Reviews (page 8 of 8)
Great songs, and high ratio of head bobbers. I forgot that "How I Could Just Kill a Man" was their song, since I heard the RATM version first. Not sure which one I like better. The beats are just insanely catchy.
Has a sound somewhat similar to Public Enemy from the same era, but lyrically more focused on hardcore street life than political awareness. They definitely have unique voices and flows. But where they shine, in my opinion, is when they incorporate Latin percussion and Spanish lyrics. Ultimately, I find the gangster rap thing kind of exhausting over the course of an album though.
Oof, usage of gay slurs has not aged "Pigs" well. "How I Could Just Kill a Man" is pretty iconic though. Interesting some of the lyrics are very close to some Rage Against the Machine's later works, so clearly they were influenced (not to mention they toured together). Some of the lyrics are so silly though, "Scooby Doo ya'll" made me laugh out loud. It's okay, I see the influence but for me the execution isn't my hip-hop style.
I knew of Cypress Hill as a stoner rap band, but had not really listened to them outside of a couple of their more popular songs. I liked the music and production - really funky and interesting. Not a fan of some of the lyrics which covered your standard rap topics like threatening people with guns, getting high, bragging about how cool you are, getting laid, hating cops, etc.
"one of the best hip hop albums ever released". Repetitive, uninspired, looped and sampled with discernable musical input at all - it's hopeless doggerel chanted over snippets of other songs. This isn't music. What's the point? Why does half the world think rap is music? Amazing.
literally half of these lines are about weed this is awesome
Not my style
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*
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.
90s hip hop. Not bad but not my thing
some slick production but the messaging is off-point
Like the beats. Good flows. Not my style lyrically or sonically.
I don't really care for CH's jokey-style of hip hop but that's just me. I can appreciate their work though. 6/10.
Good God... I wish I could give 0/5
Hip-hop. Ni fu ni fa.
Hip hop con ritmo. Me ha gustado.
nope
Decent early 90s rap. Doesn't blow me away. I do like B-Real's nasally delivery, but that is probably the most memorable part of the album. 2/5
nope. but I will say I like some of the beats.
Would do 3.5 if I could. Solid rap album with an all time classic on it.
It's okay
not my style
Trite, repetitive, and boring as fuck.
Se oli ihan toinen levy jota soittamalla kulutettiin aikoinaan puhki, mutta ihan hauskaa menoa tässäkin on.
Ehtaa Cypressiä, varma kolmonen
Hadn't heard their first album all the way through before. Epic.
Liked it. I never paid much attention to Hip Hop in the 90s, now I'm liking it and this had it's catchy moments.
This helping of early West Coast hip-hop painted vivid pictures and brought some funky beats, but felt very uneven- didn't quite hang together in the way I'd hoped. Together, "Pigs" and "How I Could Just Kill a Man" made a formidable intro. The first track calls out police corruption and privilege with a knowing grin and a gristly end, and the second (the album's biggest success) scores with its line "Here is something you can't understand/how I could just kill a man." It feels like a simple, immediate illustration of the gulf in experience, understanding and culture between gangsta rappers and their privileged white listeners. The first two tracks examine the gangsta lifestyle as a product of inequality, systemic exclusion, necessity. It's interesting stuff, but most of the rest of the album seemed to be standard pursuits of the pleasures of smoking and shooting, with a few homophobic lyrics thrown in. It's not all a drag as we get some upbeat sampling and impassioned performances: I had a lot of fun with "The Phuncky Feel One" and its denser, more cacophonous counterpart "The Funky Cypress Hill Shit", and "Light Another" had a good stop-start bassline and intermittent horn samples which helped to sell it as danceable music. My main issue was the feeling of treading water after about six or seven songs. Many of the tracks felt repetitive even at only 3 minutes, with a single loop and little variation in sound, as well as limited exploration from B-Real's vocal lines and rhymes. The interludes didn't really add anything for me and didn't serve the album's flow- "Ultraviolent Dreams" is a semi-trippy throwaway experiment, "Break It Up" a single line looped round to no effect. When "Tres Equis" came around, it was a nice surprise to have explicit encounters rendered in full Spanish. More of this sort of experimentation and playfulness would have been a lot of fun. On the whole it's not the best I've heard, but has a couple of powerful songs in the front half which I can appreciate it stakes its reputation on.
Pure funky west coast hip hop.
Yesssss.
mierda clásica.
Mucho flow, mucho ritmo y qué onda el español metido ahí en dos canciones, jaja. 8/10
First exposure to Cypress Hill past "Insane in the Membrane" which I remember from back in the 90's. Good beats on this one! This is hip-hop I can listen to, perhaps it reminds me of the Beastie Boys. 4
I don't have much to say. A lot of this late 80s/early 90s hip hop sounds very similar to me. Cancel me if you must. 3/5
Not bad, not great
Nice album rap. Mais un peu redindant. Jaime quajd meme. 3.5
I simultaneously think that there should be more rap/hip-hop on this list and then, every time a record from the genre comes up, I don't really want to listen. After that, one of two things happens. I am pleasantly surprised and end up really liking it (see Frank Ocean from a few days ago), or I just want it to be over. Cypress Hill falls into the second category.
I’m in no position to judge this genre, but I will say that it’s “fun” to listen to (which, I know, is not the intent). Cypress Hill is definitely unique in this space. They developed their own sound, and I can appreciate that. It grinds on my after a while, though.
A Tribe Called Quest with more aggro lyrics and production. lots of creativity here but it's a challenging listen overall
Nope
Some decent hip hop, even if some of the tracks get a bit samey
Pretty classic, not as good as Black Sunday. Solid but not their big hits in my mind.
I mean, genius stuff. Punchy, fluid. Great mixing. Inventing things and reinventing things. Gritty and angry, but playful.
jag är ingen hip-hop-tjej men det här var något i hästväg. snuskigt bra.
I noticed some of the lyrics seem to imply that these boys are not on very good terms with the police.
Got the got the funky flow
Está bien pero no es lo mio...
Cannot stand this clown. Total and utter knob who cannot handle fame or fortune very well. Bit shit at rapping too. He’s not exactly vanilla Ice
really angry until they took to the mary jane, the old wacky baccy, da 'erb, reefer, the doobies. once that happened the album was a lot less about killing people and hating on pigs and just better in general.
Well better than Kanye West. That was a tough two days listening to that ass sandwich. That's all I have to say.
fun
3/5
Did not expect to like this album. But really liked it.
Absolutely glorious beats but the lyrics date badly. Lazy homophobia and posturing with clever couplets few and far between.
Top hiphop album, heeft ook wel wat punk influences en lekker donker
Really enjoyed it. Wouldn't want to listen to it all the time though
horrible
30 years on and this still sounds fresh.
Ikke lige min favorit type hiphop. Men flere gode beats og en fed start. Kvaliteten er høj men sangerens stemme irritere mig
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.
don't like rap
Шумный рэп 90х Мне не зашло,)
El flow tan característic i associat a la banda ja començava aquí. El hit incontestable és 'How I Could Just Kill a Man', però la resta està a un bon nivell, amb la vena llatina més pronunciada que a treballs posteriors i la compenetració entre B-Real i Sen Dog ja liderant les composicions del grup
First listen. For me now it is a 2/5 May get better over time.
I didn't really like this album - not my kind of music I guess. They all sounded very similar to me. But these songs are very 90s which is nostalgic.
I say goddamn... this is bread and butter meat and potatoes gangster rap. Awesome samples, hard-hitting lyrics, nasty grooves. One of the best.
The album starts strong, but I lost interest soon after. Probably wouldn't be the Cypress Hill album I'd pick for this list.
Pretty good in places, esp. the samples. Mixed well, so sounds good for '91. But I found it rather tiring to listen to overall.
Regarding B-Real’s choice of singing style, he “barely liked it,” but “learn to like it.” I haven’t.
Bit of fun.
You know what you're gonna get with Cypress Hill. Classic Gangsta Rap, with lots of weed and guns. There's definitely some nostalgia factor going back in high school when you could build your personality around smoking weed. Definitely outgrown these kinds of lyrics/themes these days but I'll give it points since I used to love some of the tunes on here. I bet they'd sound really good backed by the London Symphony Orchestra, possibly while high.
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
Good album, not great
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.
Not my bag really but didn't mind listening to it.
420 stars.
very fun, old-skool, group hip-hop
So far, all the songs sound alike, repetitive and annoying. It's like an ice pick to the brain. Literally. I'm 3 songs in and I have an excruciating headache.
He escuchado otros discos de Cypress Hill que están mejores, pero si entiendo que éste esté dentro del listado porque marca el estilo del grupo
Top 90s hip hop
Good for certain situations, wouldn't listen regularly
Good one
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.
Haven't listened to much rap, so I don't have a lot to compare it to, but I liked it.
sounded dated to me
bad
Vengaa vaa que se me pone el cuerpo de cachondeito macho, cypress hill manteca... Es verdad que son muy jaja fumag pogos, pero macho son bastante vacilones osea tienen un álbum que se llama elephants on acid nenes... Tened en cuenta que esta review esta sesgada porque a mí personalmente me molan, pero es mi review así q a chupar la, las bases que usan son locas, meten sonidos y adlibs bastante raros y no se, me da la impresión de que me llevaría bien con ellos en persona, son canciones disfrutonas y eso se agradece. Como en la producción beben mucho del funk y del Cuban soul les quedan esos beats bastante melosos
Not exactly my cup of tea but interesting enough to listen all the way through. Once.
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"
Groovy beats. All the gun and violence imagery was a bit too much for my taste but I digged the rap flow. Light another is a favourite.
Not really for me. I could listen to one of the songs on here and that would be all I need of the album. Reminds me of playing Tony Hawk's Pro Skater though which is cool :P
tampoco le preete mucha atencio tmp creo que algun tema estaba guapo ahi el malianteo tall
not what i expected but still good
Rap nicht so meins
For an early 90s rap album Cypress Hill made something unique. Some of the songs are heavily weed based but that’s what they’re known for. The album is good but not as good as Black Sunday. 6.4/10
Phenomenal beats throughout, and every track is a lyrical blast. Opens strong and just gets stronger. Added to the rotation!
The sound of Tony Hawk's Pro Skater. Liked a few songs, How I Could Just Kill a Man was good. A bit samey overall though.
Pretty good old days.
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.
old school rap Lead sounds like a better version of Danny brown but there's nothing really interesting here
An ok listen, not really outstanding for me. Best: How Could I Just Kill a Man, Hole In the Head Worst: Psycobetabuckdown, Latin Lingo 2.5 Stars
good
Better than you think
First time listening: 12/16 songs liked It's quite underrated for sure, as most definitive hip-hop albums are rooted amongst African-Americans. This stamps "Latino" all over the album. Wacky, ear-tickling samples, with the weird voicing of B-real, make for a classic album. 3 songs saved.
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
Hiphop, urgh
C'est du rap
music is okay but theyre as annoying and unlistenable as beastie boys.
SHEEESHHHHHH
It's bouncy, OK, but otherwise not to my taste
I enjoyed this more than I thought I would. Cypress Hill kind of became a one trick pony. But there is some quality production on this project. Definitely some early 90s cruisin music.
Meh. Cool vocals but pretty generic
It's no Black Sunday, but there are some solid jams on here. I especially love "Psycobetabuckdown"!
Klassiker
good
Not for me, Clive
Schlimmes Artwork, aber geiler Oldschool Rap-Sound! Beginn der Westcoast Ära
disco interesante, una cancion en español que me sorprendio. sonaba mucho a molotov
Je peux citer aisément 300 rappeurs plus agreables à écouter que cette daube
Not strictly bad, just boring.
Childish themes (guns and marijuana). Cool beats and samples (got some Dusty Springfield too)
I 100% understand why this album should be on this list, but man I just did not enjoy it much.
Nah...
.
Pretty good
Songs Saved Prior: None Saved Off Rip: Real Estate Cutting Edge: Break It Up Overall Notes: Not really my thing, high pitched delivery jarring at first but you get used to it, preferred the second half to the first
Sorry, I still can’t stand this genre
2/5 naaaahh
Not my cup of tea but can see why it is a clarion call to those who get it
Tara insists this is a fucking 4.
No thanks, got to track 5, there's much better at this sort of thing.
Brings back memories, but I really couldn't into it. Maybe was my Headspace. The one voice was a little too needling.
If I was 15 it may have been a 5, as it is was a good hip hop album, nothing more
Vibes
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.
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.
Buenos ritmos. Funky divertido. Percusión a tope.
Buuuuaaahahhh
“Cypress Hill” by Cypress Hill (1991) West coast hip hop with (of course) attitude. Dispensing with the moral outrage (pro or con), let’s listen to the artistry. Violence and drug use depicted with elaboration and panache, with a healthy attention to detail, these lyrics are not simply fashioned to fit groovy music. They raise wallowing to an art form, even if the topical range is oh so limited and predictable. Interesting (to me) that “Hole in the Head” and “Ultraviolet Dreams” do NOT receive an “explicit” advisory. The group Cypress Hill receives no treatment in Bradley and DuBois, “Anthology of Rap” (Yale University Press, 2010), and this is telling. I’d rather listen to Lauryn Hill than Cypress Hill. Excellent production values, and plenty of evidence of professional collaboration. Background vocals are very well arranged, with intricate weaving of several competent voices. But the vocals are too diminished in the mix. Effects are too subdued. There is much that is too puzzling about this album to attract an interest beyond the all too limited range of the lyrics. There’s much better hip hop out there. 2/5
Rap/hip-hopzinho bem bom, ouviria pra pegar estrada ou algo assim.
Hip hop rollo.
3.75 on this blast from the past
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
really enjoyable listen, funky
Good 90s rap
bueno
Good album, good concept and good rhymes... it closes a bit claustrophobic.
Never been a huge fan of Cypress Hill's style...
Eh, gansta rap isn't really my thing. Cypress Hill carved out an undeniably iconic sound for themselves - you can tell a Cypress Hill track within seconds. Fave track... one of the ones with more Spanish, I guess? "Latin Lingo" or "Tres Equis"
3.5 | Creo que con el tiempo la gente hoy tiene una idea de Cypress Hill como si fueran una banda de novedad o un one hit wonder, pero se puede olvidar fácilmente que cuando salieron fue realmente algo totalmente distinto a todo lo que había. Tomaron una base y estilo de fraseo similar a los Beastie Boys pero trajeron todo su fondo musical directo del sonido del funk de los 70's (a un grado que parece, cuando solo se escucha la música como si fuera una película de exploitation de las que alaban Tarantino y Robert Rodriguez). El rapeo es de alto nivel y harto harto pegajoso, la combinación de los hermanos de la voz nasal aguda forzada y la voz fuerte cuadra perfecto. Temáticamente no despunta mucho obviamente, el 90% de las letras son básicamente sobre mota, pandillas o pandillas con mota. No es fácil transformar un género pero, a pesar de no ser los primeros raperos latinos, sí fueron quienes lograron dar un lugar al estilo, lograr seguidores y tener un sonido distintivo. Todo el hip-hop de costa oeste les debe mucho más de lo que se llega a aceptar. Su sonido se siente mucho más de lo que parece en los inicios de Dr. Dree o Snoop. Me queda la duda de por qué tomar el disco debut cuando su segundo disco es el que terminó siendo mejor material y aun más famoso (me parece sería mejor representante en la lista como para decir que es un disco obligado).
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.
Bars bars BARS
Good ‘ol cypress hill
not good
So I generally kind of hate 80s-90s hip hop because it's kind of corny and lame and super dated sounding. But this album is pretty tight so far. They made some pretty iconic beats
They did more than Jump Around? Funny, didn't sound like it...
Hard to give a rating. It's not a bad album by any stretch but after a while it becomes hard to distinguish between songs. Lyrically, its tight and there are some solid grooves they rap over but there are definitely better rap and hip hop albums out there.
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.
It's fine, but I only need 1 or 2 cypress hill tracks
No.
Este disco es interesante porque yo ubico a Cypress Hill un poco más "moderno", cerca de los 2000's, y todo este disco tiene claras influencias del rap / hip-hop de los 80's. Obviamente no soy experto en el género, pero imagino que este disco marcó una transición. Aún así, y aunque algunas canciones están chistosas o interesantes, no soy fan del género, ni del artista.
Classic. Great study album
3.5| Wasup Hommies!!! saquen la clika CH is in la casa. Mucho funk en sus mezclas junto con las rimas te llevan en un trip (musical no fumón) por los 70's-80's No creo que sea su mejor disco pero si creo que es el disco que dió pie a muchas bandas latinas para explorar el rap.
Distinctive, cruisy and just great beats/samples. Reminds me of high school. How I could just kill a man is my fav track
3.5 | ¿Eres tú Fermin IV, Huidos o Emmanuel Horvilleur? Es impresionante el impacto cultural y estilístico que tuvo este disco en el rock y hip hop latinoamericano que vino en el resto de la década e incluso hasta el día de hoy. Me pareció un disco muy entretenido, especialmente en las letras y en los sampleos de música vieja. De hecho más entretenido de lo que esperaba, porque únicamente conocía la emblemática de la banda, y me Imaginaba que iba a ser muy monótono.
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)
fucking love this album. the production slaps
I mean, you already know what this album sounds like. Cypress Hill
Dang, bad stretch lately. I didn't like this at all.
4.20
3.75 great album
Cypress cypress Hill y’all.
a number of great cypress hill songs on this album. Including pigs and how I could just kill a man.
good album, not their best.
not my favorite album from them but not bad
Funky shit
Very rudey
Such great hip hop. Don’t think I’ve ever gone through this LP before today
I struggle with Cypress Hill. I lost a few brain cells listening to this knuckle dragging caricature of a rap album. There’s a few consecutive tracks in the middle section of the album that are pretty good with some good beats, but on the whole it’s reasonably uninspired. B Real also sounds ridiculous
Bit samey.
Just wasn't a huge fan.
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.
Classic sound. Never went out of my way to listen to them before, but I’ve definitely heard some of those songs played throughout my life. A bit repetitive.
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"
Not what I usually listen to, but I'd give it another try. I liked the use of instrumentation alongside the rap!
7/10
1991. Key Songs: Pigs, How Could I Just Kill a Man
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.
didn't fully listen, kinda goes tho
Like all great hip hop albums this was funky as hell. Short sharp and concise!!