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.
Rise Up
Cypress Hill Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The American dream
Is far roaming in the streets of greed
Everywhere I turn I'm on a mission for more
But I ain't selling my soul
With the dope there's no girl
I'm on a one way box to the top
I'm hitting the strip but got a sound that would rally the block
You ain't nothing but talk
You couldn't hang on the rope by ball
This life that I live
It ain't for the weak
Got my roddy gangster that came off the street
I'm trying to keep the peace
But I gotta keep my pace
Got these drunk police
Want me all rappy
And I'm searching for the higher ground
I want my head in the sky
So high that I cant come down
Leave your lies in every town across the nation
'Cause you can never stop to play
Gotta Rise up (to the top, to the top)
Cant stop (How high can you get?)
Gotta Rise up (to the top, to the top)
Cant stop (How high can you get?)
'Cause what goes up must come down
So we gotta rise up to the Higher ground
Rise Up (Rise Up)
Rise Up (Rise Up)
Rise Up (Rise Up)
How high can you get?
Cruising in the drop Chevy
Got my foot on the floor
I'm hitting switches and my brim is heavy
You wanna look inside
And see who's crossing the brine
Curiosity is killing you
With stick in the prime
I get high from the brim in the set
Never gripping the square
But all you haters couldn't hold my.
Don't need a clip for my ? straight
You should leave it alone
And check your toe cause my line will spit
This right here's as high as it gets
Somebody likes it, the hell
'Cause you stepped on the sex
But guess who will show you, you gotta pass the check
Got my clock on deck and my custom vest streets
You came, for me I'm the best
And you can keep the dress
'Cause I'm smoke at the less
Turn a step back I'm tired of getting pushed
Gotta rise up to the top (to the top)
Cant stop (How high can you get?)
Gotta rise up to the top (to the top)
Cant stop (How high can you get?)
'Cause what goes up must come down
So we gotta rise up to the Higher ground
Rise Up (Rise Up)
Rise Up (Rise Up)
Rise Up (Rise Up)
How high can you get?
I go psycho
Crazy Michael Myers
Except the stages on fire going higher
'Cause when I lean on a flyer
There's so much more to make the whole city rise
This defines a man to get the whole world lifted
Wall man trying to make a land with a mission
There's no way you can stand in this position
You cant take the heat get the fuck about the tension
Go with the will to hustle, you see if we hit the floor
You'll never stop it you ain't got the muscle
Were going to world top, homeboy this is the show
We gotta blow up the stage be out the door
Sometimes we all need an escape
So when we form our track
Well get your mind while we get the stat
I made a pack with a crew on the hill
We continue to build with all the people who believe their bill
Gotta Rise up (to the top, to the top)
Cant stop (How high can you get?)
Gotta Rise up (to the top, to the top)
Cant stop (How high can you get?)
'Cause what goes up must come down
So we gotta rise up to the Higher ground
Rise Up (Rise Up)
Rise Up (Rise Up)
Rise Up (Rise Up)
How high can you get?
The lyrics in Cypress Hill's "Rise Up" are a testament to the struggle of living in a big city while chasing the American dream. The singer is surrounded by greed in every direction, and he's determined not to sell his soul for success. He's on his way up, driving a drop Chevy with his foot on the floor and hitting switches. Moreover, he's got a sound that rallies the block and a rhyming style that's too sick to ignore. But, as he climbs up the ladder, he's constantly on the lookout for cops who want to take him down, and he's also got haters who want to knock him off his pedestal. Despite all of this, he's determined to rise to the top and maintain his integrity.
The chorus of "Rise Up" emphasizes this determination. The singer is encouraging himself to keep pushing upward, to get to the top, and to refuse to be deterred by those who want to bring him down. He's fully aware that what goes up must come down, but he's willing to take that risk because he wants to climb as high as he can.
Overall, "Rise Up" is a testament to striving for success while keeping one's integrity intact. It's a message that resonates with anyone who has ever faced obstacles while pursuing their dreams. The song's lyrics emphasize the importance of determination, hard work, and perseverance, and they show that even the toughest challenges can be overcome with the right mindset.
Line by Line Meaning
Living in the big city
The singer resides in an urban area.
The American dream
The perceived ideal of prosperity and success in America.
Is far roaming in the streets of greed
The pursuit of success is difficult, as greed dominates the environment.
Everywhere I turn I'm on a mission for more
The artist is always seeking more success.
But I ain't selling my soul
The artist refuses to compromise their moral values for success.
With the dope there's no girl
The singer does not fall victim to drug addiction.
I'm on a one way box to the top
The singer is determined to succeed, with no intention of slowing down.
I'm hitting the strip but got a sound that would rally the block
The artist is making an impact in their community through their music.
I'm in the fast lane and I won't stop
The artist is moving quickly towards success, and has no intention of slowing down.
You ain't nothing but talk
The artist is dismissing those who only talk about success.
You couldn't hang on the rope by ball
Those who talk about success would not be able to handle the pressure and dedication required to achieve it.
This life that I live
The artist's current way of life.
It ain't for the weak
The singer's lifestyle requires strength and dedication.
Got my roddy gangster that came off the street
The singer has a crew composed of tough individuals from the streets.
I'm trying to keep the peace
The singer desires tranquility.
But I gotta keep my pace
The artist cannot slow down in pursuit of success.
Got these drunk police
The artist is dealing with intoxicated law enforcement.
Want me all rappy
The police are trying to take legal action against the singer.
And I'm searching for the higher ground
The singer is looking for ways to rise above their struggles and achieve success.
I want my head in the sky
The artist aspires for greatness.
So high that I cant come down
The artist desires success to a degree that is unattainable for others.
Leave your lies in every town across the nation
The artist dismisses others' falsehoods in pursuit of success.
'Cause you can never stop to play
Success requires constant effort and dedication.
Gotta Rise up (to the top, to the top)
The artist must put forth effort to achieve success.
Cant stop (How high can you get?)
The singer faces obstacles but will overcome them.
'Cause what goes up must come down
Success is fleeting.
So we gotta rise up to the Higher ground
Success requires effort and dedication.
Cruising in the drop Chevy
The artist is riding in a Chevrolet convertible.
Got my foot on the floor
The artist is driving at a high speed.
I'm hitting switches and my brim is heavy
The singer is showing off their car's hydraulics and their own fashion.
You wanna look inside
Others are curious about the singer's life.
And see who's crossing the brine
Others seek to learn more about the artist and who they are.
Curiosity is killing you
Others are very interested in the artist's life.
With stick in the prime
Others are fixated on learning more about the artist.
I get high from the brim in the set
The singer feels successful and powerful due to their surroundings.
Never gripping the square
The artist never slows down in pursuit of success.
But all you haters couldn't hold my
Critics and detractors cannot affect the singer's success.
Don't need a clip for my ? straight
The singer does not need assistance in their pursuit of success.
You should leave it alone
Others should stop trying to hinder the singer's success.
And check your toe cause my line will spit
The artist's words are powerful and effective.
This right here's as high as it gets
The artist has reached a level of success beyond what many achieve.
Somebody likes it, the hell
Others appreciate the singer's success.
Cause you stepped on the sex
The singer has succeeded despite others trying to bring them down.
But guess who will show you, you gotta pass the check
The artist's success requires passing a test or meeting a certain standard.
Got my clock on deck and my custom vest streets
The artist is prepared and equipped for any challenges they may face.
You came, for me I'm the best
The artist is confident in their abilities and success.
And you can keep the dress
The singer dismisses those who do not support them.
'Cause I'm smoke at the less
The artist is above others who do not support their success.
Turn a step back I'm tired of getting pushed
The singer is sick of others trying to undermine their success.
I go psycho
The singer can act aggressively in pursuit of success.
Crazy Michael Myers
The singer's aggression is comparable to a horror movie villain.
Except the stages on fire going higher
The artist's rise to success is fueled by their passion and energy.
'Cause when I lean on a flyer
The artist's promotional materials help them achieve success.
There's so much more to make the whole city rise
The singer wants to inspire others to succeed and thrive.
This defines a man to get the whole world lifted
Success is a defining characteristic of a person.
Wall man trying to make a land with a mission
The artist is trying to make their mark on the world.
There's no way you can stand in this position
Others cannot handle the pressure of the artist's success.
You cant take the heat get the fuck about the tension
Those who cannot handle the pressure of success should leave.
Go with the will to hustle, you see if we hit the floor
Success requires a strong work ethic and ambition.
You'll never stop it you ain't got the muscle
Those who lack the work ethic and ambition required for success will never achieve it.
Were going to world top, homeboy this is the show
The singer and their crew are destined for achieving worldwide success.
We gotta blow up the stage be out the door
The singer wants to put on a big show and leave a lasting impression.
Sometimes we all need an escape
Even successful individuals need a break from the pressure of success.
So when we form our track
The artist has a plan to escape and unwind.
Well get your mind while we get the stat
The artist will clear their mind while reviewing their statistical success.
I made a pack with a crew on the hill
The singer has formed an alliance with their crew to achieve success.
We continue to build with all the people who believe their bill
The singer collaborates with others who share their ambition and belief in their success.
Rise Up (Rise Up)
The theme of the song is to work hard and rise to achieve success.
How high can you get?
The artist asks how successful others can become.
Lyrics © Wixen Music Publishing, CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC
Written by: Demerick Shelton Ferm, Louis M. Freese, Thomas B. Morello, Senen Reyes
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@jesuschrist921
I cruise Jerusalem jamming this tune.
@dragon53777
Jesus Christ Cool....say JC can I get a ride? lol
@jesuschrist921
Hell yeah, son! Get in. We are gonna rise up!
@mnbegdache
Jesus Christ East Jerusalem or the west side ? Coz i have never seen you cruising in da east side
@rmazin76
Jesus Christ Now that's some religion I can get behind!
@oOMasterDjoOo
+Jesus Christ Jeecee Dogg in da hoooooouse !
@KyrreStalsberg
I've listened to Cypress since I was a kid in the beginning of the 90's. I've loved this music all these years, and the bridge from "old-school" rap to more Hardcore is great. Great then. Great now. Gotta love it :-)
@branislavromancak8514
Cypress against the machine 👍🤘
@TheBusterMania
"Cypress Hill featuring Tom Morello." As a RATM and Cypress Hill fan I can say, it doesn´t get much better from here!
@TheMeanDM
You didn't expect Prophets of Rage, now did you? That is the "much better" you didn't know you could get!