and Kottonmouth Kings, as they complement each other in their music, and both groups share an audience that enjoys the same type of music.
Line by Line Meaning
lights off shit coming at you live and on fire
We're about to hit you with some intense and powerful music
Kottonmouth kings, and cypress hill
Both Kottonmouth Kings and Cypress Hill are collaborating on this song
You know southern california be home of the highest
Southern California is known for having the best marijuana
Between the hill and kottonmouth we smoking nothing but the finest
Both Cypress Hill and Kottonmouth Kings only smoke the highest quality weed
The weed incredible, we unstoppable teams
The weed we smoke is amazing and it brings us together as unbeatable groups
We down with cypress like how essays be down with 13's
We are as loyal and committed to Cypress Hill as essays (gang members) are to the 13 (gang) culture
Never punk rice cause they simply below us
We don't bother with low-quality marijuana because it's not worth our time
Don't mess around with street vendors strictly go to the growers
We only buy our weed directly from the growers and avoid unreliable street vendors
And everybody who know us we get outta space high
When people who know us smoke with us, they experience an extremely high state of mind
Be like by bitty bye biddy biddy byebye
We get so high that everything else becomes insignificant and we enter another dimension
Put the blunt down, here's the rundown
Let's take a break from smoking and I'll explain the situation
Riding sundown slide us out the front
We're leaving quietly and discreetly through the front door at sunset
Ill get you high, won't come down
I'll make sure you get really high and won't come down from that state
Catch a contact homie watch as I take hits
Watch me smoke and get high, and you'll also feel the effects just by being near me
Show me who you know that take nigga vap hits
Tell me if you know anyone else who takes hits from a vaporizer like I do
Everybody grows let me know if you need some
Everyone around here grows their own weed, so let me know if you need some
Tell me what you want; you can call Dr. green thumb
If you need a specific strain or type of weed, just ask me or call Dr. Green Thumb
Put the blunt down if I'm wrong well homie then I'm stoned
If I'm mistaken about something, it's probably because I'm too high
That's what happens when you hit the fucking bong well
When you smoke from a bong, you can easily get too high and spaced out
Put the pipe down, put the, put the, put the pipe down
Stop smoking from the pipe and take a break
Put your bong down, put your, put your, put your bong down
Stop smoking from the bong and take a break
Put the blunt down, put the, put the, put the blunt down
Stop smoking the blunt and take a break
And listen up now
Pay attention to what I'm about to say
Y'all mother fuckers know the deal
You all should already be aware of what's going on
Its kottonmouth kings and cypress hill
Both Kottonmouth Kings and Cypress Hill are collaborating on this song
Gotta sip that bud, ya'll know whats up
We have to consume the marijuana and everyone should already know what it does
Its d double dash don't give a fuck
It's D Double Dash (artist) and he doesn't care about anything
Got a kush wrapped up, and I gotta kill
I have a kush joint prepared and I have to smoke it all
Don't act tough or you will get real
Don't try to be brave or you'll face the consequences
Nickel bags don't, be slick
Don't try to deceive us with low-quality marijuana
I'm feeling kinda good, I got an itch
I'm in a pleasant state of mind and I have an urge to smoke more
Its time for your mind
It's time to expand your consciousness
Here I go with my rhyme
I'm about to start rapping
I'm gonna get him from the front
I'm going to confront someone directly
You can get him from behind
You can approach them from a different angle
Sen dog gonna be real
Sen Dog (artist) is going to be honest and authentic
Putting it down for the crown
Representing and showcasing our skills for everyone
Got the people shook up
We're causing excitement and enthusiasm among the audience
Off the smoke from the pounds
The high we get from smoking large amounts of weed is influencing our performance
Pack another bowl in the pipe if you want hell
If you want a strong and intense experience, pack another bowl in the pipe
Maybe we can lace another load make the song sell
We could add more marijuana references to make the song more appealing and popular
Let me roll this hash leaf kush in the middle son
Allow me to roll a joint with a mixture of hash, leaves, and kush in the center, my friend
If you never putting then we rollin' you a little one
If you're not an experienced smoker, we'll prepare a smaller joint for you
Dude put the brownie down you fucking lightweight
Hey, stop eating the weed-infused brownie, you can't handle it because you're not experienced
We smoking after 21 just searching for the right date
We prefer to smoke weed when we're over 21 years old and only on special occasions
High, ? get you hammered in a second son
Getting high will quickly and strongly affect you, my friend
Take a fucking hit and get in line for the second one
Try taking a big hit and then get ready for another one because it'll be intense
So now you know, you better stop all you busts better hit the back door
Now that you're aware of the truth, all the fakes and losers should leave immediately
We ain't fronting, that's what its all about, somebody put this gun up in his mouth
We're not pretending, this is what we're all about, someone should shut up the person who disagrees
Welcome to the west coast, where the real tokers stay
In the west coast, we have the best and most dedicated marijuana smokers
They should rename this the cannabis state (cannabis state)
The west coast should be called the cannabis state because that's what defines it
We cant relate if you ain't from the area
If you're not from this region, you won't understand our lifestyle
We got the one hitter quitter that'll bury ya
We have such strong weed that one hit will knock you out
It gets scarier when clones cross polonaise
It becomes more intense when different types of marijuana are blended together
Hydroponic, cryptnotic, supersonic, madocnize
We have access to hydroponically grown, powerful, mind-altering, and high-quality marijuana
You wake up and you still feeling groggy yeah
Even after waking up, you'll still be under the effects of marijuana and feel tired
Heads foggy like cereal that's soggy yeah
Your mind will be clouded and unclear, just like eating soggy cereal
You pack a bowl but you cant find your lighter still
You prepare a bowl of weed but can't find a lighter to smoke it
A loaded crisis somebody call cypress hill
When you have a problem related to marijuana, you can rely on Cypress Hill to help you out
Sen dog you got some fire for a brother man?
Sen Dog, do you have some high-quality marijuana for me, my friend?
"I got some fire but your lighter's still up in your hand"
"I have some strong weed, but you still have your lighter in your hand and you can't find it"
Hit 'em with a sick shit, just like the misfits
We're going to amaze the audience with our incredible and unique music, just like the misfits do
Kottonmouth and cypress hill, always kick the dope shit
Both Kottonmouth Kings and Cypress Hill consistently deliver amazing and high-quality music
Down with daddy x, d-loc and johnny richter
We're in collaboration with Daddy X, D-Loc, and Johnny Richter (artists)
Southern cali most high do ya get the picture?
In Southern California, we're the highest and most influential, do you understand what we're trying to say?
We don't stop, we just keep on thumping
We never stop making great music, we continue to create powerful and impactful sounds
With the skills that kill home boy ain't lacking nothing
We have immense talent and we don't lack any skills, my friend
From the streets of ? all the way to the o.c.
From the streets of a certain place to Orange County, we have a wide influence
Any way around the world we smoke the dope weed
No matter where we are in the world, we always smoke the best and highest quality weed
We got what it takes, cush, bud, hash cakes
We have all the necessary ingredients for a great time: high-quality weed, buds, and hash cakes
Smoke filled room when the hits take place
When we take hits, the room becomes filled with smoke, creating an intense and atmospheric environment
I becoming mad stoned on the phone with Tommy Chong
I'm getting extremely high while talking to Tommy Chong (famous advocate for marijuana)
Beating on my chest mad dog, King Kong
I'm feeling confident and powerful, just like a mad dog or King Kong
Here's another verse from the dirt that came first
I'm delivering another powerful and impactful verse, which originated from the streets
We coming at ya hard from the ghetto to the surf
We're hitting you with intense music that represents both the gritty urban streets and the beach culture
I be putting in work, so just stay up off my turf
I'm constantly working hard and creating music, so stay away from my territory
Or I'll have your homeboys straight calling for a hurst
If you mess with me, your friends will be calling for a hearse because they'll witness your downfall
Put the blunt down and listen up now
Stop smoking the blunt and pay attention to what I'm about to say
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: LOUIS M. FREEZE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind