Cypress Hill "Black Sunday" (30the Anniversary Mix by Filthy Rich)

DJ Filthy Rich celebrates 30 years of Cypress Hill's classic sophomore LP 'Black Sunday' with a mix of original samples, remixes, b-sides and original blends. I remember coppin' the 12 of "Insane In The Brain" with the b-side, "When The Shit Goes Down" and knowing the follow-up LP was gonna be a smash. The album cuts were just as hard and while the content wasn't always "my bag", I appreciate the artistry and especially the production by DJ Muggs. You can definitely understand why it crossed over and made such an impact in the rock and hip-hop communities. The 30th anniversary Expanded Edition of Black Sunday includes a remix from Statik Selektah, DJ Muggs and more if you haven't had a chance to cop that release. Meanwhile, dig into the mix from DJ Filthy Rich below...

Cypress Hill "Cypress Hill" (August 13, 1991)

Cypress Hill wants to get two things straight. First, because of their name, many people think they're from Brooklyn; they're not. Cypress Hill refers to Cypress Street in Southgate, a section of Los Angeles about five minutes from Watts and South Central. Actually, it's not really a hill, but as Sen Dog (one of Cypress Hill's rappers) says, "you can't tell us it's not Cypress Hill. We love that street. We've got rock and rollers, we got rappers, we got singers. We take good care of it, too. We don't let anyone come in and mess it up writing graffiti all over the place or anything like that." Or, as B-Real (the group's other rapper) adds, "'Cypress Hill' means we're on top. We have to be on top of business whether it's business of hip-hop or the business of the block." Speaking of "the block" brings up the second possible misconception: While these tough times -- on the mean streets of L.A. in particular -- are reflected in their lyrics, Cypress Hill is not another pseudo-gangsta act from Southern California. "We're not just some more brothers from Compton," explains B-Real, "and some of them aren't even from there, anyway." "Yeah, they've never gangbanged because their moms would let them," Sen Dog quickly adds, laughing. "They want to pump out second-hand information that they never even went through," B-Real continues. "Everything on our record is from our own experience. We don't want to teach you, we don't want to preach to you. We want to be known as funky awareness: first, you've got to be funky, and then it's hardcore awareness, revolving a story around our experiences or our homeboys' experiences." Cypress Hill, their self-titled debut album, is shaped by this group ethic of funky awareness. The record is full of their real-life experiences, and with DJ Mixmaster Muggs' incredibly funky, clever beats and samples, it's bound to raise eyebrows.... 

"Pigs," a rowdy singalong dedicated to some of Cypress Hill's "best friends," is reminiscent of the childhood nursery rhyme ("this little pig went to market"). Wrapped around a lazy, swaggering bass-line, the lyric stance on "Pigs" does not represent the group leaping onto anyone's bandwagon. "We get harassed by the police all the time because we look like gangbangers," says Muggs. "They tell me my tires are too flat, or we match someone's description. I've heard every possible excuse three or four times, not just once." Where "Pigs" is spare and casual, "Kill A Man" rushes at you with a stomping drum beat, peppered by high-pitched horns and random shouts. It would be very easy to look at the title and dismiss the track as ultra-violent, but that's not the point. As Sen Dog explains, "It's not about killing a man, but it's about understanding how one kid could do that. We don't glorify it." Again, B-Real has put his own experiences into the groove. "You know 'Kill A Man' when I go, 'Say some punk tried to get you for your auto/what are you gonna one time play the role model/no, I think you play like a thug.' Well the other night someone did try to steal my car. That happens all the time." Throughout the album, Cypress Hill makes one innovative contribution after another in the hip-hop artform. Check out B-Real's crazy, but engaging vocal style, or the "Duke of Earl" sample at the beginning of "Hand On a Pump"; or the live bass, percussion and guitar on the Spanglish "Latin Lingo." In this age of anti-drug hysteria, Cypress Hill also has the honesty to endorse one of their favorite pasttimes "on the record," with "Light Another" + "Blunted." Cont'd...



One of the reasons that the Cypress Hill album is so comfortable, engaging and inventive is that the members aren't newcomers to the hip-hop scene. Co-writer, lyricist and background rapper, 25-year old Sen Dog was born in Cuba and moved to Southgate at age 14. Sen comes from a very musical family.... Ever since he was young, Sen, his brothers and sisters were stars of the local church choir. After dropping out of high school in 1981, Sen started a group with his brother, Mellow Man Ace called DVX, and invented the Spanglish, Latin lingo style. Some time before Mellow Man Ace embarked on a solo career, he and Sen were joined in DVX by a young, gifted writer named B-Real. Now Cypress Hill's lead rapper, 21-year old B-Real has lived in Los Angeles all his life. For as long as he can remember, his biggest dream was to be a writer or a journalist. B-Real would spend hours in class writing essays and poems, but eventually he was turned off by school and dropped out. "A lot of the things they teach you in school are watered down. That's why I left..." Soon, B-Real's desire to write led him to hip-hop. "I guess I'm a writer now... If you're writing what you feel and if it's getting out, then you're accomplishing what you want...." Soon, Sen and Ace decided to pair B-Real with another young hip-hopper, a DJ and producer named Mixmaster Muggs. Mixmaster Muggs moved to Southgate from Queens right before he started high school. In Queens, he was heavily into breakdancing which led to his DJ-ing... Even though he is only 22 years old, Muggs was down with East Coast hip-hop from the beginning, back in the days when the Treacherous Three, Funky Four Plus One and Run-DMC ruled the day. In tenth grade, Muggs bought his first piece of equipment (a set of Technics 1200's)... After coming to L.A., he briefly hooked up with B-Real; Muggs was also the cornerstone of 7A3, who had a song on the "Colors" movie soundtrack. Soon after, Muggs left 7A3 and began laying down tracks for Cypress Hill. In its present configuration, Cypress Hill has been working together for three years. - Press Kit, 1991. Today marks another anniversary for this classic album! Dig back into it and more from Cypress Hill in the extensive archives below...

Cypress Hill "Black Sunday" (July 20, 1993)

"Insane In The Brain" is the name of the first single and video clip from Cypress Hill's new Ruffhouse/Columbia album, Black Sunday. It's also a warning: that when it comes to the Cypress Hill crew, crazed intensity is more than skin deep; it's a state of mind and a way of life. Cypress Hill -- visionary rappers B-Real and Sen Dog, and DJ/Producer Muggs -- are back again and explosive as ever. The group's self-titled Ruffhouse/Columbia RIAA platinum debut album of 1991 has sold more than 1 million copies to date in the US, establishing them as one of the most popular as well as hardest hitting, musically innovative, hip-hop acts on the planet Earth. The Cypress Hill album remained in the upper reaches of the Billboard's Pop Album chart for over 73 weeks, earning the group the Billboard Music Award for Best Rap Artist. That's a hard act to follow, but B-Real and company remained cool under pressure. "When it came to Black Sunday, people asked 'can we top the last one,' you know? What we did was take all those questions about making a follow-up and asked ourselves that shit." "With everything that had been going on this year, we felt we should have made this album months ago but we were doing a lot of shows and that took time away from doin' the album. We were kind of frustrated that we hadn't started yet, because we were so eager to make this record. We came up with a lot of dope shit that we felt topped the last one. So being that we were hungry to do it, it brought out the best when we finally got to record." They continue, "The new album is named Black Sunday because its whole vibe is ominous. The album was recorded in Muggs' native New York in early '93. (Revisit the LP, the press release continues below)...

"Insane In The Bran" features a hydraulic bass groove and pounding beat being strafed by braying screeches -- classic Cypress Hill. "I wrote "Insane In The Brain" about when people come to our concerts they lose their mind in the adrenaline of it all. It's also talking about some of the people on the street, who are just crazy motherf#ckers." "When The Shit Goes Down," the B-side to "Insane In The Brain," and second video, is also cautionary. Cypress Hill may be stoners, but don't think for a minute they're sleeping. The rap is a reminder for everybody out there to be ready when the going gets rough. "It's saying, 'don't sleep,' because if you sleep and let somebody get the drop on you, whether it's in the business, sports, rap, or out on the street fighting, you just gotta be ready for anything." Muggs cooks up an ultra-funky mix of scratchy deep fried soul guitars and fat bass licks. "Ain't Goin' Out Like That" opens with looped feedback, giving way to saxophone screeches, a jazzy bass figure and crackling drums. B and Sen's raps reprise some of the rhymes from the debut album that helped establish them as the hardest and smartest hip hoppers on the street, promising more of the same and then some this time around. In addition, Black Sunday includes special new, never commercially available versions of "A to the K" (the original appeared on the Juice soundtrack) and "Hand On The Glock" (a radical remodeling of "Hand on the Pump"). In order to make the album more readily available to Cypress' younger fans, there will be a clean, unstickered version. - Press Kit '93. 

MFR "Reelin' In The Years With DJ Muggs" (MIx)

Muzzle Flash Radio specializes in producing advanced mixtapes of all genres through the eyes of two hardcore beat heads in North Carolina: Monte Smith + JJ The Genius. For their latest mixtape, MFR pays tribute to Soul Assassin's very own, DJ Muggs. Celebrating various tracks from the super producer's back catalog, you'll hear tracks featuring Mellow Man Ace, House of Pain, Ice Cube, Yo-Yo, Funkdoobiest, Call O' Da Wild, LA The Dark Man, Goodie Mob, KRS-One, Dr. Dre, Prodigy, GZA, MF Doom, Meyhem Lauren, Roc Marciano, Flee Lord, Rome Streetz, and among others, of course his group, Cypress Hill. One of the greatest producers of our generation, still making incredible music that honors his legacy and also keeps him highly relevant in today's industry. Dig into the mix below...

DJ Muggs "Dies Occidendum" (Instrumental Album)

Dies Occidendum is a mythical voyage across fog-laden, scorched earth terrain from the original friar of dark hip hop, DJ Muggs the Black Goat. Known and revered as the sonic mastermind behind both Cypress Hill and his own Soul Assassins imprint, here Muggs sheds the MCs and presents his latest dark-soaked productions as an illuminated manuscript of sorts; a fully immersive, instrumental soundtrack to the mysterious Dies Occidendum. No one wields the Excalibur of sonic darkness quite like Muggs. Combining ingredients of psych rock, gypsy folk with modern elements of trap, forged together under layers of his signature sonic grime, Muggs has created yet another blueprint for the utmost sonic menace and macabre. As one of the original architects of dark hip hop in the early ’90s, DJ Muggs helped craft a singular sound that blended darker sensibilities of psychedelic rock and hip hop in a unique way that influenced many in its wake. Stream his Dies Occidendum LP below...

DJ Muggs & Rome Streetz "Death & The Magician"

Death and the Magician is another stunning creation from DJ Muggs, and his ever-expanding Soul Assassins discography. DJ Muggs writes, “Death and the Magician is a sonic and lyrical onslaught on a dark rainy night in NYC, and is based on the Major Arcana cards in the tarot deck. The Death card signals that one major phase in your life is ending, and a new one is going to start. You just need to close one door so the new one will open. The past needs to be placed behind you, so you can focus your energy on what lies ahead.When the Magician appears it points to the talents, capabilities, and resources at the querent’s disposal to succeed. The message is to tap into one’s full potential rather than holding back, especially when there is a need to transform something.” A powerful collaboration between a bonafide legend and a future veteran, also featuring Knowledge the Pirate and Rigz, dig into Death and The Magician streaming below and also available on tape, CD and vinyl...

DJ Filthy Rich "Temples Of Boom" (25th Ann. Mix)

Toronto's DJ Filthy Rich is back with another tribute mixtape, celebrating 25 Years of Cypress Hill's 'Temples Of Boom'. It's a very gritty and hardcore album, possibly in response to the criticism they unfairly received after the commercial success of 'Black Sunday'. B-Real admits they were going through a troubled period in their lives, and it shows on this LP. The lyrics and beats are dark, sombre and haunting, and there's no 'radio' track to be found anywhere on the project. This is some of Muggs' best - and most underrated - work, says Filthy Rich. I'll admit, I didn't give this album a lot of attention at the time, for unknown reasons so this 25th Anniversary Mix is really walking me back through it with new ears all these years later. Let me know if the audio link goes down, please.

Below is the album review in The Source (12/95). 4 Mics...

Cypress Hill "Cypress Hill" (August 13, 1991)

"When you really want to hear something different take a trip deep, deep underground and you will find Cypress Hill ominously lamping in a thick cloud of buddah smoke. The Cypress Hill experience is purely pscyho-delic. Imagine a rhythmic, progressive tribe vibe combined with ultraviolent gangsta grooves. The music is dark and murky yet it remains hard and funky at the same time. Cypress takes a straight-up uncompromising look at life in the urban battlefield with songs like "Pigs," "Kill A Man," and "Hand on the Pump." DJ Muggs, formerly of 7A3, provides the heavily blunted beats while MC's Senen (Sen Dog) and B-Real kick ballistics in a crazy offbeat and unorthodox style.... this slamming debut album is one of the best new albums of '91. It will definitely have heads nodding - and nodding out - this summer and beyond." - The Source (August, 1991). That's a big compliment when you consider the classic albums that were released in 1991: NWA "Efil4zaggin," EPMD "Business As Usual," Brand Nubian "All For One," De La Soul "De La Soul Is Dead," Gang Starr "Step In The Arena," Main Source "Breaking Atoms," A Tribe Called Quest "Low End Theory" and Naughty By Nature's self-titled album, just to name a few! Cypress Hill was also named "Artist of the Year - Group" by The Source in '92. The LA Times gave the album a mostly-favorable review, however they felt, "the tracks are built around the simplest of repeated patterns, as if the producers had just figured out how to work a sampler." I think they missed the mark, not understanding the true genius behind Muggs' production. Their debut LP was released on this day in 1991, revisit it below!

Copies of some of the press for Cypress Hill's debut in 1991...

DJ Muggs & Crimeapple "Medallo" (Album Stream)

Welcome to Medallo. Fresh off releasing his Dia Del Asesinato album and dropping quality projects with Roc Marciano (KAOS), Mach-Hommy (Tuez-Les Tous), Eto (Hell’s Roof), and a couple others, DJ Muggs has now teamed up with NY spitter CRIMEAPPLE (who released Wet Dirt earlier this year) for a joint album called Medallo. Recorded in Colombia (of course) this past February, the album checks in at 12 tracks with features from Conway and Primo Profit. - via 2DBZ. Listen to it below...

DJ Muggs & Eto "Hell's Roof" (Album Stream)

Hell’s Roof is a 12-song album by DJ Muggs and Eto, which uses haunting samples, dense drums, and introspective rhymes to paint a dark story about life in a city that ranks among the poorest in the country. According to a census poll, 33% of Rochester’s residents currently live in poverty and a staggering 50% of children live below the poverty line, putting Rochester in the Top 10 poorest cities in the USA. With poverty reaching epidemic levels, residents turn to life on the streets as a solution, the same space where Eto has honed his skills. The collision of the legendary West Coast producer and the young roughneck spitter creates a powerful sound on HELL’S ROOF. Listen below...

DJ Muggs & Roc Marciano "KAOS" (Album Stream)

Producer and founding member of Cypress Hill, DJ Muggs and NY’s finest, Roc Marciano have joined for a collaborative album titled KAOS - a 10-song score made to soundtrack an upcoming feature film coming in Spring 2019. The film follows two childhood friends, Muggs and Roc Marci, who were brought up in different areas of New York: Hempstead, Long Island and Flushing, Queens. After a significant amount of time spent apart, they are reunited after Muggs serves out a 10-year prison bid. With hopes to rule the streets once again, the duo act out in ‘kaos’ towards anyone who tries to get in their way. An interesting blurb... but can I keep it a buck? I'm on the fence with KAOS. I know it's good music, but I'm gonna have to sit with it and see how it grows on me (II). Listen below...

Ice Cube "The Predator" (Press Kit, 1992)

"In all the controversy that's surrounded his career since he wrote a tune called "Boyz N The Hood" for his homeboy Eazy-E five years ago, there's one thing that journalists sometimes forget to mention about Ice Cube: he's one of the most mesmerizing MCs in hip-hop. Well, that's an issue quickly put to rest on "Wicked," the first single off his new album, The Predator. What's the song about? "I just wanted to get loose," he says, laughing. "I entertain, too. I make records and I can bust. That song describes the way I feel when I'm doing a show and the crowd's going crazy: I feel wicked." A bouncy, noisy jam, "Wicked" typifies Ice Cube's approach to music-making. "I don't stick to one producer. That's why my records sound so different," he explains. "Otherwise it'll sound stale." Cube hooked up with Torcha Chamber, who laid thee tracks for "Wicked," in an unconventional way." 

"In addition to longtime Lench Mob crew members Pooh and Jinx, Cube was joined in the studio by Mixmaster Muggs of Cypress Hill who injected his gangsta swagger in three tracks: "Now I Gotta Wet 'Cha," an ominous warning to cowards and punks, "We Had To Tear This M.F. Up," a look back at the Rodney King uprising which is full of horns and a furious acoustic bass, and "Check Yo Self," featuring back-up by Das EFX on its chorus. "Muggs is the kind of guy who'll work all night if he has to. The trip about him is that he'll create a whole song and will stop and say, 'Fuck it, I don't like it.' He'll erase the loop that he worked ten hours on and replace it with a better one. Most people can't criticize themselves enough to do that ... their ego is too big to start all over."

"The Predator differs from Death Certificate in that last year's flavor was more of a concept album, with it's "Death Side" and "Life Side." "I didn't want to go with a format on this record. I just wanted to do the tracks that I wanted to do." Did you find that is limiting in a way? "No, I didn't find it limiting. I just felt as if it's already been done and I'm not into doing records that's already been done or trying to recreate any old records..." Between the enthusiasm of newcomers like Torcha Chamber and the professionalism of vets like Muggs, Jinx and Pooh, The Predator's sound is anything but boring." - Press Kit. The Predator was released on November 17th, 1992. 

Funkdoobiest 'Which Doobie U B?' (May 4, 1993)

'Doobie, with bonified funk for your fanny...' The LA-based crew, Funkdoobiest, consisted of Son Doobie, DJ Ralph M and Tomahawk Funk, and they released their debut album, 'Which Doobie U B?,' on this day in 1993 through Epic/Immortal Records. The project was executive produced by DJ Muggs, who clearly played a major role in the overall sound of the project along with DJ Lethal, T-Ray, and DJ Ralph M. If not for the Soul Assasins connection and my DJ partner at the time being more open to West Coast influences, I might have missed this release back in '93. To be honest, I was initially more intrigued by the wild artwork by Glenn Barr, the clear vinyl, and the project's heavy production. The big singles on the LP were 'Bow Wow Wow,' 'Wopbabalubop,' 'The Funkiest,' and the B-Side, 'Funk Mode.' Released in the days of cassettes, it was hard not to notice that 3 of those 4 tracks were released in succession to open up the album, with 'Wopbabalubop' on Side B; I can remember fast-forwarding to it, lol. All in all, however, it's a very solid debut release and it does take me back to the basement making those early mixtapes. ''My thoughts are collected for the funk, expect it." As I said, I've always loved the OG art by Glenn Barr, check it out...

Revisit Funkdoobiest's Which Doobie U B? below...

Cypress Hill "Black Sunday" (The Source, 9/93)

"About two years ago, the patriarchs of the Soul Assassins family made their platinum debut with a style not geared towards a specific race or religion; its stoneish message was universally received. Since then, hip-hoppers have been eagerly awaiting the return of the Phunky Feel Ones. This month, Cypress is set to settle all those geeking for another hit of the same flavor with a darker sequel, Black Sunday. The entire album is consistent throughout with a formula of ill funk horns, signature sirens, guitar and piano riffs, all laid over lead-bottom bass that you sometimes feel in back of your throat. The production of DJ Muggs and T-Ray creates a perfect stage for the twisting nasal flow of B-Real, and the cartoonish echoes of Sen Dog. The Cypress Hill style is chorus-oriented and without question, hip-hoppers will be chanting... "I want to get high, so high," and "When the shit goes down, ya better be ready" ... from the album's stronger tracks." Cont'd...

"While the first release, "Insane In The Membrane," is cool, it is far from the highlight of the album. Among the best are "When The Shit Goes Down," with a catchy blues guitar riff, and "I Ain't Goin' Out" - both of which are up-tempo, get-amped tracks.... The album is definitely worth buying as it easily rips the frame out of all of those Cypress bandwagon jumpers. If you liked the first album, or the Soul Assassin's sound, Black Sunday is the real deal. While Cypress Hill isn't particularly educational or enlightening, the musical drug they produce does have recreational properties; it creates atmosphere and attitude to enhance your high. So... just lounge and let the bass flow."

Cypress Hill "25th Anniversary" (Mix by DJ Matman)

To mark the 25th anniversary of Cypress Hill's smoked-out, self-titled debut LP, DJ Matman has cooked up a sweet mixtape featuring album tracks, remixes, and original sample material. You should already be familiar with all the classics included on their debut album, but the real gems lie in the walk through these classic original samples from The Bar Kays, Booker T. & The MG's, Curtis Mayfield, Grant Green, Jack Margolis, Muddy Waters, The J.B.'s, Kool And The Gang, Jimmy McGriff, Willie Hutch, Grand Wizard Theodore and lore more. Peace to DJ Muggs, B-Real and Sen Dog.

Cypress Hill "Insane In The Brain" (The Source, 6/93)

"The much-anticipated return of the boys from the Hill finds B-Real, Sen Dog and DJ Muggs kicking flavor similar to the material on their debut smash LP - and that's a good thing. The A-Side begins with an insane Latino voice saying, "Don't you know I'm loco?" and leads into a hardcore track that sounds like Pete Rock's "The Creator" coupled with deep bass and trademark screechy noise. B-Real shows and proves that his nasal flow never gets played, and after two billion other records have talked about smoking weed, it's almost reassuring to hear the standard Cypress tales of shooting down suckers and puffing mad herb. The hook utilizes Sen's baritone response voice - when B-Real says "Insane in the membrane," Sen calls back with "insane in the brain!" Check out the video...

"The b-side kinda reminds you of the Wild West, with its bouncy bass, long organ sound, and B-Real saying, "I'm comin' out blastin like Yosemite Sam!" Guaranteed: the nearly one million fans of the first Cypress LP will be grooving to these tracks, proving the old saying correct: if it ain't broke, don't fix it." - Sure Shot Single in The Source, June 1993. A full copy of the review is available below.