House of Pain - Same As It Ever Was (June 28, 1994)

It's another Soul Assassins post, and we still ain't scratched the surface of how beloved and respected this crew was. For example, back in their heyday, inter-regional acceptance was a pretty big accomplishment. Seeing as there wasn't no social media to speak of, only way you knew that Snoop Dogg was feeling Nas' output, for instance, was through radio or TV interviews. However, there was always a way more impactful and traceable method: Actually work with the mufucca you tryna big up! And while East Coast luminaries were always known to appear on albums from the West Coast, vice-versa there really wasn't a lot of people besides Ice Cube. But as influential as Cube was, his appeal on the East Coast didn't really last as much as his buddies/frenemies the Soul Assassins crew, consisting of Cypress Hill, Funkdoobiest & our hosts today House Of Pain. Because, let me tell y'all something: When that senseless crap between the East & West was going down, everyone from this crew still had safe passage and made a gang of records with the East. Not only that, but a figure like Mr. Lorenzo Cavassi aka Lawrence Muggerud bka the criminally-underrated DJ Muggs (originally hailing from Queens, NY) had so much sway on the East Coast that he helped other mufuccas from the West discover their musical calling on the other side. Enough about that for now: How about we get into where his Irish/Polish crewmates were up to by then, eh?

Because let there be no confusion: The trio of Erik "Everlast" Schrody, Daniel "Danny Boy" O' Connor & Leor "DJ Lethal" Dimant had one of the biggest smash hits in musical history on their hands, no joke. The Muggs-produced debut single Jump Around blew up so friggin' big that every other industry related to entertainment wanted in on the action. Hell, the Stale Cheeto In Charge grabbed it for his horseshit presidential candidacy campaign. Thank God, E turned out to be one of the good ones and shut that embarrassment down with a quick cease and desist accompanied with the healthiest of middle fingers. Enough political discourse, though.

As a direct result, the debut album Fine Malt Lyrics followed its gargantuan lead single into platinum status. Good thing, too, because it was a bar-room-brawl-anthem-chugging-machine. Soul Assassins’ in-house producers Muggs and his two protégés Lethal and DJ Ralph M from Funkdoobiest set the standard for future albums from the camp with their blunted funk sound, while Everlast shone on punchline duties while establishing an infectious chemistry with Danny Boy and providing the public with the only album to date where the 3 lead MCs from the camp appear on the same album, duetting with Son Doobie and B-Real (best verse on the album, that) separately. Suffice to say, Fine Malt Lyrics was a success.

Naturally, the assfaces at Tommy Ain't My Motherfucking Boy (Shoutouts to De La Soul. We hold y'all down over here.) wanted now more than ever to squeeze as much money as they could outta the trio. They even shoved E into that Ed Lover/Dr. Dre vehicle Who's The Man? (Shoutouts to Guru's cameo in that. RIP.) and the Judgment Night flick nobody saw, which resulted in at least two House Of Pain songs apiece for each soundtrack. We'll get to those later as one of them appears on the album we're discussing today. Safe to assume that the pressure was on House Of Pain by the abovementioned assfaces to recreate the debut's success.

Now, before I delve into the fact that Same As It Ever Was sold five hundred thousand units stateside within three months after its release, I must say that nobody was checking for its DJ-Lethal-helmed lead single On Point. It smelled forced, as if the label desperately wanted it to be Jump Around 2: The Jumping of Arounds. I'm not saying it's a bad song... yet. Nevertheless, half of the fanbase cultivated by Fine Malt Lyrics returned for a second helping. That's got to be a good sign.

Right?

Same As It Ever Was, boy/girl (pick one):

BACK FROM THE DEAD
DJ Muggs backs E once again with the jumpiest blues horn sample I ever heard in life, that's on GOD. I'm telling you, it's something about when these two work together that brings the extra fonky samples outta this dude Muggs' beats. I believe the industry term for that is chemistry. A concept so abundantly cared for these days in mainstream hip hop. What you mean, I'm delusional?! Oh, y'all wanted to hear about E's performance? (Yes, E's back for dolo. He's been doing that since the prior album, get over it.) I'm glad to report that this display y'all listening to is a damn fine punchline reinvention on wax: Dude stepped his bars and delivery up noticeably, signaling how much he was a student of dudes like Grand Puba & Lord Finesse. No lie, I replayed this around 583 times in a row once. It’s that infectious.

I'M A SWING IT
Lethal is back on the boards, successfully winding down from the previous offering while still continuing the festive mood with a relentlessly dope bass loop, while E&D tag team the beat and give it a punchline fatality. D, far from being E’s lyrical equal, does amp up the overall energy present. I also found the fact that he's introduced way earlier on this album than on Fine Malt Lyrics very welcome indeed. So far this album is 2/2.

ALL THAT (INTERLUDE)
Lethal lets his Juice Crew-themed instrumental go uninterrupted as the jazz sax sampled throughout is begging for E to jump on and cripple. Because you always gets what you want, that never happens as the beat simply fades away.

ON POINT
The lead single. As I said earlier, this was incorrectly marketed as the successor to Jump Around, even though the trio managed to build a song that's straight up fun. On top of providing the grimy jazz-infused beat, Lethal actually drops a short 8-bar verse (his lone lyrical foray to date) mashed with D's own contribution while E bookends the song with bars that are emphasized that much more by his psychotic delivery. Side note: Lethal's brief entry contains yet another 'the Biter' shot at producer & Ruffhouse CEO Joe 'the Butcher' Nicolo, whom E previously dissed at the end of Jump Around, establishing that the bad blood between them wasn't close to being over. Then again, this was a quarter of a century ago, so who knows how these people feel about each other now. Like I said, though: This remains an enjoyable song when one removes the forced Jump Around association.

RUNNIN' UP ON YA
Muggs reenters the fray, armed with a mean bassline loop complimented with a left-field horn byte that actually completes the beat instead of derailing it, something Muggs has mastered around this time. E brings you yet another healthy lyrical dose of fight mode and, trust me, he stepped up his flow game something lovely for this one. Icing on the cake is when he ends his third verse with a Nirvana interpolation that, no joke, made me laugh my ass off because of how random it was. All in all, go ahead and beat somebody up after hearing this. Preferably your asshole of a boss. You'll feel truly alive. (I'm OBVIOUSLY joking, and I'm stating this fact explicitly because you never know with the internet. Not that I have that big of a pull but just in case.)

OVER THERE SHIT
The grimy blues funk is strong with this Muggs composition, which propels E further into his zany rhymes with one hell of an infectious performance. Props to E actually shouting out Milk Dee prior to the popular Audio Two sample. On paper, this might sound like a repeat of the previous song, but the drum break somehow finds E continuing to upgrade his flow, which is a rare thing to see in a hip hop album. Matter of fact, he's actually been impressively consistent throughout the album so far!

WORD IS BOND (FEATURING DIAMOND D)
Remember how I pointed out that the Soul Assassins had a enduring following in the East? Songs like this are a big reason why. Y'know, when one overlooks the production school that Muggs introduced. Anyways, how is this place still called Boombapreviews if I've only just gotten to mentioning the legendary Diggin' In The Crates Crew again after four goddamn years?! Top it off, I've only talked about Diamond D three times in four years. I'm really disappointed in myself. Time for some reparations: Joseph Kirkland bka DITC co-founder Diamond D is your favorite producer to the tenth power. Please believe that if it wasn't for producers like him, our genre would not sonically be what it is today. Also, please believe that he'll stomp that ass on the mic, as he's right up there with the best punchline rappers to ever collide into the game. This is actually the song that put me on to Diam and his innovative usage of sound period, as he turns the sampled Pete Rock & CL Smooth record into an effing instrument atop a soothing blues mesh, including one of the most inventive utilizations of a vocal sample I've ever heard in our beloved genre. And even though the beat is one effective calmer when compared with the rest of the album so far, you can just hear E's excitement at working with a revered figure in his verses. And credit to Diam as well for returning his host's enthusiasm, resulting in a hella fine collaboration. I'm saying, Word Is Bond is so dope it could've fit snugly on Diam's debut Stunts, Blunts & Hip Hop. Not saying this album is inferior but... You know what I mean, bruh.

KEEP IT COMIN'
Muggs really just sat there and watched as E called himself the N word... Aside from that,  the first two verses were a rare change of pace as E gets personal with his rhymes, airing out his insecurities over Muggs dingy blues bass loop. Then, E mutter's that he thinks he's having a breakdown to which Muggs inserts a drum break that intentionally disrupts the fuck outta the experience. Then, as if his brain is damaged beyond repair, E spends the 3rd verse spitting empty threats and boasts the way he's been doing all album, but not before shouting: "Free John Gotti!" outta goddamn nowhere. This was awesome!

INTERLUDE
So, DJ Lethal finally reappears on his own group's album! Too bad, it's an interlude. Shame nobody rhymes on this one, neither, because this jazz sample clearly gives the horns on Back From The Dead a run for their money in terms of jumpiness. Oh well...

SAME AS IT EVER WAS
Danny Boy decides to jump back in the game, as well. And this time he's opening up the track as E hypes him up?! Someone's feeling their nuts! Anyway, the energy on the album returns to group's comfort zone of bar-room-brawl levels as Muggs composes this beat from an energetic mesh of funk & rock. By this point, I'm surprised you're surprised that he can pull this off so effortlessly. Songs like this have effectively highlighted the House Of Pain signature sound, as D and E always sound like they're having the time of their lives getting wooden chairs smashed on their heads and returning the favor in their pub of choice. And E's hook is a tribute to the Beastie Boys. What more can you want? I love this song!

IT AIN'T A CRIME
Muggs bows out of the album as he and Lethal combine forces to hand E, back for dolo, a rambunctious instrumental so he can wreck with some BNB. He does a 180 and provides my favorite rhymes on this here album: A tale of a juvenile gone wild. Honestly, the tale is fairly tall but you won't care if the shit's fun. Songs like this are where you point any stuck up douche who comes at you with the old 'Everlast doesn't know how to rhyme about anything besides fighting in bars'. This here bangs.

WHERE I'M FROM
Lethal takes the helm from here as he provides E with a jazzy tune, to which E spits a heartfelt dedication to his friends. A lotta names get mentioned here: His HOP crewmates, underground Brooklyn legend Divine Styler, ragga legend Cokni O'Dire among others. The 3rd verse interests me, though, because he bemoans the lack of communication between them and even disses one at the end. That went south quick. This is an enjoyable song, though.

STILL GOT A LOTTA LOVE
The sequel to the closing track on the debut. Over a smooth DJ Lethal bass loop, E simply spits one verse where he shouts out a bunch of people, some whom you might've heard of and some not. My favorite shoutout was the last one, because it's true: Ultramagnetic MCs never really got enough credit.

WHO'S THE MAN
Told you I was coming back to this. The song that opens up the abovementioned flick, DJ Lethal really steps up with the beat provided here as he swirls an evil drum break around around a nasty bass sample and lets it breathe, even taking a page from DJ Muggs' book by inserting an interlude mid-beat, while E & D kick stories of being lowlifes in the hood. Both rappers sound like this was recorded shortly after Fine Malt Lyrics was released. Side note: My first inclination was to disbelieve every single word being spit on here, until I found out that E & D actually had a little rep before they got put on. I remain unconvinced E would shank someone in prison, though. All in all, I fux with this.

ON POINT (LETHAL DOSE REMIX)
Basically the exact same rhymes as the original, but Lethal switches up the mood with a far more darker & spacey instrumental. Some might prefer the original, saying its chaotic nature is a better fit for the lyrics, and some might edge out the remix saying it gives the lyrics more space to breathe. It's on you to decide which camp you wanna follow.

FINAL THOUGHTS
First off, lemme just point out the fact that for all the bullshit labels like Tommy Ain't My Motherfucking Boy give artists to produce albums quickly, they sure took their time releasing our trio's sophomore into the public. Because Same As It Ever Was would've surely made much more noise had they done their fucking jobs and released it a year prior. However, we are still talking about Tom Silverman's vanity front and from all the bad press currently circulating about him, it's apparent & clear that the conniving bastard NEVER cared about the culture, let alone its purveyors. Anywhat, the focus should remain Everlast, Danny Boy, DJ Lethal and their collaborators on this album: I am very pleased to report that this is a vastly superior album to their debut, even if no song on here is bigger than Jump Around. DJ Muggs brought the vast growth he experienced to the table, and Lethal met him blow for blow every step of the way, while E clearly elevated his bar game. Danny was never that type of rapper but his energy was always palpable, which is perfect for projects like this. Bringing in Diamond D was a masterstroke, as well, because it exposed House Of Pain to a crowd that might've never heard of them prior. Well done, you Irish hoodlums and you Polish asshole. This will bump proper in your system.

WORTH IT?
Get to this yesterday or go shovel Post Malone into your brain somewhere else.

TRACKS TO TRACK DOWN

LEGEND
It's baffling to me that Tommy Boy would release an EP prior to Same As It Ever Was that house songs made after the shit. Kinda defeats the purpose of hyping the album, don'tchathink? This is the EP's title track, released as a single and given the video treatment nonetheless. Utterly baffling. Never mind these details as Lethal commissions a somber mesh of piano and electric key samples that drag you to the bowels of E's mind as he mixes some BNB with chilling observations about the age-old dilemma of fame-seeking. Had this been on the proper album, it would've dethroned It Ain't A Crime as my favorite song thereon, but here we are.

WORD IS BOND (REMIX)
Also off the Legend EP. At this point, I’m like: You know what, Tommy Boy? I'm so glad Treach did what he did to y’all asshats. Diamond D must've caught on to how good Pete Rock was with them xylophone samples, so I guess felt he had to prove he was just as good. Hey, 'tis the rules of the trade. You shouldn't trip, though, because a motivated Diamond D is a genius Diamond D. Not only does he freak a vastly superior remix to his original production, he also obliterates E on his own shit. To be fair, E never stood a chance with the verse he gave. It is what it is.

JUST ANOTHER VICTIM
Off the Judgment Night OST is yet another metal/rap mashup where our trio collaborate with alternative metal band Helmet. More like it’s two minutes of Helmet thrashing away until the last two minutes where Lethal takes control of the beat and directs the band and crewmate Everlast into performing a much more effective metal hip hop mashup. And we all know by now how comfortable E is at delivering threats and highlighting insecurities. Shit is wild.

Wanna go back to the House Of Pain? Be my guest. Or explore some more Soul Assassins. It's good for the soul

Cypress Hill - Black Sunday (July 16, 1993)

Half a year later...

If anything, I am one relentless motherfucker. I refuse to back down from a challenge. That's because trying to come up with shit to put in these writeups has begun to cause me actual physical pain again. Not because I stopped loving this material I'm writing about, far from it. But because the last review I wrote was before the infamous Soulja Boy Breakfast Club interview dropped. I hate even talking about that piece of shit but trust me, that interview served as a wakeup call: the mainstream hip hop scene has been flooded with trash music for over a decade now. Not knocking guys who really appreciate the craft like J. Cole or Big KRIT, but even they were forced to compromise with songs that really serve no purpose when it comes to elevating the art form.

Which begs the following questions: When the fuck was it OK for the limits of this art form to not be pushed? When the fuck was it OK for mainstream hip hop acts to settle with the mediocre? I'll let y'all hang with these shits for a moment.

Back to our syndicated program with another look at what many people in the industry call the "Golden Era". Now, pay attention to the fact that each and every attempt to pinpoint the exact timeframe of said era failed so far, simply because of the astronomical number of answers one would get for even asking such a thing. Nevertheless, a common understanding has taken shape in the ether implicating that such era may be traced back to 1986, a mere two years after Run-DMC & LL Cool J transformed the industry from a singles game into an albums game. It was then that the world of hip hop caught the first glimpse of its most influential generation to date. I'm not even gonna list the acts who released material during that time but trust me: You're gonna find that the vast majority of your favorite rappers were, in one way or another, influenced by these mufuccas. That's is exactly the case for one of mines: The legendary B-Real, lead MC and writer for the immortal Cypress Hill. B, along with comrades Sen Dog, hype-man and lowkey-leader of the group, and DJ Muggs, founder of the Soul Assassins and chief architect of its sound, hit the scene with one hell of a bang. Their eponymous debut, released in 1991, was a true testament to how much they were students of the aforementioned pioneers, showcasing distinct influences of Public Enemy and EPMD while retaining their identity and thereby creating a sound all their own. The critical hit was a commercial one, as well, quietly reaching five hundred thousand units sold in early 92. During that time, ol' Muggsy was busy cranking out hits for fellow Soul Assassins alumni House of Pain & Funkdoobiest, with the former's debut album actually achieving platinum status on the strength of the be-all-end-all party jam Jump Around, itself a chart-topping smash. As expected, this did wonders for Muggs' name, as people started researching the guy and found out he had released a full album with Cypress Hill prior. Hence the eponymous debut reaching platinum status in January of 93, as well.

So now that Muggs was done with masterminding the side projects, it was time for him to refocus on the main show. His grimy funk production being somewhat of a hot commodity, Muggs decided that he was going to continue pushing it for a while despite him recognizing that now was a suitable time to elevate his sound. Thus, the world was treated to the biggest Cypress Hill record to date: Insane In The Brain.

Storytime: Insane In The Brain was actually a diss aimed squarely at Chubb Rock and dear friend-turned-bitter enemy Kid Frost. Keyword: WAS. Kid Frost has long since reunited with the Hill and Chubb Rock is on pretty amicable terms with them. Anyways, the song blew up within the rock and metal markets simply because the Hill had an immense appeal with their pothead fanbases. It actually became such a hit that the original objective of the song was completely lost. Hell, even Cypress themselves barely recognize it as the diss it was meant to be. Nevertheless, Insane In The Brain remains the Hill's biggest single stateside, selling five hundred thousand units alone and is forever solidified within the Hill's live show sets. The fuckheads at Sony felt said success was enough groundwork for the accompanying album, Black Sunday, to be unleashed on the starving masses.

To date, Black Sunday is the most successful Soul Assassins project out, selling at least three million units in the US alone. Critics also flocked at hailing this record as gigantic triumph for the group. Time to check if they're onto something.

Boy/girl (pick one), this is Black Sunday

I WANNA GET HIGH
What kind of Cypress Hill album would this be if it didn't house a song or two professing their love for cannabis? Muggs sets the mood off right with some off-kilter horn bytes preceding a soothing funk instrumental looped to enhance the experience of getting baked out your shoes. B responds appropriately with a Rita Marley interpolation, followed by a one-verse ode to the sticky icky. I know y'all know by now that never have and never will come near the stuff, but as far as weed songs go, this one's par the standard our trio set for themselves.

I AIN'T GOIN' OUT LIKE THAT
Remember Todd Ray bka T-Ray from the previous post? I told y'all I was coming back to him, right? Well, his status as Soul Assassins beatsmith is very much intact here as he rises up to Muggs' lofty bar with one hell of a concoction for the third single: A mashup of saxophone excerpts and harmonica interludes set to a looped guitar riff with some bass menacingly dragging the instrumental's body by its cold dead limbs until the drum break resurrects the whole shit as it hits you and shatters your ribcage. This is one beat that will stay wormed into your brain as B and Sen, in his first appearance on the album providing the B-written middle stanza, brutalize T-Ray's production with yet another thuggery display that'll incite a riot at your local high school reunion if played. Naturally, this song's my shit!

INSANE IN THE BRAIN
There's the lead single! Fun fact: this song and the previous one were the set Cypress Hill played the night they got banned from SNL. Speaking of which, fuck Lorne Michaels. Now that I got that outta the way, holy hell did this song ever cross over! TBH, I never understood why metalheads took to this song in particular. I mean, I highly doubt that they understood the disses towards Chubb Rock & Kid Frost. Hell, I'm even positive that there are other songs on the album that were much more infused with metal influence than this one, yet here we are. This is still an iconic entry in their discography, though: Muggs utilized the same formula that made How I Could Just Kill A Man so big and dialed it up to eleven with even quirkier sample material, harder drums and better arrangement of verses for B and Sen. I notice that it's actually Sen who's dishing out all the subliminal insults on the song. Never let it be said that he was a punk who hid behind B, even when B wrote the actual verses themselves. All in all, this deserves its place as one of hip hop's true anthems

WHEN THE SHIT GOES DOWN
Time for B to prove to mufuccas that he's an MC again. Over a bouncy ass composition issued as the second single where Muggs speeds an out-of-left-field blues classic, B, by his lonesome, describes a tale where his home, spot, gate, whatever gets ambushed and he finally gets shot in the chest while intending to go out in a blaze of glory. While the beat is very addictive and melodic, I wouldn't have pegged it to be a perfect backdrop to a shootout song. Then again, that's why Muggs is the producer with legendary 3-decade career and I'm not. Let me be clear, though: I have always loved this song!

LICK A SHOT
Here's what's interesting: The bass sample Muggs utilizes here is actually slowed down. Nevertheless, this is one high-octane number, as B ingeniously switches up his delivery, sounding like an absolute madman as a result. What's curious is that this song sounds like a continuation of the events that transpired in the previous one. B is once again in storytelling mode, but this time the matchup between beat and lyrical performance is much more effective as B relays the desperate situation his character's in with surprisingly vivid detail. What's even doper is that he unveils a twist where the whole sequence was just a dream, upon which he wakes up right at the moment where he still gets ambushed, without his firearms this time, and another worse scenario immediately plays out. Nice display of continuity, Cypress Hill!

COCK THE HAMMER
Hands down, the darkest, grimiest and best song on the entire album. If you ever thought that DJ Muggs was a one-trick pony, here's where he first proved you wrong. Dude really knows how to pull shit from left field: This time a bass loop from Brazilian jazz fusion infused with a soulful drum break warped to result in the most soulless of backdrops he has ever come up with up to this point. This is where B-Real flexes his writing muscles, as he provides a verse for Sen that is so potent fools are still quoting it decades later! Sen’s delivery of said verse was so powerful it whipped B into a one-verse thuggery frenzy mixed with some buccaneering imagery. Appropriate, that, as B looked like a reincarnated Blackbeard back then. If you were still wondering, B stomped out the beat something feral with his offering. One of the greatest hip hop songs I've ever heard.

LOCK DOWN
A short instrumental break. I will say that these beats are where Muggs first started experimenting with sounds that don't really need lyrics to paint full pictures. This is one where he puts to use a legendary blues byte and effectively captures the feel of living that ever-so-excruciating prison life. The beat literally sounds like when the prison bars are closing down during nighttime. Brilliant. Still an interlude, though.

3 LIL' PUTOS
If any one song off this album replicates the cartoonish formula of the first album, this is it. A pseudo-sequel to Psycobetabuckdown, this time with Sen joining on the fun with yet another Spanglish display provided for him by his writing partner. People forget that he, not his younger brother Mellow Man Ace, was the first to utilize said concept, though. Anyways, the sound of B and Sen goofing off on an equally goofy blues loop cheffed up by Muggs is always welcome in my ride. So far, this album has no hitch!

LEGALIZE IT
Alas, I hastily spoke. Another interlude so soon, Muggs? Here, he slows down a funky guitar riff while sprinkling various bits of weed PSAs. Creative, but unnecessary.

HITS FROM THE BONG
Over Muggs' classic blues loop, B-Real launches into yet another two-verse ode to his recreational drug of choice. I gotta give props to him for coming up with new ways to express his adulation for this subject. moving on.

WHAT GO AROUND COME AROUND, KID
Another goofy blues-infused Muggs beat, another B-written cartoonish display of violence performed by B and Sen in what's essentially a retread of 3 Lil' Putos. Like I said in the prologue, Muggs clearly felt that such goofiness still had a crowd by the time they eased into different sonic domains, so I give him props for sticking to it. And it ain't like the song isn't entertaining, especially when B hilariously decides to act out his kung fu fantasies. Fun note: By sampling Hand On The Glock, which appears later on the album, this track presents another example of an annoying recurrence in hip hop albums: How hard is it to just bump the earlier-recorded songs up a few slots?!

A TO THE K
Prior to appearing on this album, this song showed up on the White Men Can't Jump OST, cheekily titled White Men Can't Rap. Funny, since fellow Soul Assassins alumni House Of Pain were one of the biggest hip hop, scratch that, musical acts of that particular summer with that infectious Jump Around classic. Anyway back to this, it's my resolute opinion that this album's sequencing is absolutely terrible. If it were up to me, I'd sequence that shit into medleys: the haunting medley, the weed medley, the cartoonish medley, etc. As such, people might be understandably turned off the album by this point. And even though the traditional formula is here and it kept me entertained, I completely get why.

HAND ON THE GLOCK
Second song to show up on the album outta context, as this is a remix to the Hill's intended debut single Hand On The Pump. Like I said, these should've opened the album along with the singles. Especially since there's no overarching narrative to speak of. Oh well, at least it's a good and faithful remix.

BREAK 'EM OFF SOME
Hey! The Hill decided to end Black Sunday with a bang! Muggs transforms a smooth jazz loop into a high-octane thumper tailor made for B-Real to kick three verses describing him escaping the pigs. And here's where his delivery and lyrical choices steal the show once again as they relay the tension such situations produce effectively. Told y'all he's brilliant! Shame that some people can't get past his nasalities to appreciate these details. Oh, well. Their loss.

FINAL THOUGHTS
The Hill's at it again! Black Sunday is most definitely a successful second helping of the winning formula used so brilliantly on its predecessor, while not without its moments of attempting to naturally evolve and expand their domain, which is inherently a tough thing to do without polarizing your core audience. To that end I also feel like they succeeded, as songs like Cock The Hammer and I Ain't Goin' Out Like That have since become Cypress Hill staples for a good goddamned reason. All thanks to Muggs' constant efforts behind the boards to push himself beyond his achievements. B-Real also stepped his pen game up, writing material for both him and Sen that enhanced their vocal chemistry together, with Sen really stepping up and sometimes even overshadowing B with his delivery and tone. All in all, these dudes have notched another classic in their catalog, despite some later inconsistencies.

WORTH IT?
Ayo, if you wanna stubbornly stick with the whole "oldhead" debates currently plaguing hip hop media, get the fuck off my shit and take your ass up the Old Town Road with Lil Nas X' deluded ass. If you wanna grow the fuck up and appreciate good music for what it is, have yourself a piece of this gem now.

TRACKS TO TRACK DOWN:
I LOVE YOU, MARY JANE
The first of two Cypress Hill metal collaborations off the Judgment Night OST which featured various other dope ass metal/hip hop collaborations, to be frank. In this case, the Hill collaborate with Sonic Youth in tribute to guess what? I will say that Muggs really succeeded in reigning in Sonic Youth to fit in their warped weed-hazed sound for these odes. As far as the lyrical front, B is on his own, which never posed a problem for him in such circumstances and continues not to.

REAL THING
The second metal collaboration off the abovementioned OST, and this one sounds much more metal-influenced. In this case, this is a good thing, because the MO here is another all-out war with the police. B-Real sounds appropriately demented, while providing Sen with more deliberate threats. Muggs adapts to the foreign environment, setting the stage for future forays into this medium. I love this song!

SCOOBY DOO
This track's interesting: It's been featured on every single released after the album dropped. That lets me know that the Hill really wanted people to hear this track. Here, B goes for delf with two verses that describe a story where he survives an ambush after getting shot, all over another warped concoction by Muggs. A foreshadowing of things to come. Definitely seek this one out. And we’re finally done with the hiatus

Need another hit of that Soul Assassins icky? Knock yourself out. If you want to just maintain with Cypress Hill, gahead.