Cypress Hill

Repeat listen

One of the top albums of it's genre in the decade. Hands down.

Top 15 rap albums ever. Super fresh, creative, diferent sampling, new instruments, mix between gangsta rap and psychodic rap and its so good the interludes you dont skip. The flow of this album is perfect.

West coast best

I have the cassette and listen to it frequently. Great album

Just some gangster rappers that love funk 9 out of 10

With unique vocals, Funny lyrics, banging beats, Hip hop takes cool turn

Love this,

CYPRESS HILLLLLL!!!

real hood shit right here. the kind of hip hop music where you have a blunt in your mouth and your pimped out car won't stop bouncing to the radio. i'm not surprised that wikipedia lists these guys as pioneers of west coast hip hop, because these beats are SO good to listen to, making usage of distorted vox and bumping breaks. pro-kush, and plenty of stories about what it was like growing up in LA.

Great for the genre

Would def listen again, so good!

The beginning of one of thes best hiphop bands live or on wax. If you don't like the sound, you're wrong.

I forgot about Cypress Hill.. and I dont think I've actually ever listened to this album. It was fun.

Perfect transition from 80s rap to 90s. Full of classics. Excellent album

Fantastic. Hard, funky beats with a boisterous, playful energy. I loved all the little bells and whistles in the music — the sampling is top-notch. And the vocals occasionally add some sing-song hooks that add to the fun. The main rapper B-Real has a great, nasally voice and a killer flow. He reminds me of Danny Brown, one of my favorite current rappers. I always thought Danny Brown’s voice was one of a kind (it’s sort of an exaggerated, cartoonish version of B-Real) but it’s cool to see that he almost certainly drew inspiration from Cypress Hill. This was a blast and I’m excited to keep listening to it.

I have to confess that I really enjoyed the record. It’s actually cool rap music.

Best! Original! Innovative!

Great album. I had this back in the day but maybe never appreciated how ‘advanced’ it was for 91. Solid, funky production. Reasonably interesting flows for the time. Nice contrast with the nasal tone of B-real and the phat baritone of Sen Dog. I’m just glad these guy smoke a lot, because if the weed wasn’t mellowing them out a bit, imagine how aggressive they’d be on coke or booze? Maybe of the coolest things about Cypress Hill is how self referential they are. I love how they sample themselves and lay the foundations for future tracks.

a classic

Great album

This album is in my top ten of most listened to all time. I love it, I love Cypress Hill. It's crazy that The Cocteau Twins got two albums on the list but Cypress Hill's Black Sunday was left off. How I Could Just Kill a Man is the best Cypress Hill song ever. This is an all time great song: the beat, the lyrics. Hand On the Pump next...that might be the greatest back to back tracks on an album of all time. Hole In the Head is a great album track, they wouldn't lean into the Spanglish or Spanish lyrics until later, but you get a brief taste on it. 90s hip hop acts loved skits/intermissions in their albums. The Phuncky Feel One is another great album track. This might be the best hip hop album of all time. The hits were huge, influential and awesome and the album tracks are terrific. B-Real and Sen Dog are underrated MCs and DJ Muggs is an underrated DJ. Real Estate is going to roll right into Stoned Is the Way of the Walk, love it. These guys love weed. Latin Lingo...with the funky bilingual...underrated song. Latin Lingo was released as a single which I do not remember but it definitely deserved to be. Tres Equis was their first Exito en Espanol. Born to Get Busy's chorus and the party noise is the first thing I actively don't like about the album. One of the best albums ever made, confirmed.

Great album.

Classic

An amazing Rap album

That funky Cypress Hill shit.

A classic.

We played the crap out of this album in the early 90s. I got to see Cypress Hill a few times live. Once around 2002 at the Tabernacle in Atlanta and they cleared an 8ft bong during the show on a ladder. It was magic. They are underrated.

The perfect mash-up of NY and Cali hip-hop, from a band so influential they deserve far more credit. No massive hits on this album, but none the worse for it. Anyone who loves rap & hip-hop but doesn't rate Cypress Hill needs to have their sonic world expanded to include them.

Not my usual listen but I listened to this album at least three times. I will again now I think. Good stuff.

Not my genre but instantly a bop

Kickin that funky Cypress Hill shit Take a lot of mental for the blunted to chill with Cuz I'm the chill one, known to get ill one They stepped to the Hill "What's up?", I had to kill one Now I'm headed up the river with a boat and no paddle And they got me on lock down Headed up the river with a boat and no paddle And they got me on lock down Living like a nigga who done lost his mind Cause I ain't goin out like a spineless jellyfish Some say life is a bitch Ask that punk who dug his own ditch Out for the Hill fuckin up at a party Tried to get funny, put a hole in his body Look at all of those funeral cars Cause I'mma Sawed off shotgun, hand on the pump Left hand on a forty, puffin onna blunt Pumped my shotgun, niggas didn't jump I love this shit. 5/5

I didn't realize this was all Cypress Hill! Incredible! Truly OG's

420 stars.

Makes me wish I was a stoner again

Some ppl tell me that I need help

Satirical, bangers, lesser known (to me) than Black Sunday but just as good

Second early 90s rap album in a few days that I’ve really loved. Just now really getting a grasp of how big the boom in hip hop was in the late80s/early 90s. Like I knew of the huge acts before but now have so many different albums in this period that I love. Rating: 4.6

Ah, lads, listen up! Cypress Hill's album, "Cypress Hill," is a feckin' masterpiece. The beats hit ya like a well-poured pint, and the lyrics? Pure poetry with a rebellious spirit. It's a musical journey that'll have you nodding your head and raising your glass in the pub. Cheers to Cypress Hill!

Yes! Yes!

Has me hangin' out the window with my Magnum, takin' out some puto's

Love it! I’m biased towards Cypress Hill so the album was top tier

I should have listened to this a long time ago.

V good

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

The straight dope

90’s best hip hop

Fantastic early 90s rap album. A masterpiece of it's time.

9/10 based as fuck

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.

Blunty horror core from the old dark school. My kinda hip hop.

This album was lit. It felt good listening to some classic hip hop again

Another awesome album I'm very familiar with, it's been a while so looking forward to hearing it again!

I love 90s hip-hop, start of an era

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

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!

awesome amazing

Love this album, didn't even need to listen

Beautiful album - it has wit, agression, inventive use of rhyme and samples. Excellent

Really great confrontational 90s hiphop. All of the sampling is great. Made me want to kill a man. 5 stars.

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.

Liked

Classic hip hop

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.

cool

My favorite Cypress Hill album by far!

Came to this only knowing 'How I Could Just Kill A Man'... Fun samples and just grabbed me.

Just about every song on here hits, and it gets straight to the point with classic 90's hip-hop. All killer, no filler.

Dig it!

Was heerlijk fietsen op deze

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'.

Nice album

4.5/5. Quite classic and essential. 👍

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

really good, i love older rap and this just rly excells

5, Certified Hood Classic

Great. Groundbreaking

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.

mierda clásica.

jag är ingen hip-hop-tjej men det här var något i hästväg. snuskigt bra.

Top 90s hip hop

good

Schlimmes Artwork, aber geiler Oldschool Rap-Sound! Beginn der Westcoast Ära

Vibes

fucking love this album. the production slaps

Such great hip hop. Don’t think I’ve ever gone through this LP before today

Спонсоры хорошего настроения

Not sure how I hadn't heard this one. It goes hard

Awesome

Luv these guys

Honestly these were some of my favorite beats I've heard. This album felt so 90s and I loved it. Definitely got a bit repetitive, but how horrible is that? Favorites: How I Could Just Kill a Man, Ultraviolet Dreams, Light Another, The Funky Cypress Hill Shit, Tres Equis

second song is a damn masterpiece. album is great. beats are awesome. voices are unique. loved it a lot. so much better than the albums (the smiths and lou reed- boring) i've listened to so far. glad i listened to this. hole in your head! in your mother fuckin' head! so damn sick.

PEAKANUMA SAMPLE SPOTTED

Solider Hip Hop der gefällt.

Funky for real shit

Super Duper, I love Cypress hill - before we all jumped around, and were insane in the brain……🤪🤪

I've listened a bunch to Black Sunday, but have never actually put their debut on. It's *excellent*. DJ Muggs does not get enough love for these beats! If you're struggling to contextualize this, check out their NPR Tiny Desk concert. B-Real talks a bunch about the backdrop for this stuff.

Leuk album. Al wel bekend

West Coast hip hop, Latin hip hop.

Solid 3.7

I love 90s hip hop production. Insane in the Brain will always be their magnum opus though.

When to listen: party, unity, community, hype. I found myself bopping my head to every song. Loved the samples, especially the latin influence. Creative. V v good.

os clássicos do rap

Good writing, great beats and a lot of fun

Love the early 90s hip hope. Thought this would be cheesier, was pleasantly surprised

Оо

It’s hard to talk about influential hip-hop records without mentioning Cyprus Hill’s eponymous debut. Not only was this record very important in shaping the decades of stoner, Hispanic, and hardcore hip-hop, it also had a huge influence on the rap/rock/nu-metal that dominated the 90’s and early 2000’s. It’s not hard to see why this album was appealing to a broad spectrum of music fans. DJ Muggs’ samples alone are on the verge of mindblowing. His use of old soul records to create deep, textured, and psychedelic sounds is really cool. His production work is also shockingly good, considering this was indeed their debut. There is something very interesting in B-Real’s vocal style too, it’s high pitched, nasally, but for some reason I never find it to be grating or difficult to listen to. Lyrically I think this album is really something to behold as well. I’ve always had a soft spot in my heart for Cyprus Hill, and I had fun listening to this album for the first time in forever. 4*

I recognize a few of these tracks by name, but otherwise have not listened to this album. I feel like DJ Muggs is the real unsung hero of this album. The beats are all fantastic.

I really enjoyed the production to this album which feels like the limk between gangsta rap and artists lile Tribe and the Beasties with a latino element. Despite the lack of ‘Insane in the Membre’, the one CH track i actually remember this is s really strong offering

I sort of feel like I probably shouldn't like this album. But I did. Loved the sampling, the funkiness of it, the flow of the rapping. I am however massively unhappy to discover Insane In The Brain has not made it to the generator. Should really be a 3.5 but it's not a 3 so: 4/5

Consistent all the way through, no particular standouts but a solid album.

Strong

Vibe and cgeck

Didn't expect to enjoy this as much as I did. The beats, the samples, the wild guitar squeal or horns bleating or vocal wail or trill or scratch on a loop, all that was top notch and much more engaging to me than, say, Ice-Ts OG, which just recently came up as my album of the day. No real annoying tracks that wreck the flow of the album for me, it was just loaded with hooks the whole way through. An album that helped define the 90s. 4/5

Oh man… incredible debut album for a hip hop group. The unsung hero here is the legendary DJ Muggs who created the signature sound for groups like Cypress, House of Pain, Funkdoobiest and Soul Assassins. The beats and samples on this record are a good time and B Real is one of the best. Not the best Cypress record but a classic.

Giving it a 4 but I think Black Sunday would have been a better pick!

Enjoyable blend of chippy early 90s hip hop.

buena me agradó algo diferente

This one still slaps. Great musical energy, and the lyrics still make me chuckle with their cleverness. Hard not to get the head bobbing and hips moving when this one is spinning.

Not entirely sure how this passed me by at the time - it shouldn't have. It's going on the list. Heard before ✅️ Listened this time ✅️ Revisit ✅️ ★★★★☆ (7/10) Total reviewed : 301 Already owned : 68 Purchased : 15 To buy : 4 Nope : 214

What a throwback. Had this on cassette back in the day. 4/5

I was wondering if we were going to get Cypress Hill in here considering some of their contemporaries making the list. This was a great throwback to early 90's rap. Its funky, its weird, and sounds a little bit off but I think that works in its favor. Great lyricism, even though it runs way longer than I remember.

Really enjoyed this one. Cypress Hill is just such a fun group. Funny lines, unpolished sounding tracks, funky funky beats. It’s too long but I’m glad I’ve finally heard this one

I'm guessing which of the two Cypress Hill classics you prefer entirely depends on which one you encountered first. For me, that was Black Sunday, an album with a storied place in my childhood, and an album that I still listen to with some regularity today. But that's not on this list, so I'll gladly give their debut its flowers. They're so funny, the beats go hard, and that grimy, hazy, jazzy sound is ultra recognizable. There's maybe too little variation, but that's more or less true of nearly every rap album. I've never really partaken in the circumstances that this album almost requires, but I still love it to pieces.

Never listened to a full cypress hill album before and I wasn’t disappointed, great samples and great interplay between the members and great rapping. No skits too which is always a plus on a rap album. The only downside is that I wasn’t into some songs and I feel you could’ve cut the fat and made a super tight album with all bangers

Was an instant classic. Still stands up today.

Favorite Track: Hand On the Pump Least Favorite Track: Break It Up

listening to this just makes you wish you were latino... #real

holy moly, that’s awesome.

This is #day606 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and… here's another record from the golden age of hip-hop, aka one I'd never heard before. Cypress Hill is a name that definitely rings a bell, though. I'm not even sure what to say here, really. This kind of hip-hop always feels like quality by default. It's all about the atmosphere and the vibe, and this debut is no exception. A sonic time machine back to the early '90s. This is a 4 out of 5. I might even bump it up later. Looking forward to #day607.

Phuncky

Pretty solid

good 90s rap

Better than I thought it would be.

So much energy, a lot of fun to listen to

I liked some of DJ Muggs' projects (Dust and the Grandmasters collaboration with GZA).but only really know the Cypress Hill hits. The closest I've been to a bong is walking past the head shop in town but I quite enjoyed this and I think it's mainly due to Muggs grooves. Favourite song Pigs.

Great

A lovely marriage of hip-hop with funk and soul. The, now classic, DJ Muggs sound is evident throughout. The walking bass on 'Pigs' is excellent, (although the police's job is hard enough without these garbage lyrics). 'Light Another' is another superb bass-driven highlight, as well as 'Tres Equis' ('Very Hoarse'), and I am reminded of Fun Lovin Criminals' weed-induced funk rap. It's also like a breezy forerunner to House of Pain, and Cypress Hill are pretty much inventing the frat-boy rap sound (although I'm sure they'd bristle at such a claim, given they have a much more serious outlook, and maintain a more sinister and weed-induced atmosphere (B-Real was in the Bloods after all)). It also has early elements of rap-rock, melodic beats, and Latino-rap, without making any of those elements the album's defining feature. It's a clever mix of all of it, and hence a suitably commercial sounding affair, without losing credibility. What's more it's a rap album barely over 40 minutes, with no fake answering phone messages, nor any tracks where the rapper is having a conversation and imparting his inconsequential view on the world. These fellas just stick to business the whole way. Excellent.

3.75. Made for a fun grocery trip. I listened to later Cypress Hill but for some reason not this album. I dig it.

Good, not really my thing but a good example of the genre

3.62

The production feels fairly ahead of it's time: the heavy use of sorta unconventional samples- rock, funk, movies, Latino, psychedelic reminds me of Madlib or Alchemist production. It does start feeling formulaic- Hand on the Pump, Pigs, Real Estate & to a lesser extent Phuncky one & Kill a Man feel like proto Insane in the Brain. It feels cohesive, but also at the same time sorta starts to bleed together. I enjoyed this album quite a bit, high 3s I'd say.

Did anyone order a London Symphony Orchestra? Possibly while high? Cypress Hill, I'm looking in your direction. Great album. I used to have this on CD, but it disappeared years ago. Fun listen. Should have saved it until after work, tho. 🌳😶‍🌫️😶‍🌫️😶‍🌫️😶‍🌫️🌳 4.5⭐️ because I need to be in a Cypress Hill mood

Album No. 0177 on my list. I’m not sure what to make of Cypress Hill’s debut album to be frank. As I usually write when reviewing a hip hop album, I’m not that deep into the genre, so I sometimes find it hard to express my thoughts about hip hop records. “Cypress Hill’s” certainly has something to it, but I can’t really describe what exactly. It definitely will not become an all time favorite, but I can’t get something out of it. I found the lyrics somewhat monotonous (the members seem to enjoy the consumption of weed, but seem to dislike encounters with the police), but there are still some pretty good lines in this. The flow is solid and I like the extensive use of samples. Ah, in the end I find it rather good, actually, and will add “Pigs”, “How Could I Just Kill A Man”, “Ultraviolet Dreams”, and “Born To Get Busy” to my playlist. 4/5 stars!

The flow and delivery can feel a bit repetitive but when it’s powerful who cares?

Pigs Hand on the Pump Ultraviolet Dreams Tres Equis Born to Get Busy

Black Sunday was required reading when I was a teen, strangely I never got curious to listen to the rest of Cypress Hill’s discography, I’m stoked I got to listen to this one though. Their sound is definitely different to other artists, distinctive vocals, cussing in Spanish, DJ Muggs’ DJ skills. Going through this list has made me look at hip hop a bit different and appreciate how an awesome DJ really makes a difference; Muggs skills of blending old school funk with dirty drum and bass loops wasn’t something I thought too much about as a teen listening to hits from the bong, but as an adult find really cool

I'm actually quite impressed. It's a lot more listenable than the later ear worm tracks.

you will never be the Pharcyde

So sick. (Those fucking beats!) reminds of me Danny brown.

Not too many notes, a great rap debut with nothing crazy.

some bangers on here for sure. excellent when the voice matches the repetition and impact of the production. doesn’t feel essential overall but still a great listen.

7/10 Favorite: How I Could Just Kill a Man

A lot of fun. Jazzy, funky hip-hop beats with great flows and writing.

Probably nostalgia from my teen years.

Solid flow and very interesting early hip hop elements mixed with rock. Very unique in style and performance.

This album is psychedelic rap for stoners with a bit of a gangster edge to it. As a stoner I enjoy that. For some I can see how B-Reals voice can be annoying or grating, which is fair but I really liked this album and How I Could Just Kill A Man is soooo good.

I dont think i’ve ever listened to a whole Cypress Hill album. I should have. Their style reminds me of early Beastie Boys rock rap funky beats with easy rythm flow, hook chorus, etc. It’s great.

Personal enjoyment: 4/5 Relevance to this list: 5/5

The biggest shock of my life is that I’m giving this album a 4

Cypress Hill’s debut is an impressively consistent listen. Even as someone who doesn't typically gravitate towards hip-hop, I found the album’s rhythmic swing and funk-heavy sampling compelling. The vocals are sharp and distinctive, maintaining a momentum that never flags. A four-star album. 1 "Pigs" (3/5) 2 "How I Could Just Kill a Man" (4/5) 3 "Hand on the Pump" (5/5) 4 "Hole in the Head" (4/5) 5 "Ultraviolet Dreams" (3/5) 6 "Light Another" (3/5) 7 "The Phuncky Feel One" (3/5) 8 "Break It Up" (3/5) 9 "Real Estate" (3/5) 10 "Stoned Is the Way of the Walk" (4/5) 11 "Psycobetabuckdown" (3/5) 12 "Something for the Blunted" (3/5) 13 "Latin Lingo" (3/5) 14 "The Funky Cypress Hill Shit" (5/5) 15 "Tres Equis" (4/5) 16 "Born to Get Busy" (4/5) Total - 57 Average - 3.56 235/1001 131/235 albums reviewed were new to me.

periodt, mexican gangsta

Not for everyone but this live album showed the true skills of the band.

Enjoyed this. The rapping is fun, lyrics might seem a little generic for gangster rap as we think of it (guns, weed, police) but for 1991 this was good. The beats might be the real highlight, funky with latin influences, never boring at all. Good album

8/10

Ik dacht dat we af waren van de obsessie van onze snobs voor debuutalbums, maar hier hebben we er weer eentje. Op zich is er niks mis met dit album, maar het had denk ik logischer geweest om opvolger Black Sunday te pakken, waar de grote hit op staat. Maar goed, het gaf wel weer de gelegenheid om wat uitgebreider naar het oeuvre te kijken. Waar een zure broeder in zijn review al aangaf dat andere albums interessanter zijn, omdat Cypress Hill daar de verbinding zoekt met andere muziekgenres, heb ik die albums ook even geluisterd. Ik vind het zelf nog wel meevallen, er komt af en toe een gitaar bij, maar zelfs op rockgedeelte Bones van Skull & Bones is het toch merendeel een hiphop-sound. Het is net als zeggen dat een Rodenbach echt iets voor een wijnliefhebber is. Ik vind het dan dus interessant om nog dieper te gaan en juist een paar sideprojects van de rappende heren er uit te pakken. Om te beginnen Prophets of Rage, waar B-Real samenwerkt met Rage Against the Machine/Audioslave. Het project Kush samen met Deftones en Fear Factoryleden is helaas niet van de grond geraakt, dat had ik graag geluisterd. En Sen Dog met zijn rap metal Powerflo, samen met leden van Biohazard en Fear Factory. Het eerste album van Powerflo is een heerlijk staaltje hardcore metal. Leuk om te luisteren. Anyway, nu het al grote oordeel. Dit debuutalbum is niet meer dan 3 sterretjes waard, de opvolger een 3,5. Ik hou van de fusion met rock en metal en ondanks dat de samenwerkingen geen megagrote successen hebben opgeleverd, vind ik het wel interessant om te luisteren. Powerflo kan ik zo nog eens opzetten. Ik maak van de 3,5 een krappe 4 voor het totale oeuvre.

Enjoyed it. Sick beat and flow on most of the songs

Bringing plenty of Latin American flavour to West Coast hip-hop, Cypress Hill took the scene by storm in 1991 with their groundbreaking self-titled debut. Right up there with Ice-T, Ice Cube and Dr Dre, Cypress Hill ensured the West Coast hip-hop scene had plenty of solid foundations to branch out from at the turn of the 90s, however their sound also honoured the alternative rock boom that was happening at the same time. 'Cypress Hill', while very much a hip-hop record, also incorporates plenty of funky guitar riffs, dub-heavy bass and glitchy electronic songs that wouldn't be out of place on most 90s record. The group certainly understood the wider music scene at the time and there's no doubt this record inspired Korn and Limp Bizkit as much as it did Snoop Dogg or Outkast. Rappers B-Real and Sen Dog play off each other as well as plenty of the other great rap duos of the time (Public Enemy's Chuck D and Flava Flav, Run-DMC's Run and DMC), but what sets the Cypress Hill duo apart from the rest is how they manange to make quite extreme lyrics so fun and playful. There's no doubt they had plenty of fun putting this record together. Perhaps it was all the weed, given the fact that Cypress Hill are one of the most famous stoner groups around. As far as I'm concerned, 'Cypress Hill' walked so Outkast's 'Stankonia' could run, and both records are the perfect bookends for 90s hip hop, and while Snoop is probably the most famous stoner rapper now, Cypress Hill did it first. Best songs: How I Could Just Kill A Man, Hand on the Pump, Hole in the Head, The Phunky Feel One, Stoned is the Way of the Walk, Latin Lingo

OK, a big part of this rating is nostalgia but even so... these guys are pretty great. I've never listened to this album and really only knew "How I Could Just Kill a Man". But there are some solid tracks here.

Absolutely loved it. The only issue I had was that some transitions between songs were awkward.

This album is the birth of the sound that made the super-prolific Muggs the most sought after producer in hip-hop in the 1990's, Dr Dre aside. Bass-driven beats built from dusty soul samples, Latin drum breaks, rock guitar licks and scratches on the chorus. All sat in 90-96 BPM, the preferred time for most 1990s rap music. Other notable Muggs productions around this era are House of Pain's self titled debut album, including Jump Around, Funkdoobiest's Which Doobie UB? containing Bow-Wow-Wow (one of the best rap singles of all time) and key contributions to Ice Cube's The Predator, an albumWhat came next was Cypress Hill's Black Sunday, The vocals by B-Real and Senen/ SenDog, plus guests Mellow Man Ace (Sen's brother) were new, fresh and exciting in '91. They were the perfect match for the music Muggs was churning out at the time.

Great beats and holds up in the face of modern RnB and rap

Much more fun than I thought, good old school with plenty of fun beats and a fun delivery. Fun.

GREAT beats

An all around solid early hip-hop record full of memorable tracks.

Love the laid back funky groove.

So this hasn’t changed my pre-conception that these guys really really really love their weed, and they produce some of the best head nodding tunes out there. Tbh i don’t recall ever listening to this album, so it’s a funny one to review given half the time you’re thinking you’ve heard it before, and then realising they clearly borrowed a lot for their excellent 2nd album. They’ve got a very similar vibe, albeit this one seems to sample more funk (a bit like Beastie Boys of the similar time). The beats and lyrical patterns are just great, and the lyrical content, well it is what it is. And my head nods on.

80

Fun listen. They were an original.

Hell yeah

Just incredible vibes and production. Feels like rap on the edge of insanity (they should make a song about that). I aspire to hate cops as much as these guys hate cops.

Pretty cool

There's something to be said about the importance of lyrics in hip hop ... I mean, maybe not a whole lot, 'coz it's a real "no shit" kind of topic ... but there's something, nonetheless. What **is** hip hop if not the lyrics? I know in the past I've tried to look at this stuff without much focus on 'em, and I'll tell you in short that it didn't go over too well. But let's back up for a second and give a word to a larger topic: subject matter. Of course the exact words are the most important things, but what about what these songs are generally about? And the variety of topics? It's not something I often think about when it comes to rap albums, but with this album it ended up being more on my mind than not. Cypress Hill, on the album 'Cypress Hill', seem to cycle through three or four different topics: "we don't like cops", "we can kill you", "we're hot shit", and "weed". And in the back half, it's mostly "weed". That's not really exactly a lot of variety, huh? I mean, heck, there's the thought that they don't even talk about this stuff in a lot of different ways. This is a problem, innit? Well ... see, I don't wanna say there are some albums where lyrics don't matter. Y'know, to excuse a rap song just because it can get by on vibes or hype or whatever, that feels like ... well, an excuse. "Don't focus on the fact that the lyrics are a bit shit and that they're not really saying anything; just live off the hype." I know there's a lot of stuff, especially these days, that gets a pass for that exact excuse. And I'm pretty sure I'm not exactly innocent of this either, y'know? But I wanna pretend that at the very least I have enough respect for the artform that, even being someone who's melody first, I'd never say that the lyrics are **that** unimportant. And it's not like the lyrics are **that** bad on this album. For what they're rapping about, I think they do a pretty fine job. But being completely honest with myself here, I think 'Cypress Hill' is a rap album where most of the appeal comes in everything that isn't the lyrics. The flow, for one. I'll be real, there was a good chunk of this album where their flow reminded me of Insane Clown Posse, though I'll put that up to the idea that ICP got it from these guys. And either way, it's a fun flow, particularly with the one guy's nasally voice. I think they could've rapped about anything in that flow and I would've been enjoying myself; it's just that sort of charismatic, y'know? Then you've got the beats. I don't know if this is my favorite production of the 90's (certainly I prefer beats that go harder), but damn, does DJ Mugg put on a good show. Every sample flip on here is done very well, and when a beat goes off, goodness me, it goes off. I can see how some people might think it gets a little same-y after a while, but when you're just groovin', damn, it don't even matter. And I was groovin' all over this thing, I swear. I mean, I just think about it all like this: I gave Dr. Dre's 'The Chronic' full marks despite it having less and, honestly, **worse** subject matter. I'm not someone who gets all up in arms because a 30 year-old album is **so misogynistic**, but all the same. If I can let that album slide by on flow and beats, I don't see why an album like this can't. I don't like it as much as 'The Chronic', but that's 'coz this could never compare to G-funk. And all this to say: of course the words are important on rap albums. But I think sometimes (though not all the time) it's alright to just let it take you on vibes. And 'Cypress Hill' is one of those albums where it's absolutely alright.

Might not be as well-known as their later work, but it shows that Cypress Hill knew what their sound was right from the start. 4.5 bumped down to 4.

I’m at a 4. This is my first time hearing anything by Cypress Hill that’s not “Insane in the Brain”, and for the most part, I liked it. Lots of flows here that feel familiar / close to “Insane in the Brain”, sure, but the longer the album went, the less I felt compelled to compare it to my only point of reference. This album & these guys have their own distinct identity outside of that track, and it’s showcased very well here. Their Latin-American experiences shine through well, and it gives the album a little more flavor than some of the more generic ‘90s rap that exists out there. I think B-Real & Sen Dog have great rapping voices (especially B-Real), and their flows are super fun. They find a melody on most of these sample-heavy beats, excellently produced by DJ Muggs (especially for ‘91), and as a whole, I really like listening to them. I wish it were easier to comprehend them, and that’s really where my single issue lies in the album, one that builds up over the course of the whole thing to pull this down to a 4 for me. A super fun 4, mind you, but one that just gets a little tiring by the end of it. B-Real & Sen Dog DO have great rapping voices, but the vocal filters they use on a number of the tracks start to feel overplayed by the end of it. Their flows are super fun, although for my ears, they’re arguably a little too fast to truly understand behind these sample-heavy beats, which are excellently produced, but not super well *mixed* – a lot of the time, the vocal filters mix with the reverb in the beats that sort of muddles the soundscape of both, eventually leading to an effect where it’s hard to hear the nuances in either. It wouldn’t be as big of a deal if it weren’t for these being very lyric-heavy tracks, including some with Spanish lyrics. It’s genuinely hard to follow along & capture the essence / basic intent of some of these tracks since they’re moving really fast whilst being pretty witty, and that includes the English ones, for the record. It makes each track feel fun in the moment, but for my brain, not as memorable long-term as it could be. I understand that maybe for ‘91, and for an album that’s more of a smoker’s record to throw on while you do the doobie, the lyricism matters a lot less than how the soundscape makes you feel. I did generally get the *feeling* of each track, and I did catch a flow state a few times while following along to their flow to the best of my ability. This is a delightful 46 minutes to listen to; I just wish they had made it a little easier to truly *get* what they’re saying, and that’s why I think I’m gonna be at a 4 here. I do think the momentum of the album / super fast pace between tracks doesn’t leave much room for the listener to breathe, and that pace did catch up with me by the end of “The Funky Cypress Hill Shit”; that also plays a factor here. Overall, it’s a super enjoyable record, I’m glad it’s on the list, and it’s one I’d recommend. I hope it can get up to a 5 for me in the future, since there’s really not a bad track here. For now, I’m just at a 4.

Love this “pigs”!

I like this a lot. B-Real’s nasal delivery is instantly iconic, and the beats DJ Muggs spins are catchy, if not sometimes a bit repetitive.

31/11/2025 I dunno why, I just prefer the vibe of the older stuff. It rings different in the ears, compared to this modern day guff. Spotify listeners: 5.4 million

Really enjoyed this album, will be returning to this

Olihan siinä tunnelmaa ja meininkiä. Oon aina tykännyt cypress hillin taustabiiteistä ja onhan tää tosi ikoninen levy kaikin puolin.

Cypress Hill’s debut record is pretty great and ahead of its time for 1991. You get a good blend of rock and funk samples flipped to hip-hop, with at least one P-Funk sample, which was a pre-requisite of the era. It’s a bit psychedelic and the flow, particularly going between the nasal sing-song of B Real and Sen Dog’s hard attack, is great. Still enjoyable, even if nostalgia plays a factor in it for me. Still, their follow up album Black Sunday is more worthy of a spot on the list. 4⭐️

Enjoyable! Plan to listen again! Need to me genre, but I loved the rythm.

Great album. Super fun, danceable, great beats. Love this record.

DON'T YOU KNOW I'M LOCOOOOO

Cypress Hill has a very unique sound, cool vibe. I feel like it does get a bit repetitive but I liked the album overall. 3.5/5.

Good old school hip hop. Be Real's nasal voice gets a little grating at times but not as much as I remembered.

Great.

Repetitive but funky-fun!

Very good. Liked Tres Equis. Very nice arrangement. Many layered instruments but it doesn’t feel all tracks are fighting each other. A good hiphop album, nice vibe, nice beats and nice flows. Rhythms are just a bit repetitive and straightforward, and I guess it was designed to be simple. I like an album that doesn’t set the target to be super high, and lands perfectly on what they want to achieve.

I really like the general style and especially the Latin rap that appeared in the last few songs.

Nice background. The whole album is good

Lowkey distinctive.

After carefully listening and dissecting lyrics I've came to the executive decision that they may not appreciate the police in the slightest, but i might be wrong

> the Beatles

This could be an album with different versions of “Pigs” and I’d be happy. That’s all I need. That one aside, this is the only Album by these guys that I like. That doesn’t mean much to you dear reader but that’s ok. My opinion matters. This album is less about weed smoking and more about being a troublemaker and that’s what I dig. Choice cut: Pigs

There was a time when alternative and rap converge. Almost like each genre was giving cred to the other. Rap reviving rock and rock helping rap make inroads into the mainstream. I miss that. We are so siloed these days. Sometimes this sounds just like Beasties and that makes sense, contemporaries will contemporary.

Cool album. Standout songs: Hand on the Pump Real Estate

Amazing such a unique sound. Always feels like a few mates getting together to enjoy themselves.

This has such a party vibe. The beats are real foot-tappers, and it sounds like the band are having fun performing the songs, which I always like in an album. I'm not a massive fan of the main rapper's voice though

We had N.W.A., now how about N.W.a sense of humour? This shits groovy and goofy in equal measure, and the sampling is sublime. Enjoyed it more than I expected to, frankly.

Man I love this album, haven’t listened to it in its entirety in a while. The memories of that time in my life are coming back in waves.

I like

Cops. What a bunch of bastards.

Bedre end meget andet Hip-Hop

Classic! Great old-school!

Enjoyable listen. Definitely some classics in there but feels slightly repetitive.

If I had discovered this album when it came out, I probably would have been totally into it. It’s such a reflection of music at the time. It made me nostalgic. The beats are great and had me bopping, but I can’t say it’s something I’ll listen to much again.

gave this a few listens, did quite enjoy it. i don’t generally like hearing about fucking people in the ass but big fan of pigs. reeaaaally cool work

4 for the genre, but 3 overall

Goated, liked it a lot

Blind album, know the artist and hits. I enjoyed this album more than I thought!

I remember some people I knew had this album. They were much cooler than I or my friends were. When Cypress Hill came to town they went to the concert and came to school the next day wearing tour shirts. The principle of the school made them turn them inside out because there were cannabis leaves on the shirts. The shirts were allegedly made from hemp making them seem that much cooler. I really wish I went to a show like that, it must have been legendary. I really like this album. Great beats and excellent lyrical delivery. It's very unique and hits we with some serious nostalgia. This isn't an album that I will get tired of. It comes in and out like waves in my life.

The album is funky. I like funky. I don't like murder or weed quite as much though. That's most of what this album is. I like the flow and rhythm, but can't get behind the lyrics. I wouldn't really listen again, but I can say I'm glad to have listened to it. It did overstay it's welcome, though.

Great samples, silly lyrics, very 1990s.

Really good example of 90’s hip hop. The funky beats are there, the distinctive vocal style, catchy tunes etc. The follow up, Black Sunday, still has the edge over this as the definitive Cypress Hill record though, for me. Their sound evolved on there, incorporating a darker tone. Hearing the sounds of a stormy night with a raw standup bass and an ethereal female vocal are very iconic.

This album came out my freshman year at Los Angeles Valley College. Needless to say this album seemed to be constantly wafting through the air like a secondhand bong hit at a house party. This one gets a 4 for bringing on some serious nostalgia. 4/5 #164

Great album, I love the cover art

Tight, lean and fresh (as once was said), feels a bit like the midpoint between Public Enemy and DeLaSoul/Tribe Called Quest. Does get a bit samey. The loose jazziness is a plus even if it leads them to wear out samples which was kinda the way in this era of hip hop as one recalls.

Solid rhymthic beats and overall good hip hop music

Fun album with multiple nods to P-Funk throughout. It is a little bit lacking in variety in tone and structure. Any song you would start on would be just as good as the next, just not too different. 3.5/ 5

It was nice, sounds similar to other gangster rap genres

B-real's nasal lyrics are still unique today. The fact they were the first popular rap group to incorporate Spanish in their lyrics is another industry change.

4 stars just for Pigs. Great fun. Enjoyed the rest Yo!

It’s a bit sweary and I'm sensing they don’t like the police, but I actually quite enjoyed it.

This is just a load of fun. I'm about as close to giving this five stars as I can possibly get while not quite committing to it. I can see myself coming back to listen to it more. I've known about Cypress Hill for years but never got into a full album and I have been missing out. Gonna have to listen to the rest of them now.

Hip-Hop that is fun!!!!! Best Song: How I Could Just Kill a Man Rating: 7.5/10 Stars: 4/5

Wait this production is actually crazy? How have I never heard of these guys before! Sucks how they open it with repeated use of homophobic slurs, though.

Weed, murder, speaking Spanish, being Cypress Hill: these are the topics of Cypress Hill songs. Be it the nasally lead to the strange pitched guy who repeats things other people say most of the album slaps. The backing beats are great and add a ton of character to each song. The biggest downfall of Cypress Hill is that the songs do tend to sound very similar on all fronts. I thought this was an album that I had listened to fully but I guess I only ever made it through like halfway as there was some stuff I had never heard on here although I thought I had heard it because of how similar and they repeat lyrics from earlier songs man thats insane makes you feel like you are going crazy insane in the membrane is not on this album. 7/10

In the present day, it feels like Cypress Hill is underdiscussed in the context of early West Coast hip hop, maybe due to their rock crossover appeal that they would eventually lean into, but their self-titled debut came out in '91, and they existed in some form since '88. This puts them on the scene at the same time, maybe a *little* later than people rightfully held highly as the progenitors of West Coast hip hop, like Ice Cube, Eazy-E, Tupac, Dr. Dre and more. Just for reference, this came out about 16 months before The Chronic. And it took some time, but by now I think this album's influence can be heard pretty widely. I don't want to say Cypress Hill invented "weed rap" but I'll say that I don't know who else would have. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if this album, on some level, inspired the direction that artists like Snoop Dogg would explore a little later. Even so, Cypress Hill sounds pretty singular. At this time, Cypress Hill was B-Real, Sen Dog, and DJ Muggs, and this line-up achieved a really interesting balancing act. DJ Muggs may be the star of the show here on some level, the palette and atmosphere of his beats were *extremely* important to this album. He made a kind of spacey, funky, almost psychedelic beats that still went pretty hard. And B-Real and Sen Dog both brought something unique to this sound. B-Real has a nasally, idiosyncratic sound, leaning into the more quirky, left-field aspects of the sound, and Sen Dog had a gruffer, more conventional delivery that helped to keep the sound of Cypress Hill sort of grounded. This combo gives us songs like Hand On The Pump, which has a weirdo vox beat, sing-song chorus and lyrics as gritty as anything else coming out of the West Coast at this time. And Cypress Hill's sound is just as bold and unique across this whole album. Pigs has kind of an offbeat, almost goofy presentation, but it's just about as strong a statement as something like Fuck Tha Police, it just has a very different presentation. This kind of exemplifies, lyrically, what is different about Cypress Hill, they rapped about a lot of the same stuff, but they did it with a left-field sense of humor, and an almost stylized sort of imagery and word play. It comes across as fun, almost playful at times. How I Could Just Kill A Man is another highlight, with its electric guitar sample, ultra-effective chorus, and beat switch. And Cypress Hill is just as effective, funky and unique through its whole runtime. Stoned Is The Way of The Walk is kind of like the group's mission statement, Psychobetabuckdown is as psych-y as they get, and Real Estate is centered on a super funky bassline, just to name a few. This is a really under-appreciated classic, and it's still a super fun listen with great rapping, a great beat selection, and a super cool aesthetic and vibe.

Love the samples; funky, fun, rebellious. I'd listen to it, and them again!

Interesting album that was surprisingly easy to listen to.

Such a unique style. I have vague memories of seeing them in 2010. Really solid album overall here.

extremely relaxing and fun. never knew much about this group but I did know their most popular song "insane in the brain", which has some weird samples and a beat that feels like a train about to fall off the tracks (if that makes any sense?) most of these songs have the same elements, which I appreciate a lot. I also like the psychedelic elements they included. vibes favorite song: "real estate"? overall: 8/10

The shape of left field hip hop to come.

Очень приятный хип хоп панк 90х годов! Качает 🔥

We’re really in a trend of 4s. Sampling is great, beats are great, rapping is tight. Fully see how insane in the membrane came from this. Easy comparison but it’s like boombap Danny Brown at times. Only grew a little tired of it towards the end but overall had a good time.

funky! i love this. reminds me of ll fav songs: -how i could just kill a man -real estate -pigs -psycobetabuck

Hasn't aged a bit text-wise. Less of the case production-wise. Can't wait to have "Black Sunday" on the list. 8,5/10 fav songs : Light Another & Real Estate & Born to Get Busy

They haven't fully developed into the full level of Insane in the Membrane, but there's no mistaking that this is Cypress Hill. Not as musically artistic (get a drumline on repeat, drop some repeating bass line, then focus on the lyrics), but engaging and fun (albeit profane).

Bom álbum de rap com guitarras. QKZxHBB Hades.

This is a powerful album and hits hard right from the get go. Love the funky beats and the raw lyrics!

01) Pigs - 8,5 02) How I Could Just Kill a Man - 8,5 03) Hand on the Pump - 7,5 04) Hole in the Head - 8,0 05) Ultraviolet Dreams - 7,0 06) Light Another - 7,5 07) The Phuncky Feel One - 8,0 08) Break It Up - 7,5 09) Real Estate - 8,5 10) Stoned Is the Way of the Walk - 8,0 11) Psycobetabuckdown - 7,5 12) Something for the Blunted - 7,0 13) Latin Lingo - 8,0 14) The Funky Cypress Hill Shit - 7,5 15) Tres Equis - 7,0 16) Born to Get Busy - 7,0 TOTAL: 7,69 (77/100) Current ranking: 226/559

A unique style in flow and groove. Some fun rhymes.

Yet another band I knew by name but never took the time to listen to one of their records. I was expecting something more rock or metal, as they have a pretty good success in these communities, and that was a name coming back regularly in discussions when I was a nu-metal-listenening-teenager. In the end, it is a pretty good and standard rap album from this period of time, with some light hispano influence that makes them stand a bit out from the crowd (on top of the good production and the flow).

Brutal lyrics and so enjoyable.

Probably a bit biased after hearing 'How I Could Just Kill A Man' a thousand times when playing GTA San Andreas, but I really like this album, and Cypress Hill's sound. Another very 90s sounding recording. Feels like a joke by now, but I just generally seem to like music from this era. Not that surprising seeing I was born in this decade, but didn't realize it would subconsciously have such an effect on what I like. Really front-loaded record with the three opening tracks being the strongest of them all. The rest of the record holds up really well though. I think overall they have a very interesting palette of samples to keep it fresh. Lots of funk-like guitar wahs, TV recordings and so on. It does get a bit old with the various "squeel-like" samples they have in many of their songs though ('How I could Just Kill A Man', 'Hole In The Head', 'The Phuncky Feel One', 'Psychobetabuckdown'), but I still think it stays on the right side of the line between overused and not. The nasal rap of B-Real is probably something you either like or hate, but I think it works really work and is a cool standout trademark for the group, along with the mixed in spanish lyrics. Overall really cool record. Got quite some hits, but also a really solid foundation in the other tracks. Perhaps a few weaker ones, but overall really high quality and interesting stuff with heavy beats and good rap. Strong 4!

Early 90s rap is hit or miss for me; this one falls on the hit side. I’m not sure if its just the mood I’m in when listening to it that decides but I enjoyed it. Like most rap from this era, the samples are quite similar to each other but still good. Makes me think of sampling from the game “jet set radio”. Lyrically, just the start with “Pigs” and “How I Could Just Kill A Man” have some very in your face lyrics that flows well with the beats. I don’t think the rest of the songs stick out as much as the first few tracks but all of them keep a nice flow. With a run time of 45 min I think it’s just short enough to not overstay its welcome. Weak 4 from me.

Didn’t know these guys were this good! Would love to give this a closer listen some time.

forgot how good these guys are. certainly not mad at this one

listened to again i liked it a lot better this time

Funky and fresh

By Jove! These young gents speak so nonchalantly about such horrible crimes such as marijuana inhalation and acts of violence! I must inform the authorities posthaste!

Great album. Very enjoyable and would listen over and over.

OK, I've surprised myself. I only knew the big hit from these guys "Insane in the Brain" and assumed that I would find this album tedious at best. I think the samples are hilarious in places, and the rapping is great in spots, too. Really interesting choices. It's great that they carved out their own niche, leaning hard on stoners and people who like low riders and 40s.

aha too many memories of sitting in various parents backyards smoking cones rushing back to me now. Was reflecting on why this doesn't feel as great as Apocalype '91 or Efil4zaggin. I think it has to do with the fact that those albums were late 80s rappers coming off their peak whereas this is the start of the new wave. Where the heavy looping and scratching style of production is at its peak in NWA or Public Enemy, its kind of being exposed for its limitations here. I think if one of their three later albums with more mid-90s techniques was in this place it would stand up better. A lot of the late golden era stuff can come off as a bit po faced (especially the new york stuff) whereas Cypress Hill is a bit more jokey, you can hear strains of the Biz or Eazy E or even LL Cool J or Slick Rick in their lyrics. At the start of the 90s Cypress would have seemed like upstarts, but in the mid-90s it feels more like they are carrying the torch.

Not reall a rap listener, but this is a classic. How I Could Just Kill a Man and Hole in the Head.

Love the samples. You can hear the dust in the grooves and the hours put into the crate digging. Unmistakable sound these guys make.

7/10 I apologize for the stereotype we contribute of Latinos using slurs that they probably shouldn’t but this is fun as hell

Me and some mates played Black Sunday to death when it came out and I didn’t hear this till many years later. Although not as good it’s still a cut above most of the other hip hop that’s been on this list so far. You can hear a lot of the ‘motifa’ they used on the later album, pretty damn great overall!

Cuddlin' with my shortie, hand on the rump, Left hand on a tittie, THINK I FELT A LUMP! Finger in her pussy, DIDN'T MAKE HER JUMP! La la la la la la la la

A chill rap record in one of the best ways.

Surprisingly enjoyed

The production and vocals immediately take me back to hearing Cypress Hill for the first time… an infectious mix of gritty beats, psychedelic squeals, and distinctive nasal raps. And then to hearing them everywhere for the next four or five years when you couldn’t escape them. They were ubiquitous. One of the few ’90s hip-hop crews that got love coast to coast, and everywhere in between (even on The Simpsons), they smartly sidestepped regional beef and made the real villains anyone trying to kill the vibe. Honestly, they’re still kind of fun to listen to, even if I’m nowhere near their demographic and not doing any of the things they’re writing about.

4.5

This moment when DJ/Producers had mastered the art of building collages out of samples and before a judge with no musical background tore the whole thing down with a trademark ruling produced such interesting music. And how B Real can make the abject celebration of violence sound so fun is a total mystery.

Yeah I know about breal

Songs i knew: 0 Songs i liked: a few After only ever listening to probably 3 cypress hills songs in my life I've realised all of their songs sound the same. That's not a bad thing but hard to tell them apart on this album. Still decent and I can imagine this slapped when it dropped early 90s. Low 4.

Never listened to this before and it’s an absolute banger. Brilliant.

🥴

Absolute fire. Will listen again.

Loved it, would relisten

3.7 2x catch up 4/18

much funkier than i was expecting. i did catch at least one f-slur so i don't love that, but i had fun with this one.

Thought this would be uninteresting but I enjoyed it. Such unique vocals. I'd only ever heard insane in the brain before this.

Very enjoyable, although a little too long/repetitive.

Enjoying this style of hip hop, and it's not overtly about the rappers having sex on record, 4*

4/5. This was a super enjoyable rap album, always a sucker for rock rap, and guitar riffs used in the beats. There are also some other fun samples and sounds used in each song. The instrumentals/short songs balance the album and keep it interesting and thematic. The only downside is that the rhythm of the rapping does get repetitive so some songs sound like other songs. It's not bad, you just lose yourself sometimes in the track list. It's a great listen overall. Best Song: Hand on the Pump, The Phuncky Feel One, Psycobetabuckdown

Good lush beats, good flow, and just straight up good hip-hop. The topics of the songs tend to get a bit repetitive, but this is definitely an album I'm going to listen again to. Fuck the pigs.

Great grooves and funky beats with clever lyrics and a collection of voices that play off each other excellently. The social commentary is delivered with humour and style. Excellent.

the eponymous release of Cypress Hill is an absolutely filthy yet exciting adventure into the world of 90s hip hop that we can see reflected in everything from Eminem to Suicideboys. Super fun album.

4.20/5

The production on this album really won me over. The beats, samples, scratching, the flow - it all comes together in such a pleasing way, and I couldn't stop moving the whole time. I would definitely listen again and am happy to add it to the list of West Coast hip-hop albums I enjoy. As is so often the case with older albums, there are some detestable lyrics. A lot of casual homophobic f-slurs here. I've learned if I judge on that alone, I'd have a lot of 1 star reviews. Otherwise a really solid album, and it was nice to hear the original How I Could Just Kill a Man again even if I still prefer the RATM cover.

Me before listening to this album: “Oh cool, the 'Insane in the Membrane' guys! This was be a fun stoner hip-hop album, easy to love!”
 Cypress Hill throughout this album: “Fuck 5-0. I will kill you because I’m a real gang member. Also, shout out Latinos. And yes, I am incredibly high, thanks for asking.” Very little needs to be said about Cypress Hill’s debut album. It’s consistent early-era gangsta rap: solid beats across the board, great lyrics and flow, and a strong image. Every track flows into the next seamlessly, and there’s a song here for every vibe. It’s a little bit aesthetically-similar on the whole, but like, if you like hip-hop, you’re going to like this album. Essential? Who the fuck cares! It’s not mind-blowing, it’s not the peak of anything, but it’s really great, and that’s because it’s rock solid throughout, and sometimes, that’s all that really matters.

Rating: 8/10 I love some funky buddha. Some amazing production and unique deliveries on here, very enjoyable from start to finish.

hehe drug. these guys are actually pretty great at rapping though

I hear a lot of later bands I like in there, overall I liked it, but it gets old after a while...

Classic Hip hop that still slaps. Loved bumping this from my truck back in the day.

Pretty entertaining early rap. Was not disappointed within the context.

Enjoyed this! Lots of snippets which I recognise from Eminem / other later hop-hop tracks.

Pretty fun Album, definitely an enjoyable listen.