Cypress Hill

Let's go!! I really love Black Sunday, and I've been excited to get this on the list! I didn't expect to get it this early! Also I saw one of the top reviews of this album, and it was low-key one of the most racist things I've ever seen on the internet that wasn't just a slur. Like, be real (pun intended). 01. Pigs One of the first hip-hop acts besides N.W.A. to really tear into the police. Great opener! 02. How I Could Just Kill A Man One of the first examples of actual lyrical hip-hop! A resemblance of flow, with internal rhymes as well! Birthed what is now modern hip-hop. 03. Hand On The Pump Infectiously catchy. Just a real fun song! 04. Hole In The Head Shout out Scooby-Doo. Pretty average gangster rap song, nothing to write home about. 05. Ultraviolet Dreams Really cool instrumental that I wish they used more properly! 06. Light Another Just really sick. A thing with gangster rap is that there's not a lot to say. It's just rather really good or not. 07. The Phuncky Feel One Really fun, with a great vibe! 08. Break It Up Has a really cool instrumental. 09. Real Estate I was on the fence about this one... then that beat switch won me over. 10. Stoned Is The Way Of The Walk Pretty funny; is a fun song. 11. Psychobetabuckdown This far into the album, is mostly just an alright track. Not bad, just could be better. 12. Something For The Blunted Really slick instrumental, with a cool call & response in the back. 13. Latin Lingo A nice song dedicated to Sen Dog. Overshadowed by B-Real (since he's better imo), but Sen Dog does a pretty good job here! 14. The Funky Cypress Hill Shit One of my favorites! Great instrumental, great vocal performance, and is just really fun! 15. Tres Equis This is NOT about the beer. Is a cool little song, probably wouldn't put it on often. 16. Born To Get Busy Kinda weirdly mixed. A shame this is going out on one of the weakest tracks. This is just kind of okay. The influence for the future pours out of this... but I just kind of find it alright. I believe the stuff they do here is drastically improved on Black Sunday, as it's more of the same but better! Still, I enjoyed this a lot.

Not sure how I missed this in high school, it would have been perfect for me then. I guess I had already started listening to the Bahooas and Dead Milkmen and this wasn't cool any more. Pretty fun, although there is some mention of conduct unbecoming of Gentlemen here.

Es wirkt vieles wie ein endloses Déjà‑vu. Die Beats sind träge, die Hooks austauschbar, und der einstige Reiz des Nebel‑Rap verpufft ohne echte Überraschungen. Ein Album, das mehr acid Routine als Revolution bietet

I understand the appeal of Cypress Hill- they're hardcore hip hop with catchy hooks. This album was fine- nothing special but with some clear talent for writing decent songs structured around big hooks in spite of in-your-face, edgy songwriting.

Not my jam, but recognize the og stoner rap.

I've enjoyed Cypress Hill in moderation before this, the hit song here and there, 'Insane in the Brain' especially. Though I've admittedly always found B Real's delivery to be too gimmicky, despite his generally undeniable flow and wordplay. They're ultimately a pretty quintessential group in hip-hop, and this record was, for the most part, enjoyable. The beats are generally fat and dynamic, with a heavy emphasis on very punchy drums - the production is more akin to PE than any other traditional East Coast rap act from the early '90s. Though there's certainly that East Coast grit seeping in on these tracks, it's still mostly pretty clean-sounding on the production end. And I'll say it again, flow-wise, you'd be hard-pressed to find rappers like B Real and Sen Dog with their rapid-fire spitting on songs like 'How I Could Just Kill A Man' or 'The Phunky Feel One'. A cool album that captures a very unique transitional period in '90s East Coast hip-hop, a sound that I generally enjoy. Though I'll admit that, topically and instrumentally, it's pretty samey all throughout; it's maybe my biggest gripe. But regardless, it was an enjoyable and high-velocity listen, and a much-needed one at that.

Never listened to this all the way through but I always liked these guys.

Yep this slaps, all of the beats were so well put together and flowed nicely from song to song, subject matter held up to the tone of the beat itself and the vocal quality throughout just really did it for me

I respect Rap, this album and the world the lyrics try to explain.

6/10

the music for what it is started off like it might be ok, nah, the stupid vocal started sorry but cant get away with this nonsense. Hurried the tracks along then off.

I enjoyed the use of brass and some of the funk, but really wasn't in the mood for this today. I don't think anything would have hit the spot today, honestly.

Good clean fun

hardcore very popular hiphop.

Just a unique sound: great!

gangster rap - no one needs to hear this.

I’m a white woman in her early 20s who has never smoked a blunt before so the problem might be me

Και γαμώ. Είχε και αναφορά στους Τράιμπ, άρα 5/5.

Maybe I'm getting jaded in my age, or maybe from listening to so many albums. This just seemed same old, same old to me.

I don't know if its the fatigue of this list or the simplistic 4/4 back beat. But this album was just boring to me. All the songs just start to sound the same after awhile.

I first learned about Cypress Hill when one of my college roommates brought home Black Sunday and we wore that album out. I never went back and bought this one but I knew "How I Could Just Kill a Man" thanks to RATM covering it on Renegades. These guys had/have an original sound, which is really difficult to do these days. But when you hear these guys you instantly know it's them. "Psycobetabuckdown" sounds like a proto-"Insane in the Brain."

Gear: Punch Audio Portazo Artwork: 💠🃏📓 Production: 😌🧈🍯 Music: 🍩🙅🥦 Rating: 🐖🐖🐖🐖/5

I love this album. It opens just great and continues throughout. I remember a friend of mine playing it for me decades ago and being enamored with it. It still holds as a great album. I can see some of the younger ones being weird about some lyrics but its still solid. Worth a listen and a great addition to the list.

90's Hip Hop albums just have some of the best sounding drums of all time, and this is no exception. All of the beats sound phenomenal, and the rapping is very fun. I also like how all of the songs have a very consistent sound, but none of the songs themselves sound that similar. All around a great album. Mid 5!!!

Uneventful. Inegavelmente bom, porém. Tenho certeza que foi uma paradona em 1991, pq parece ter influenciado muito que veio depois. A cronologia de escuta que não funcionou pra mim.

Too long. Very repetitive sound.

It's a solid rap album. They still have that distinctive sound and feel but it's dated and a little limited.

This is the first album (of over 400 and counting) that has given me a proper headache. One song a day would be OK but the squeaky trebley sounds are too much for me.

Not their best album, but still enjoyed it.

Eh... not a great album but I definitely prefer this over Rod Stewart.

This is a fun, grimy west coast record with plenty of personality and funky beats. It’s not up there with the best of this scene, for me, off first listen, but I definitely had a mostly enjoyable time with it. 1 listen Favorite Tracks: How I Could Just Kill a Man, Pigs, Real Estate, Hand On the Pump

Did I own the Black Sunday CD back in the day? You bet. Not this one though. It's not as good and I get why some may not like it/them. This album just sneaks up into 4 territory for me.

Back in high school there were these jocks in that listened to Cypress High. Frankly, they scared me a little. But I guess in the end they didn't have terrible taste in music. Still would put Black Sunday in here over the self titled, but can't go wrong with funky rap.

How I Could Just Kill A Man

Un groupe que je connais uniquement de nom, un album que je n'ai jamais écouté. Si j'en crois la description de WIkipédia, c'est l'un des albums fondateurs du hip-hop West Coast ? En tout cas, c'était un album fort sympathique, que j'ai trouvé très accessible par rapport à d'autres album de hip-hop de la liste, en plus, il n'est pas très long (à peine plus de trois quarts d'heure), ce qui le rend très digeste quand on n'est pas fan du genre. Mon avis de béotien est que cet album est très qualitatif, très accrocheur et, comme je le disais, assez facile d'accès, avec ses titres courts, ses passages qui rentrent facilement dans la tête. Comme à l'accoutumée, j'ai moyennement fait attention aux paroles, j'ai vaguement entendu de l'homophobie ordinaire comme le genre en était blindé à l'époque, je ne m'en étonne pas particulièrement. Du reste, je ne suis pas sûr de ce qu'ils parlent précisément. Mais dans l'ensemble, j'ai bien aimé mon écoute.

++*: Tres Equis ++: Pigs, How I Could Just Kill a Man, Hand on the Pump, Ultraviolet Dreams, Light Another, Real Estate, Psycobetabuckdown, Something for the Blunted, Latin Lingo +: Hole in the Head, The Phuncky Feel One, Break It Up, The Funky Cypress Hill Shit, Born to Get Busy +-: Stoned Is the Way of the Walk 8,2/10

More obnoxious hip hop crap

Bands like NWA get a lot of implied street cred from their lyrics and implied gang affiliation. However, very few hip-hopoutfits (from either coast) have the real life experiences to back up the lyrics in their songs. Cypress Hill is definitely an exception to the fantasy of gangster rap compared to real-life, every day steady mobbin. By the time their self-titled debut hit the shelves they'd left that life behind, but not before B-Real got shot and almost died during a gang related altercation. Want to know why the album feels so raw and genuine? Because it is. Interludes hold this self-titled debut back but you knew as soon as you hit play that this band was about to make a big splash. The tight production, unrivaled flow, and lyrical believability has helped age Cypress Hill incredibly well.

It's just a really good era for this kind of music. There was just something special in the sauce! Was it crime? Potentially yes, but that isn't what made it good it is just a coincidence.

Feels like a pretty average album from this period of hip hop, all the trappings of the really really good stuff that was happening around it but just not really pushing to that higher bar. Enjoyable enough apart from the standard homophobia etc etc

Smooth and cool. Cyprus Hill has a distinct sound and excellent delivery. I don’t love the album but respect what they were able to create. Fresh for its time and still listenable today.

So far up my street I might as well live there

Bonne découverte

Nope. Did not like this one bit. It's probably well assembled for what it is, but what it is puts me in a perpetual state of fight or flight until it's switched off.

Unless one was listening to hip-hop on a regular basis in 1991, it would be hard to explain just how different Cypress Hill was. Nobody had a flow like this. Nobody. There wasn't any other mainstream artist (other than perhaps the Beastie Boys) who's songs were so busy, varies, and full of unique samples. This album is absolutely deserving of a spot on the 1,001 list ⭐⭐⭐⭐

I never realized this was lowkey experimental in rap at that time.

RAP

I first heard Cypress Hill on a documentary about sex and violence in music. It was just a short 30 second clip of the _How I Could Just Kill A Man_ video and I had to find out more. I was already a fan of House of Pain and learned about the link between those groups and the fact that Muggs had created the _Jump Around_ beat. So in the first half of the 90s I was a huge Cypress fan and this became my fave hip hop and still is. There’s just something about Muggs grimy NY beats sprinkled with the Latin flavour brought by B-Real and Sen Dog that’s truly unique in the hip hop world ! Muggs’ production is fantastic, it has a dark underbelly but it’s the predominantly funk based samples elevate it. And in B-Real they have, not the best rapper, technically, but one that brings something to the table that’s uniquely him and it works. Cypress were massive during the 90s and crossed over into the rock crowd in a way that no other had before or since. Watch their 2022 documentary _Insane in the Brain_ and it gives you a taste of that time.

Another one to skip. Sorry. Didn’t listen.

I definitely enjoy cypress hill but not sure this is their strongest offering.

One of the view rap albums I enjoy

Gotta say, the whole thing felt very one note and I spent the entire time hoping against reality that Insane in the Membrane would suddenly come on

This just grinds me down.

This has not aged well.

Pretty awesome beats and fun stoner rap, if occasionally a bit annoying. The bilingual rapping adds a fun twist as well, but I think there’s better rap albums from this year (like The Low End Theory, which shares a sample with this).

Not totally my style but I did like most of the beats and rhythm. This album's music might be my favorite kind of rap/hip-hop?

My little brother listed to this a lot when he was 14 so I am familiar with it. It's not my cup of tea but maybe due to nostalgia it's mildly enjoyable.

My husband put it best, "If I'm not at a party with a drink and a joint I don't want to listen to this." Agreed. I know Cypress Hill is beloved but I just can't get into these days.

This was an interesting one, seems to sit somewhere in between the 80s "golden era" and the 90s gangster rap, with some elements of each.

One guy kinda sounds like Danny brown, this didn't age that bad but meh

It’s such a solid album. Although the reality seems to be that their (literal) street credentials may have been more genuine than the majority of their contemporaries in the broader world of gangsta, I find them far more believable on record as zonked out stoners than as gang bangers. Muggs too is right out of the traps showing skills acknowledging what has come before, but also mapping out the future. Things are largely more minimal and slower leaning into the stoner vibe; though achieved with the sharpness of one sober as a judge, nothing slack or shabby here. Who knows where these guys might’ve ended up if they hadn’t succeeded with this album. It’s the sound of them finding a new way of life; cutting and rhyming themselves out of trouble, and it’s an excellent soundtrack to that journey.

I remember in my adolescence how my music-guru really loved all kinds of rock, and had a special place in his heart for the aggressions found in gangsta rap. The entire Cypress Hill discography was in heavy rotation because of this, at that time that was way too many albums, so only a few stood out. This is one of them, with more than a handful of songs that stick. Muggs does something classic but full of life on the beat in general, and the blunt honesty in most of these tracks is enough to merit the album recommendation. It's not my favorite record, I hope there's more from them on this generator, because although we have historic recognition it's still coming up short musically. The album as a project falls short by today's standards, but back then the cadence, style, interpretation, and the quality of the production, all really stick out as better than average. It served its purpose and has been bested. Even by Cypress Hill themselves. 3.2/5

Hip hop with a lot of cultural background. 2.5/5

Dope!

Lol at anyone calling this gangsta rap.

Cool production on this, obviously part of the southern California sound of the time but has a different bounce to it that helps the beats stand out. Nice flow from both MCs. I appreciate that it almost felt like a punk record in that there was little fat between tracks, and that there were a ton of songs crammed into a short span of time... but I guess like some of those punk records, after a while everything just kind of sounds the same.

Number: 243 Familiarity: Well-versed (4) Rating: 4 Before: ======= Cypress Hill in da Hooouuuse! Shout out to my brothers from another mother for finally breaking this string of 3's, 2's, and 1's I've been on for the past 6 days. but hold on a tick, I haven't even listened to it yet. I'm optimistic though, I did enjoy listening to this back in day. Let's get to it. After : ======= It's a pretty solid 4 for me. I'm not much a fan of rap and associated genres bu tit does have its place. In fact, if I had to pick 10 essential albums, it would not include any rap or rap like music. I would probably have to expand the list to around 30 or so albums before I would consider it. And, when I did find a slot for a rap or rap like album, this one would be under consideration. I'm not saying this would be the first rap or raplike album I would chose but it would likely be in the conversation.

fun if repetitive. Having a distinct sound means most tracks sound very similar. DJ and beats were quite good, old school sounding.

Extremely overrated. B-Reals voice is like fingernails on a chalkboard

Worst album so far, i almost didn’t finish it

Fun but repetitive - all they rap/sing about is getting high

This reminds me of the clown at childhood birthday parties. Fun and colorful, but also kinda threatening behind the disguise of paint and the red nose. Two conflicting messages.

Makes me feel like I'm 14 again. Was a 14 when this came out - no. Did I listen to this on heavy rotation when it came out - no. Does it take me back to 1991- no, no and no. There's no nostalgia or great times associated with this album - it just makes me feel 14.

Overall: 8/10 This song is a stanky, funky bong rip that hits just right. The beats are fire and the flow is on point. Some of the lyrics haven't aged well, but this is just too much fun to ignore. Fav Song: How I Could Just Kill a Man

A classic but not giving me the thrill

Gold! Could do without the homophobia but in the context of its time this album is legendary.

Such a fun discovery! Cool beats and instrumentation. Sadly the beats get very repetitive quite soon, so the longer you listen to a track, the less exciting it gets. Still pretty cool.

Day968 - b-real has one of the most iconic voices in hip- hop. they definitely have their anger pointed in the right direction

The repetitiveness of the beats wore me down, but I did like the flows these guys where rapping with.

No thank you

Fun album. The beats and the flow overcome what could be seen as simplistic lyrical content.

Music for cranky tweens. I liked a few of the songs though.

Why not Black Sunday?

I feel like I’ve had enough Gangsta Rap for one lifetime from this list at album 218 for me. The sound is pretty decent, drawing on the sample-heavy approach, which was the style at the time. But it gets pretty repetitive, so nothing much stood out to me as a memorable track.

Here we go again. At the risk of seeming sanctimonious, I’m just fed up with this kind of lyrics, and no matter how many gangsta rap albums this list makes me listen to, I don’t think the genre is ever going to win me over. But my primary reaction was one of boredom rather than any sense of moral outrage. In fairness, I did enjoy the production and the samples for the first few tracks, but it quickly became very samey and one-dimensional, so that it all washed over me, with no specific tracks making any real impression on me.

I learned that Cypress Hill is the name of a street in the group’s old neighborhood, at least that’s what the interweb says. Hip hop was/is a significant part of music history so it’s logical that there are some hip hop albums on the list. It makes me wonder though, is there a quota? Anyhow, the end of the album was better than the rest of it, but it’s still two stars for me.

Yoooo. Like the Beastie Boys, Cypress Hill were inexplicably on the Rock Countdown all the time, even though they definitely aren't rock (Wiki backs me on this). I think host Jim Shearer was just a big fan. Anyway, I didn't like them at all. They had one song that went, "What's Your Name? What's Your Number? I would like to get to know you" and it gets stuck in my head about once a week. Via hate-filled mockery I have stockholmed myself into liking it. Anyway, this album vastly predates that song, so I'm curious if I will (a) like it due to familiarity, (b) hate them passionately as I did before, or (c) not even recognize them as the same band. Well... it was (b) and (c)! Very 90s album, and 90s hiphop has been universally not my vibe so far. Themes on the album include classics like: gun violence, cops are bad, drugs. The beats&delivery were fine, not the worst but certainly not good enough to make me not hate the content. The lyrics were, for the most part, unpleasant. (Bilingual) slur count = 14. Highlights: "homepigs", a positive view of bilingualism

A crazy debut! Sprung from the womb with the vibe fully formed.

2,4/5

Not for me. 1/5

This definitely falls off in the second half, I adored the first 3 tracks, but after that it became quite tiring. None of the songs were weak, but I kept getting distracted because none of the later songs really grabbed my attention. I wasn’t expecting to like any of this album, but I did end up enjoying a select few songs, so at least it was better than I expected!

Pretty solid in its rhymes and rhythms

It's not for me. I remember listening to Cypress Hill at school and wanting to be cool like that, but I am not cool like that. Would be a 2.5 if I could.

Album full of aggressive, cop hatin, pistol packin, reefer smokin, bouncy old school hip hop. Hell yeah.

rap de qualidade

Não é o meu tipo de rap

Ďalší rapový album... Akosi je ich tu priveľa...

here is something you can't understand...

3.5

2 - not for me