Tue Oct 12 2021
4
I noticed some of the lyrics seem to imply that these boys are not on very good terms with the police.
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From the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.
Cypress Hill
Cypress Hill
1991
- Album Summary
Cypress Hill is the debut studio album by the American hip hop group Cypress Hill. It was released on August 13, 1991 by Ruffhouse Records and Columbia Records. Recording sessions for the album were held at Image Recording Studios in Los Angeles from August 1990 to May 1991. The majority of the production was handled by DJ Muggs. The album was critically and commercially successful proving to be a major success for the group. Receiving major air-play on urban radio and college radio helped the albums popularity. The album went Double platinum in the U.S. with over 2 million units sold. The album is broken down track-by-track by Cypress Hill in Brian Coleman's book Check the Technique published in 2007, 16 years after the album release.
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Sat Apr 17 2021
4
This album is funky and fun stoner psychedelic rap from the streets. Amazing stuff and it has a through line that makes sense in hip hop history.
Sat Dec 11 2021
4
When it comes to hip-hop, I'm a fan of good lyrics. Why would you listen to someone talking for an hour if they having nothing interesting to say? Largely, this mean I'm not a fan of gangsta rap. However, I've I did have a soft spot for Cypress Hill about 15 years ago when I used to smoke weed. I had this album on CD and have fond memories of smoking bongs and playing old Sega games. Listening to it again after all these years, holy fuck I'm blown away by how consistently great DJ Muggs is. He takes short snippets of funk and soul, then transforms them into these new compositions which are quintessentially 1990s. It's amazing how much hip-hop producing had progressed since the 80s. In terms of lyrics, there is lots of stuff here about guns, drugs and cars... but it's nowhere near as obnoxious as most gangsta rap, and the two rappers have such cool, compelling flow. Overall, even though this is lyrically a little boring and even though I don't smoke weed anymore, this is an immensely enjoyable record. 4*
Fri Aug 06 2021
5
420 stars.
Tue Jul 13 2021
4
Tough to evaluate, as Black Sunday is my all time favourite rap album but I somehow hardly ever listened to this....and Hand on the Pump/Glock opens a whole can of worms. By definition, a cover of a song you like is unlikely to match it, but what if the cover is by the same artist and you heard the cover first! At first this seemed to be a work in progress. There is something going down but it's not as slick, witty or inventive as BS, but the second half really starts to get it's funk on and points inexorably to the masterpiece that they produced next. Probably need to be young, frustrated and stoned to get the most out of it though.
Tue Jan 25 2022
4
I felt stoned just listening to this.
Thu Jan 14 2021
3
Cypress Hill is on that leading edge of gangsta rap going mainstream and, for purposes of cultural relevance, belongs on the list. That said, it's not my favorite. The boom-bap beats and devil-may-care delivery are fun but the lyrics just wear me down after a while.
Thu Feb 25 2021
5
I remember hearing Cypress Hill a lot on the radio and I don't think I appreciated them at the time. I'm glad to have an opportunity to listen to them as an adult when I have a great appreciation for rap music
Sat Dec 04 2021
5
From bossa nova to Latin hip-hop. Wow, I think I'm loving Latin music. I'm not a big fan of rap and marijuana culture. So I'm surprised by how much I enjoyed this impressive album. First of all, the beats and the sampling are awesome. Apparently, they made it marijuana-style psychedelic, which explains the trippy atmosphere of the songs. There is also something about their rapping that gets me. I like smooth yet solid nasal delivery, it's not overly angry and it fits perfectly with the beat. Overall, kudos for one of the first rap albums that I genuinely loved. PS. So that's one of the songs RATM covered. PPS. Cover art effort = 1/5; Production effort = 5/5.
Fri Aug 25 2023
5
Inventive, twisted samples courtesy of DJ Muggs, funny and frightening lyrics delivered with trademark cartoonish, nasal sing song flow by B-Real and ably supported by Sen Dog’s hard as nails throwdowns and raps. Still sounds fresh today and is a lot of fun. Pair this with ‘Black Sunday’ for an extra good time, and I dare you to name a more iconic duo than these 2 albums.
Wed Jan 13 2021
4
Unique flow, super fun record. Gives you a lean in your step. Figured that the delivery would get old after a little, but it never really did. Favorite tracks: "Stoned Is the Way of the Walk", "How I Could Just Kill a Man"
Thu May 20 2021
4
5 out of 5 production - it is funky as fuck. The writing was pretty full on at times even by Biggie/Eminem standards but it didn't stop me nodding my head. Tres Equis and Latin Lingo are easy highlights (maybe because they're not in English - just kidding)
Fri Jan 29 2021
4
Distinctive, cruisy and just great beats/samples. Reminds me of high school. How I could just kill a man is my fav track
Fri Apr 23 2021
4
4.0 - Can’t believe I slept on this one for so long - it’s magnificent! The beats from start to finish are impeccable. The way they blend musical samples from so many sources and make it sounds that seamless? Incredible. I love the stories here. The rhymes and the flow are unique - I love that knucklehead scoundrel MC sound they got going. These songs transport you into their world briefly.
Sun Aug 15 2021
4
Good samples, lyrical variety with different deliveries demonstrated from song to song. Lyrical themes start off generally focused on taking tough and exacting punishment, especially on pigs, then transitions to blazing after ultraviolet dreams, offering a lighter tone to the album before finishing funky. Leans heavily on repeated choruses but the strengths are the verses. Distinct nasally vocals are occasionally distracting. Pigs, kill a man, phuncky feel one, Latin lingo
Tue Sep 21 2021
4
Classic! Great beats and rhymes, inane lyrics that are both too silly and too violent to know what to think, and B-real's nasally voice, you either love or hate. So many songs have built off of samples from this album, listening to this is like a greatest hits of all the hip hop it inspired afterwards.
Tue Oct 12 2021
4
I mean, genius stuff. Punchy, fluid. Great mixing. Inventing things and reinventing things. Gritty and angry, but playful.
Wed Jan 26 2022
4
It was really hard to get past all the casual homophobia but this is undoubtably a really strong album
Sat Apr 16 2022
4
Genre: West Coast Hip Hop 4/5 Another solid entry in the West Coast Hip Hop genre, Cypress Hill's self-titled debut is a playful and humorous album with plenty of quick rhymes and phat, boom-bap style beats. The early 90s are littered with soundalikes and imitators, as rap and hip hop were taking over the charts, as well as the culture. Cypress Hill, however, was creating their own unique lane in the rap game, and would soon find that their sound was the one which would be copied and ripped off for years to come. Regardless of how lyrically aggressive some of the tracks may be here (Pigs, Hole in the Head), the core of the record, and the messages behind most tracks, are engaging, conscious, and are handled with a biting sense of humor. How I Could Just Kill a Man, the big single and best song on the album, and a song which would become further popularized after Rage Against the Machine covered it, is a tongue-in-cheek look at gun violence and the unfortunate necessity for members of the black community to carry a weapon, with B-Real and Sen Dog trading witticisms like hobbyists trade cards. A tragic, yet quirky play on your average west coast hip hop album, while accidentally providing the sonic blueprint for many records which would follow. Really lovely record overall, and one I will certainly revisit.
Thu May 19 2022
4
I wasn't so familiar with this album, more so with Black Sunday. Enjoy the album, I kinda phased out and got into the beats. No idea what the lyrics were about, getting stoned and police harassment I guess. Good album, shame about the artwork though.
Thu May 19 2022
4
If I'm honest I got into this on the back of black Sunday which wa the album after. But after all these years sounds great. They crew a sound like no other with their funky break down and contrasting voices. Stoned is the way of the walk is still one my all time favourite hip hop songs.
Mon Jan 10 2022
3
Well, they have a place in this genre. It's hard to evaluate so many different sides of hip hop. They sound polished and their lyrics are quick and strong. The sound is unmistakable, and clearly they took the west coast hip-hop style and ran with it. They are the product of a violent sub-culture, and on one side, like NWA, they comment on the violence around them and the disparity between groups, and they also glorify violence both as posturing and as a way to promote the conversation. This is distressing and requires context to understand appropriately so not to consider it glorification. That being said, I think Cypress HIll lean too far into the violent side without much explanation. The gangsta side is pretty heavy handed here, but the pro-marijuana element is a nice side theme to their work. Overall, this is a pretty solid album, albeit, the emergence of the band more than what I think they were capable of becoming, which their next couple albums accomplishes. 3.5/5
Mon Mar 22 2021
2
Not strictly bad, just boring.
Sat Jun 12 2021
2
C'est du rap
Fri Feb 04 2022
2
2,5; amazing How I could just kill a man; album is not bad, it's just kinda boring
Mon Oct 31 2022
2
Boring
Wed Jul 21 2021
5
Such great hip hop. Don’t think I’ve ever gone through this LP before today
Tue Feb 16 2021
5
fucking love this album. the production slaps
Fri Feb 19 2021
5
Vibes
Wed Apr 07 2021
5
Schlimmes Artwork, aber geiler Oldschool Rap-Sound! Beginn der Westcoast Ära
Fri May 07 2021
5
good
Tue Jul 27 2021
5
Top 90s hip hop
Tue Oct 12 2021
5
jag är ingen hip-hop-tjej men det här var något i hästväg. snuskigt bra.
Sat Nov 06 2021
5
mierda clásica.
Sun Jan 16 2022
5
I remember some of the singles from their second album and quite liked those, but for some reason never checked out their debut. Glad we got it on the list, because I very much enjoyed it.
Fri Feb 04 2022
5
Great. Groundbreaking
Fri Feb 11 2022
5
5, Certified Hood Classic
Tue Mar 01 2022
5
really good, i love older rap and this just rly excells
Mon Mar 14 2022
5
Yo this jawn is fire, haven’t listened to it in a long time but Sen Dog, B Real and DJ Muggs made an absolute classic here: banger after banger. Some of the best old-school hip-hop production you’ll ever hear is on this record… straight fire
Sun Mar 20 2022
5
4.5/5. Quite classic and essential. 👍
Tue Apr 26 2022
5
Nice album
Thu May 19 2022
5
Man, that hit the spot. Some amazing beats, loved the deep bass sound, the party atmosphere. Hip hop is not my genre at all but thought it was irresistible. Music is weird like that. This is what this project is all about, finding cool stuff you wouldn't normally listen to. This is likely to become my go-to party album. Loads of great tracks but I especially enjoyed 'Light Another'.
Wed May 25 2022
5
Was heerlijk fietsen op deze
Fri May 27 2022
5
Dig it!
Wed Jul 13 2022
5
Just about every song on here hits, and it gets straight to the point with classic 90's hip-hop. All killer, no filler.
Fri Jul 15 2022
5
Came to this only knowing 'How I Could Just Kill A Man'... Fun samples and just grabbed me.
Mon Aug 08 2022
5
My favorite Cypress Hill album by far!
Sun Aug 14 2022
5
cool
Sun Aug 28 2022
5
From the very first track, the landmark significance of this album impresses itself on you. Just an outstanding debut which doesn’t overstay its welcome, as with so many of its contemporaries and imitators. Infectious beats, catchy hooks - a hip-hop masterpiece without question.
Wed Sep 07 2022
5
Classic hip hop
Thu Sep 08 2022
5
Liked
Thu Sep 29 2022
5
Like Clash's London Calling that came up a day or two ago, I want to give this a 4.5, but I can't. Again, this is a classic album, and in this case it was definitely a soundtrack to a part of my life long gone - so for that it gets the benefit of Swedish rounding.
Sat Oct 01 2022
5
Really great confrontational 90s hiphop. All of the sampling is great. Made me want to kill a man. 5 stars.
Thu Oct 20 2022
5
Beautiful album - it has wit, agression, inventive use of rhyme and samples. Excellent
Thu Dec 01 2022
5
Love this album, didn't even need to listen
Mon Dec 19 2022
5
awesome amazing
Thu Feb 09 2023
5
I have it on wax - it's a hip hop classic. It's the bouncing, off the wall DJ Muggs production. Even when this album isn't giving 10s it's giving interesting two minute experiments. I love it!
Mon Mar 06 2023
5
Great album using sampling. Usually I find it hard to vibe with album depicting black culture since there's a lot of excessive seating involved, but the lyrical content of this album is just the right balance
Thu Mar 09 2023
5
I love 90s hip-hop, start of an era
Thu Mar 16 2023
5
Another awesome album I'm very familiar with, it's been a while so looking forward to hearing it again!
Tue Mar 28 2023
5
This album was lit. It felt good listening to some classic hip hop again
Thu Apr 06 2023
5
Blunty horror core from the old dark school. My kinda hip hop.
Tue Apr 11 2023
5
I haven't listened to this in decades. What a mistake, I apologize. This whole thing is incredible. They have a unique sound that is instantly recognizable with cool lyrics and catchy beats. Pretty much every song got a "like" from me.
Wed Apr 19 2023
5
9/10 based as fuck
Sat May 13 2023
5
Fantastic early 90s rap album. A masterpiece of it's time.
Thu Jun 15 2023
5
90’s best hip hop
Wed Jun 21 2023
5
The straight dope
Wed Sep 20 2023
5
The first album is a giant classic of hip hop. Not only you have the cartoonish, near-parody of gangsta rap with B-Real's & Sen Dog's lyrics that show how you can laugh about yourself and still be gangsta at the same time. It is mostly known for the production by DJ Muggs who as a Westcoast guy uses an near all-sampled approach of classics of funk and soul music in a very sophisticated way. Their music would get darker in the subsequent records so many people consider this record as one of the bests. I say you can listen to all of those first four albums. Best tracks: How I Could Just Kill A Man, Latin Lingo, Hand On The Pump, Stoned Is The Way Of The Walk
Fri Oct 13 2023
5
V good
Wed Nov 15 2023
5
I should have listened to this a long time ago.
Thu Nov 23 2023
5
Love it! I’m biased towards Cypress Hill so the album was top tier
Wed Nov 29 2023
5
Has me hangin' out the window with my Magnum, takin' out some puto's
Sat May 01 2021
4
Like all great hip hop albums this was funky as hell. Short sharp and concise!!
Tue May 18 2021
4
3.5/5. I liked this. I haven’t listened to much west cost hip hop, so it was nice to hear some new things. Definitely more violent than east coast.
Fri Nov 06 2020
4
7/10
Tue Apr 20 2021
4
Cypress cypress Hill y’all.
Sun Apr 25 2021
4
4.20
Thu Jan 28 2021
4
Loved hearing it from back in the day ... starts off really strong and fades in the middle a bit before coming back at the ends.
Thu Jan 28 2021
4
Bars bars BARS
Fri Mar 26 2021
4
How I Could Just Kill A Man es el obvio referente y ninguna de las otras canciones se le acerca en popularidad. Resaltan las canciones en español y los coros que acentúan la voz principal en ciertos momentos en la mayoría de las canciones, al igual que los sampleos, muy diferentes a lo que hemos escuchado hasta ahora. 3.5 estrellas que después de mucho debate suben a 4 porque está a la par de los otros 2 o 3 discos de hip hop que me han gustado.
Fri Jun 25 2021
4
Good album, good concept and good rhymes... it closes a bit claustrophobic.
Fri Feb 19 2021
4
Good 90s rap
Mon Jan 25 2021
4
Rap/hip-hopzinho bem bom, ouviria pra pegar estrada ou algo assim.
Tue Feb 16 2021
4
Tara insists this is a fucking 4.
Mon Feb 15 2021
4
Pretty good
Sun Mar 07 2021
4
.
Sat May 08 2021
4
Klassiker
Wed Jun 09 2021
4
It's no Black Sunday, but there are some solid jams on here. I especially love "Psycobetabuckdown"!
Tue Apr 27 2021
4
SHEEESHHHHHH
Thu May 06 2021
4
No pense que me fuera a gustar mucho el rap de los 90s clasico pero me sorprendio tengo varias canciones favoritas: Real State, Pigs, How I Could Kill A Man, Stoned is the Way of the Walk, The Funky Cypress Hill Shit
Mon Jun 21 2021
4
Great shit. Beat can get a bit monotonous song after song, but generally each song on it's own is solid and the album is great.
Fri May 14 2021
4
Phenomenal beats throughout, and every track is a lyrical blast. Opens strong and just gets stronger. Added to the rotation!
Wed May 19 2021
4
not what i expected but still good
Sat Jun 12 2021
4
33. No me gustan las cucarachas en la oficina. Me atrapan junto a la cocina y me suben las piernas. Me quedo quieto. ¡Que te calles! ¡Que se joda la policia, viniendo bajo la tierra! MotA: Pigs "This pig harassed the whole neighborhood / Well this pig worked at the station"
Mon Jul 05 2021
4
Haven't listened to much rap, so I don't have a lot to compare it to, but I liked it.
Sun Jul 25 2021
4
Good one
Tue Aug 03 2021
4
very fun, old-skool, group hip-hop
Sat Aug 07 2021
4
Klasičan rap album gospode Cypress Hill. Odličan početak njihovog kataloga, još k tome posjedujem vinyl ovog albuma. Volim taj sirov zvuk i pucketanje na trakama.
Mon Aug 23 2021
4
I say goddamn... this is bread and butter meat and potatoes gangster rap. Awesome samples, hard-hitting lyrics, nasty grooves. One of the best.
Sat Sep 25 2021
4
30 years on and this still sounds fresh.