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.
Stoned Is the Way of the Walk
Cypress Hill Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Stoned is the way of the walk,
Well, it's the Alley Cat puffin' on a hootie rat,
Some think I'm a criminal,
But, yo I ain't all of that,
Hit ya with the baseball bat,
An' ya want to ill though,
You get fucked on the hill bro,
Kick it like a steel toe, real slow,
Hits from the bong,
Make me feel like Cheech,
And I'm kickin' it wit' Chong,
Just like Cheech and Chong frontin' with "Ice Cream",
Cypress Hill is here to give you a nice dream,
Speak it like a rolla', and you know it's rolled tightly,
I'm like the funky beat, so, why ya tryin' to fight me,
Pigs often site me, that's not polite G,
And any hour of the day ya know I might be,
Harassed by a pig real fast,
They want to Rodney King me,
Always tryin'a crown my ass,
Ain't got no class (No Class)
I hit they' ass like the buddah that's stinky,
They want to scruff but, they' just so rinky-dinky,
I'm the freaka, the one who freaks the funk,
Sen gotts the Philly, an' he's gonna light the blunt,
Sippin' after curfew makes me go koo-koo,
Somthin' like loco then turn in to this loocoo,
Binggin' the beta,yea, now the funk is risen,
Got the beta bass and the nasal highzen,
As I kick atrip, it comin' straight from my sinus,
Crazy nasal vocals, cannot make the hotties loco,
I rememba sista Maggie, breast were kinda saggy,
Used to sell me buddah outta fucked up little baggies
Honeyd up a twenty even when I had no money,
She said "Pay me back with some latin dick Sonnie"
Well I neva' went out, and I don' thnk I'm gonna,
Just for some buddah, she wanted me ta bone her,
Demeanin', ya think ya know what I', meanin',
I got somethin' for the hoes to be skeamin' on,
I'm the Buddah-Real take a trip ta hoota'ville,
I'll throw ya out the door, of my big blue Seville,
Then light another joint,
This ain't no exploition
For we are the ones stonin' in the ways of the mastas,
Stoned is the walk,
Stoned is the walk,
Stoned is the walk,
Stoned is the walk,
Hit they ass, hit they ass,
Light the Buddha get stinky
The lyrics to Cypress Hill's Stoned Is the Way of the Walk can be interpreted in different ways, but it mainly talks about the artist's love for marijuana and how it makes him feel. The title of the song, Stoned Is the Way of the Walk, implies that the artist is walking through life while under the influence of marijuana. The chorus line "Stoned is the way of the walk" is repeated several times to emphasize this idea.
The first stanza begins with the artist, Alley Cat, smoking marijuana and acknowledging that some people view him as a criminal. However, he states that he's not such and proceeds to warn that anyone who messes with him will get hurt. The second verse makes reference to the popular comedy duo Cheech & Chong and how their humor revolves around marijuana usage. Cypress Hill then proclaims their presence in the world of music to be a source of "nice dreams" they wish to give to their fans. The third and final stanza continue with the artist's love for marijuana and appreciation for women.
Line by Line Meaning
Stoned is the way of the walk,
Being high is just how I walk and live my life.
Well, it's the Alley Cat puffin' on a hootie rat,
I am smoking a blunt filled with marijuana while walking in a carefree manner.
Some think I'm a criminal,
People often consider me to be involved in illegal activities.
But, yo I ain't all of that,
However, I am not that type of person.
Hit ya with the baseball bat,
I can hurt you if you mess with me.
An' ya want to ill though,
You're trying to instigate me and make me angry.
Want to mess around,
You're trying to start a fight with me.
You get fucked on the hill bro,
You'll suffer the consequences if you choose to continue with your actions.
Kick it like a steel toe, real slow,
I stand my ground like a steel toe boot, slowly and surely.
Hits from the bong,
When I smoke from a bong,
Make me feel like Cheech,
I feel as cool as Cheech and Chong when they smoke weed.
And I'm kickin' it wit' Chong,
I'm enjoying time with my friend, Chong.
Just like Cheech and Chong frontin' with "Ice Cream",
Reminiscing how Cheech and Chong used to have fun in their movies with their funny antics.
Cypress Hill is here to give you a nice dream,
I exist to help you forget about your worries and nightmares.
Speak it like a rolla', and you know it's rolled tightly,
I speak my truth as if it has been rolled tightly like a blunt.
I'm like the funky beat, so, why ya tryin' to fight me,
My personality is just like a great beat that urges you to dance, so why do you want to fight me?
Pigs often site me, that's not polite G,
Police officers often suspect me of wrongdoing, which is not reasonable, my friend.
And any hour of the day ya know I might be,
They could arrest me at any time.
Harassed by a pig real fast,
Police people very quickly become upset with me
They want to Rodney King me,
They want to hurt me like Rodney King was grievously wounded
Always tryin'a crown my ass,
They're trying to accuse me like a king for something I haven't done.
Ain't got no class (No Class)
They're neglecting and abusing their power.
I hit they' ass like the buddah that's stinky,
I treat these people like useless leftovers.
They want to scruff but, they' just so rinky-dinky,
They try to intimidate me but they have weak arguments.
I'm the freaka, the one who freaks the funk,
I'm the one who jazzes things up and makes life more interesting.
Sen gotts the Philly, an' he's gonna light the blunt,
Sen has a joint and is going to smoke it.
Sippin' after curfew makes me go koo-koo,
Drinking after curfew time makes me become insane.
Somthin' like loco then turn in to this loocoo,
I go from being a little crazy to being really crazy.
Binggin' the beta,yea, now the funk is risen,
I'm starting to get high and now everything is better.
Got the beta bass and the nasal highzen,
I hear the music's instruments clearly and feel the effects of the marijuana in my nose.
As I kick atrip, it comin' straight from my sinus,
As I rap, it feels like my thoughts are flowing from my sinuses.
Crazy nasal vocals, cannot make the hotties loco,
My raps are unique and weird, and don't really woo the ladies.
I rememba sista Maggie, breast were kinda saggy,
I remember a lady named Maggy who had saggy breasts.
Used to sell me buddah outta fucked up little baggies
She used to sell me weed in messed up bags.
Honeyd up a twenty even when I had no money,
She was kind enough to front me twenty dollars
She said "Pay me back with some latin dick Sonnie"
She wanted me to pay her back with sexual favors.
Well I neva' went out, and I don' thnk I'm gonna,
I never went out with her, and don't think I ever will.
Just for some buddah, she wanted me ta bone her,
Just for weed, she asked me to have sex with her.
Demeanin', ya think ya know what I', meanin',
She demeaned herself and thought I would do to the same.
I got somethin' for the hoes to be skeamin' on,
I have something cool for women to like.
I'm the Buddah-Real take a trip ta hoota'ville,
I'm the real deal when it comes to marijuana, come with me to get some weed.
I'll throw ya out the door, of my big blue Seville,
Jump into my big blue Cadillac and I'll drive you out to get some weed.
Then light another joint,
As we go to pick up more weed, let's light up another joint to smoke while we cruise.
This ain't no exploition
This isn't something to exploit or take advantage of.
For we are the ones stonin' in the ways of the mastas,
We are the ones who are peacefully doing our own thing while the so-called masters have no idea.
Hit they ass, hit they ass,
If they come at us, we'll have to defend ourselves.
Light the Buddha get stinky
Let's smoke another blunt until we are fully high.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: LARRY MUGGERUD, LOUIS M. FREEZE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Dimebag Darrel
Stoned is the way of the Walk,
Stoned is the way of the Walk,
[Verse 1: B-real]
Well, it's the Alley Cat puffin' on a hootie rat,
Some think I'm a criminal,
But, yo I ain't all of that,
Hit'cha with the baseball bat,
An' ya wanna ill though,
Wanna mess around ,
You get fucked on the hill bro,
Kick it like a steel toe, real slow,
Hits from the bong ,
Make me feel like Cheech,
And I'm kickin' it wit' Chong,
Just like Cheech & Chong frontin' with "Ice Cream",
Cypress Hill is here to give you a nice dream,
Speak it like a rolla', and you know it's rolled tightly,
I'm like the funky beat, so, why ya tryin' ta fight me,
Pigs often site me, that's not polite G,
And any hour of the day ya know I might be,
Harassed by a pig real fast,
They wanna Rodney King me,
Always tryin'a crown my ass,
Ain't got no class(Sen Dog: No Class)
I hit they' ass like the buddah thats stinkey,
They wanna' scruff but, they' just so rinky-dinky,
I'm the freaka, the one who freaks the funk,
Sen gotts the Philly, an' he's gonna light the blunt,
Sippin' curfew makes me go koo-koo,
somthin' like loco then turn in to this loocoo,
Binggin the beta,yea, now the funk is risen,
Got the beta bass and the nasal highzen,
As I kick atrip, it comin' straight from my siness,
Crazy nasal vocals, cannot make the hotties loco,
I rimemba sista Maggie, breast were kinda saggy,
Used to sell me buddah outta fucked up little,
Honeyd up a twenty even when I had no money,
She said "Pay me back with some latin dick Sonnie"
Well I neva' went out, and I don' thnk I'm gonna,
Just for some buddah, she wanted me ta bone her,
Deminin', Ya think ya meanin',
I got somethin' for the hoes ta be skeamin' on,
I'm the Buddah-Real take a trip ta hoota'ville,
I'll throw ya out the door, of my big blue Siville,
Then light another joint,
This ain't no exploition (poin't),
Cause we are the ones stonein' in the ways of the mastas,
Stoned is the walk,
Stoned is the walk,
Stoned is the walk,
Stoned is the walk,
[Sen- Dog]
Hit they, hit they ass,
[B-Real]
make the buddah get stinkey
Wooooo, Woooo
(Alas, Cap'in there's a ship in sight,
Huhu, Blast 'em!)
Stoned is the walk
Beatles0223
It was GREAT being a teenager in the 90s with this stuff floating around! We seriously need time machines!
Dave Manina
Pete
Dave Manina
Peter guns
Dave Manina
Peter guns
jason jordan
Beatles0223 hells yes! I was 14 wen this came out
Pason Jayne
I envy you dudes. My teenage years was full of trash like Drake and G-Eazy😥😥😥
Haze806
One of the best hip hop groups of all time. I wish rap sounded this good today.
Madnan
Unfortunately it’s underground gotta search hard.
gashauler1000
I'm not a huge fan of rap music, but Cypress Hill is so chill and relaxing, how can you not love'em.
jimmypinch
when i was young my wife left and then i had a bad trip and was on the verge of doing myself in and i put this track on, which instantly saved me from the depths of hell. Felt much better played it about ten times in a row, healed.