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Cypress Hill Cypress Hill were notable for being the first Latino hip-hop superstars, but they became notorious for their endorsement of marijuana, which actually isn't a trivial thing. Not only did the group campaign for its legalization, but its slow, rolling bass-and-drum loops pioneered a new, stoned funk that became extraordinary influential in '90s hip-hop -- it could be heard in everything from Dr. Dre's G-Funk to the chilly layers of English trip-hop. DJ Muggs was responsible for the sound and B-Real, with his pinched nasal voice, was responsible for the rhetoric that made them famous. The pro-pot position became a little ridiculous toward the end of the band's career, but there was no denying that the actual music had a strange, eerie power, particularly on the band's first two albums. Although B-Real remained an effective lyricist and Muggs' musical skills did not diminish, the group's last album, Temples of Boom, was perceived by many critics as self-parodic and the group disintegrated shortly afterward. DVX, the original incarnation of Cypress Hill, formed in 1986 when Cuban-born brothers Sen Dog (b. Senen Reyes, November 20, 1965) and his brother Mellow Man Ace hooked up with fellow Los Angeles natives DJ Muggs (b. Lawrence Muggerud, January 28, 1968) and B-Real (b. Louis Freese, June 2, 1970). The group began pioneering a fusion of Latin and hip-hop slang, developing their own style be the time Mellow Man Ace left the group in 1988. Renaming themselves Cypress Hill after a local street, the group continued to perform around LA, eventually signing with Ruffhouse/Columbia in 1991. With its stoned beats, B-Real's exaggerated nasal whine and cartoonish violence, the group's eponymous debut became a sensation in early 1992, several months after its initial release. The singles "How I Could Just Kill A Man" and "The Phuncky Feel One" became underground hits, and the group's publicly pro-marijuana stance earned them many fans among the alternative rock community. Cypress Hill followed the album with Black Sunday in the summer of 1993, and while it sounded remarkably similar to the debut, it nevertheless became a hit, entering the album charts at number one and spawning the crossover hit "Insane in the Brain." With Black Sunday, Cypress Hill's audience became predominately white, collegiate suburbanites, which caused them to lose some support in the hip-hop community. The group didn't help matters much in 1995, when they toured with the fifth Lollapalooza prior to the release of their third album, Temples of Boom. A darker, gloomier affair than their first two records, Temples of Boom was greeted with mixed reviews upon its fall 1995 release, and while it initially sold well, it failed to generate a genuine hit single. However, it did perform better on the R&B charts than it did on the pop charts. Instead of capitalizing on their regained hip-hop credibility, Cypress Hill slowly fell apart. Sen Dog left in early 1996 and Muggs spent most of the year working on his solo album. DJ Muggs Presents the Soul Assassins was released to overwhelmingly positive reviews in early 1997, leaving Cypress Hill's future in much doubt until the release of IV in 1998. Discography Year Label Title 1991 Ruffhouse/Columbia The Phuncky Feel One Single 1991 Ruffhouse/Columbia Cypress Hill 1992 Ruffhouse/Columbia Latin Lingo Maxi Single 1992 Ruffhouse/Columbia Hand On The Pump Single 1992 Ruffhouse/Columbia Hand On The Pump Maxi Single 1993 Ruffhouse/Columbia We Ain't Goin' Out Like That Maxi Single 1993 Ruffhouse/Columbia We Ain't Goin' Out Like That Single 1993 Ruffhouse/Columbia Black Sunday 1993 Ruffhouse/Columbia Black Sunday Edited 1993 Ruffhouse/Columbia Insane In The Brain Single 1993 Ruffhouse/Columbia Insane In The Brain Maxi Single 1995 Ruffhouse/Columbia Throw Your Set In The Air Single 1995 Ruffhouse/Columbia Throw Your Set In The Air Maxi Single 1995 Ruffhouse/Columbia Cypress Hill III (Temples Of Boom) 1995 Ruffhouse/Columbia Cypress Hill III (Temples Of Boom) Edited 1995 Columbia Throw Your Set In The Air Single 1996 Ruffhouse/Columbia Illusions Single 1996 Ruffhouse/Columbia Illusions Maxi Single 1996 Ruffhouse/Columbia Unreleased & Revamped EP 1996 Ruffhouse/Columbia Boom Biddy Bye Bye Single 1998 Ruffhouse/Columbia Cypress Hill IV 1998 Ruffhouse Cypress Hill IV Edited 1998 Ruffhouse/Columbia Tequila Sunrise Maxi Single 1999 Ruffhouse/Columbia Los Grandes Exitos En Espanol

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