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.