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.
Scooby Doo
Cypress Hill Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Scooby-Doo, y'all
Scooby-Dooby-Doo, y'all
I remember the time them niggas tried to get me (I ain't havin' it)
Throw your hands in the air, the Hill's live and direct, see
So let me put my clip in, watch this nigga start flippin'
My, why must they always be trippin'?
Dropped the gat, riccocheted, the fool got cut up
(Why'd you drop the gat, G?) I got hit from behind
Now a nigga like me, I gotta go for mine
Bring it on, bing, make ya bells ring
When ya hit that pavement, what a feeling
It's on, cracked like a baseball bat
Oh shiiiiiiiit, out the boot came a gat
Pointed (aimed) the nigga said "You're through!"
Scooby Doo! 'Cause I had a boy too!
[Chorus]
I remember the time them niggas tried to get me (I ain't havin' it)
Throw your gats in the air if you want to come test me
So let me just run through, as I pull out my Scooby-Doo
I get the chills when I see that dead man's crew
I got to get up, let's go head up, dead up
I'm loc'ed like that, punk, that's why you're gettin' wet-up
Want me to let up, but I ain't tryin' to hear that
Bullshit cryin', punk, let me just clear that
Buck a shot, lick a two shot, lick a three shot
Ran out of ammo, damn, I ain't tryin' to get got
Two niggas standin', dirty under-handed
Lighter shade of fire, check my slug expanded
Now tell me what the fuck are you gonna do
When I pull out my Scooby-Doo?
[Chorus]
Take a good look 'cause this is the last time you're gonna see fat bell like this again, you fat piece a chit! Kid muchacho, muchacho kid, get flabby - (oh - choot that piece a chit.) You
fuckin' lobsta piece a CHIT! I'll stomp you like a duck. And you ...you with your little happy chain of lighters ...you want to fuck with me, you fuck with the best! And you ...you with the burly haircut, the Stawberry Quik guy ...you around the way, main. I know where you at.
The lyrics to Cypress Hill's song "Scooby Doo" describe a situation where the singer is being threatened with a gun by an assailant. The song references the character "Scooby Doo" from the famous cartoon series, to emphasize the need for the singer to become courageous and face the challenge. The chorus repeats the phrase “Scooby-Doo, y'all, Scooby-Dooby-Doo, y'all” as an encouragement to the singer to be bold and not fear the attacker.
In the first verse, the singer describes the altercation and how he had to defend himself. The attacker drops his gun, and the singer uses the opportunity to pull out his weapon and shoot the assailant down. The verse highlights the danger of carrying guns and shows how quickly things can escalate. The chorus then comes in, reminding the singer to remain strong and face his fears.
The second verse sees the rapper in another dangerous situation, this time facing a gang of thugs. He pulls out his "Scooby-Doo," possibly meaning his weapon, and confronts them. He fires shots, and the attackers run away, realizing that the rapper was not someone they could mess with. The song ends with a bridge where Cypress Hill members threaten their enemies and tell them to stay away.
Overall, "Scooby Doo" is a song about standing up to one's enemies and not backing down in the face of danger.
Line by Line Meaning
Scooby-Doo, y'all
Let's start this song, y'all.
Scooby-Dooby-Doo, y'all
Let's continue this song, y'all.
I remember the time them niggas tried to get me (I ain't havin' it)
I recall a moment when some guys attempted to attack me, but I refuse to tolerate it.
Throw your hands in the air, the Hill's live and direct, see
Raise your arms up high as Cypress Hill performs intensively and clearly.
So let me put my clip in, watch this nigga start flippin'
I will load my gun and watch this guy react erratically.
My, why must they always be trippin'?
Why must people always cause trouble and act irrational?
Shut up, what up, fool tried to nut up
Quiet, what happened? That fool attempted to act tough.
Dropped the gat, ricocheted, the fool got cut up
I dropped my gun, it made a loud noise and bounced, but the foolish guy got injured.
(Why'd you drop the gat, G?) I got hit from behind
(Why did you drop your gun, buddy?) I got attacked from the back and lost my weapon.
Now a nigga like me, I gotta go for mine
As a black man like me, I need to protect myself and retaliate.
Bring it on, bing, make ya bells ring
Come at me with everything you got, let's cause some disruption.
When ya hit that pavement, what a feeling
You'll feel the impact when you hit the ground hard.
It's on, cracked like a baseball bat
The fight has begun, and it's intense like a broken baseball bat.
Oh shiiiiiiiit, out the boot came a gat
Oh no, I realized I have another gun in my boot.
Pointed (aimed) the nigga said "You're through!"
I aimed the gun at the guy and said, "You're finished!"
Scooby Doo! 'Cause I had a boy too!
I yelled out 'Scooby Doo' because I too have a weapon.
Throw your gats in the air if you want to come test me
If you dare to challenge me, raise your guns high in the air.
So let me just run through, as I pull out my Scooby-Doo
Let me swiftly move past this situation as I take out my gun.
I get the chills when I see that dead man's crew
I feel anxious and scared when I see my enemies' dead bodies.
I got to get up, let's go head up, dead up
I need to get up and confront my enemies, no matter the cost.
I'm loc'ed like that, punk, that's why you're gettin' wet-up
I'm crazy like that, and that's why I'm hitting you with bullets.
Want me to let up, but I ain't tryin' to hear that
You want me to stop, but I'm not willing to listen to your requests.
Bullshit cryin', punk, let me just clear that
Stop whining, punk, let me clarify something for you.
Buck a shot, lick a two shot, lick a three shot
I'm firing one bullet, then two, then three.
Ran out of ammo, damn, I ain't tryin' to get got
I've run out of bullets; I can't afford to be killed.
Two niggas standin', dirty under-handed
Two guys standing, using sneaky tactics.
Lighter shade of fire, check my slug expanded
I'm using lighter bullets, check out how they expand.
Now tell me what the fuck are you gonna do
What options do you have left now?
When I pull out my Scooby-Doo?
When I reveal my gun?
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: LARRY MUGGERUD, LOUIS M. FREEZE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@user-mm3lt2iy2l
Cypress hill LEGEND 🤘👍👍👍
@brianmarquet2602
This was on the hits from the bong maxi single if my memory serves . Hill classic
@h2ophilter
Their BEST B Side...
@Infamedigito
Neva heard that before...Classic b side vibe!
@JimDaGem
Cypress Hill Forever 🔥🔥🔥 💀☠️💀
@Waxak
🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
@hernancorrea5730
Cypress hill desde venezuela❤
@ggonzalez5510
First time I heard this song hauling ass in the MC🤘🏽🔥
@HectorProaMartinez-vp8oj
Scoobi doobie doo dawwww buena
@Katzzzz
Scooby snacks 🤤