Cypress Hill - Black Sunday

Are you down with tha tribe?

...many high times riding around and bumping this in '93; it was the only way to go. Too bad that aural style, what originally defined the Soul Assasin Tribe, was eventually left behind. You know, gritty, scratchy, dusty, musty, old-school beat sampling, psychedelic phunky aura. On IV it is completely gone. I can't imagine what they were thinking when they quit doing the very thing that made them so unique. This is in my top 10 albums, check it! October 28, 2008

Insane The Membrane!!! One of the best rap albums ever made!

Man I can't believe it took so a long time to buy this classic album! Cypress Hill are by far one of the best Latino rap groups to walk the face of the earth. This stuff was hot as ever back in the day, and nearly 15 years later people still ride to it. This album gives a good look at the Latino and Hispanic/gangsta lifestyle. Here's my track guide:

1. I Wanna Get H*gh / 10/10, this is real dope material that isn't made anymore! The horn at the beginning is simply entrancing.
2. I Ain't Goin' Out Like That / 8/10, this is a pretty cool rap, it's catchy and has smart lyrics. Cypress have got to be geniuses if sample the lengendary Black Sabbath
3. Insane In The Brain / 10/10, legendary material that make you want to get up and dance everytime you hear it! I love that Simpsons episode it's in.
4. When The S*it Goes Down / 10/10, straight up real stuff. There is also an extended version of it on the Freedom Writers soundtrack.
5. Lick A Shot / 7/10, this shows an agressive and more determined Cypress. It's not as good as their other songs, but it's good to listen when your feeling hyper.
6. C*ck The Hammer / 8/10, I think this is one of the best songs ever made! It's repetitive beat will really grab your attention.
7. Lock Down / 9/10, although this is an instrumental song/interlude it still is probably one of the best songs on here. It's got kind of a classic feel to it, and could have been longer.
8. 3 Lil' Putos / 10/10, "One little, two little, three hoodlums betta hit the ground cuz here the sl*g comes!" This is such a tight song, and it's got a couple funny lyrics.
9. Legalize It / 7/10, this really throws off the album's tightness and is too short. It's still a groovy and gives you great information about m*rijuana and h*mp.
10. Hits From The B*ng / 9/10, a really weird and unique lyrical expression about w*ed and b*ngs. I love the line, "This s*it here is so bad it will straight'n yo d*ck out!" Funny stuff.
11. What Go Around, Come Around, Kid 7/10, a good song but not as good as some of the others.
12. A To The * 8/10, just by listening, you can tell talent was put into this track. It contains one of the best rap choruses ever made.
13. Hand On The G*ock 9/10, this is a classic song and a very good sequel to "Hand On The P*mp" from their previous album.
14. Break Em Off Some 8/10, a short and speedy song that finishes the album nicely. The little kids background vocals are funny.

A lot of work was put into this dope album, and you can tell it all paid off well. This is real hip/hop that's way better than Soulja Boy, D4L, Rocko or any of that new stuff. It's also nice to know there aren't any lyrics that put women down, which was uncommon for back in 1993. B-Real also is stronger than he was lyrically on this album than he was on 1991's "Cypress Hill". Take my word for it this is one of the best hip/records ever, so don't be afraid to check it out! PEACE!
June 1, 2008

One of the last gems in an unprogressive genre

One of the last true Rap ("Gangsta" or otherwise) albums ever made. Let's face it folks, much like Punk Rock, it now exists in name only.
When you spin this album, you hear many layers of sweet sound. Among the finest of the genre, richness and funky goodness was the norm up `til the early to mid `90's when even the once mighty Cypress Hill began to fall into the rut and devolve into boring, two dimensional "Rap". The new motto basically became "Find just one simple hook and play the piss out of it". Long gone are the days when you'd find daring and unique sound on a Rap album. You'd be hard pressed to find merely one or two songs in any of today's "rappers" complete discography (much less their latest album) that would bring to mind anything that the pioneers and the 2nd generation were producing. What you have today are essentially Pop artists in disguise. For Cypress Hill, just dig the unassumingly deep and funky tune that asks "How could I just kill a man?" and then fast forward to the dippy self-parody of "Dr Greenthumb" to understand the contrast. In a way, Cypress Hill's career is a microcosm of what Rap was, and what is called Rap now. Somewhere along the way, Rap, in general, decided to forego effort into creating great sounds you bob your head to, and seemingly focused on trying to wow you with lyricism, which still really isn't that great. The only thing I consider close to Rap these days is Turntablism, which is such a niche sub-genre that it's literally off the map while it also consistently lacks an MC/MC's. I just about guarantee nobody in their right mind will be listening to the "Rap" that's put out today when they're into their 30's and 40's and beyond. At the same time, I know you'll be hearing the likes of A Tribe Called Quest playing in old folks homes 40 years from now.
If you like the current state of "Rap", then more power to you. Taste in music is as subjective as any other art form, if not more. I'm only saying that if you want a history lesson in what once defined the genre, (drug and thug content aside of course) then by all means buy this album. It still holds up as one of the best. Nobody can deny that Louis Freese, Lawrence Muggerud and Senen Reyes are one of, if not THE best vocal combinations ever assembled in one rap group due to their diverse and unique sound. And for their first few albums at least, they had the super-funky beats behind the vocals.
October 8, 2007

The album that got me into rap

Okay, so the first CD I owned with rapping on it was, technically, C+C Music Factory, but forget that. 'Black Sunday' was the album that truly got me interested in hip-hop. Like every other white boy in America, I heard 'Insane in the Brain' on the radio and was hooked. Luckily, it's just about the worst song on the album.

From the siren-call that opens to the album to the syncopated beat in 'Break 'Em Off Some,' this album just doesn't quit comin' with dusty funk loops, rough-edge beats and hilarious herb references. The Amazon.com reviewer said this album presaged the sound of Dre's 'Chronic,' buuuuut according to Amazon's Web site, 'Chronic' was already out when this dropped in '93, so I'm not sure how they came up with that.

Regardless, I would argue that Muggs' and Dre's styles are not really very similar at all. Dre's sound was a lot more crisp, whereas Muggs opted for a smoky, vinyl-scratchy ambience that really suits the treble tones in B-Real and Sen Dog's voices.

I always make the argument that while 'Temples of Boom' was Muggs' best album in terms of production, 'Black Sunday' is the group's best album overall. I stand by it. A true hip-hop classic. June 14, 2007

Can I Get A Hit From The Bong? (Rating: 8 out of 10- -4 stars)

Cypress Hill's (B-Real, Sen Dog, & DJ Muggs) second album "Black Sunday" was an excellent album, from a Latin Hip Hop group based out of Los Angeles. If you haven't already figured out, Cypress Hill mostly rhymes about getting smoked out through out their career. And those rhymes are all over this album. That mixed with DJ Muggs production really makes the vibes in this album easy to catch. I believe "Insane In The Brain" was the lead single on this album, and it's a good song. B-Real handles most of the vocals through out the album. When I hear Sen Dog's voice and his ad-libs on here, he cracks me up because of how he sounds, but his rhymes are dope as well. Along with rhyming about smoking weed, they also rhyme about shooting people like "Hand On The Glock" (aka "Hands On The Pump Part II") and "Cock The Hammer". "When The Ship Goes Down" is another excellent track by B-Real with Sen Dog's background vocals. (I'm aware of the actual song title, but I placed the title in my review from the radio edit of the song.)

As for flaws, the only thing is lack of subject matter. Not too often Cypress Hill detours from the topics of smoking weed and guns on this album (they even put facts about marijuana inside of the linear notes that are interesting). That is the only inferior about this album. It's an excellent album from 1993, a time when gangsta rap was in full swing. If you're a big time smoker, you'll probably relate to this easier than others. But if you want to hear some west coast tunes from the early-mid 90's, you'll probably like this album.

Lyrics: B+
Production: A-
Guest Appearances: N/A
Musical Vibes: A+
Overall: A-

My favorite tracks: I Ain't Going Out Like That, Insane In The Brain, When The Ship Goes Down, Cock The Hammer, Hits From The Bong, A To the K, Hand On The Glock

Peace!
March 16, 2007

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