Cypress Hill facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

Quick facts for kids Cypress Hill
Sen Dog, Eric Bobo, and B-Real of Cypress Hill
Background information
Origin	South Gate, California, U.S.
Genres	Hip hop Latin hip hop West Coast hip hop rap rock
Years active	1988–present
Labels	Ruffhouse Columbia Priority EMI

Members	B-Real Sen Dog Eric Bobo

Past members	Mellow Man Ace DJ Muggs

Cypress Hill is a famous American hip hop group from South Gate, California. They have sold over 20 million albums around the world. Many of their albums have sold millions of copies. They are seen as very important in the history of West Coast and 1990s hip hop music. Critics have praised their first five albums. In 2019, Cypress Hill made history. They became the first hip hop group to get a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

The Story of Cypress Hill
Music Style
- How They Rap
- How Their Music is Made
Albums
- Studio Albums
Awards and Nominations
Band Members
Images for kids
See also

The Story of Cypress Hill

How the Group Started (1988)

Senen Reyes, known as Sen Dog, and Ulpiano Sergio Reyes, known as Mellow Man Ace, are brothers. They were born in Pinar del Río, Cuba. In 1971, their family moved to the United States. They first lived in South Gate, California. In 1988, the two brothers joined with Lawrence Muggerud, known as DJ Muggs. He was from New York City. They also teamed up with Louis Freese, known as B-Real. Together, they formed a hip-hop group called DVX. This name stood for "Devastating Vocal Excellence." Soon, Mellow Man Ace left the band to start his own music career. The group then changed its name to Cypress Hill. They named themselves after a street in South Gate.

Becoming Famous with Early Albums (1989–1996)

Cypress Hill made a demo recording in 1989. After that, they signed a record deal with Ruffhouse Records. Their first album, called Cypress Hill, came out in August 1991. The first two songs released from it were "The Phuncky Feel One" and "How I Could Just Kill a Man". These songs were played a lot on radio stations. "How I Could Just Kill a Man" reached number 1 on the Billboard Hot Rap Tracks chart. It also reached number 77 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Other songs from the album were "Hand on the Pump" and "Latin Lingo". "Latin Lingo" mixed English and Spanish words. This became a common style for the group. Because these songs were so popular, Cypress Hill sold two million copies in the U.S. It reached number 31 on the Billboard 200 chart. The album was certified double platinum. This means it sold over two million copies.

In 1992, Cypress Hill added a song called "Shoot 'Em Up" to the Juice movie soundtrack. The group also performed at Lollapalooza in 1992. This was a big music festival. They also toured with the Beastie Boys.

Their second album, Black Sunday, came out in 1993. It went straight to number 1 on the Billboard 200. This was a record for a rap group at the time. They also had their first album still on the charts. This made them the first rap group to have two albums in the top 10 at the same time. The song "Insane in the Brain" became a huge hit. It reached number 19 on the Billboard Hot 100. It also got them their first Grammy nomination. Black Sunday sold over 3 million copies and was certified triple platinum.

In 1993, Cypress Hill also had two songs on the Judgment Night movie soundtrack. They worked with Pearl Jam and Sonic Youth. This soundtrack was special because it brought together rap and rock artists. The group also performed on the TV show Saturday Night Live. During their performance, there was an incident that led to NBC banning the group from the show.

The group played at Woodstock '94 in 1994. During this show, Eric Bobo, a percussionist, officially joined the group. Eric Bobo is the son of famous musician Willie Bobo. He had also toured with the Beastie Boys. That same year, Rolling Stone magazine named Cypress Hill the Best Rap Group. They won this award based on votes from critics and readers. Cypress Hill played at Lollapalooza again in 1995. They were the main act that year. They also appeared on an episode of The Simpsons called "Homerpalooza". The group received their second Grammy nomination in 1995 for "I Ain't Goin' Out Like That".

Cypress Hill's third album, III: Temples of Boom, was released in 1995. It reached number 3 on the Billboard 200. It was certified platinum. "Throw Your Set in the Air" was the most popular song from this album. It reached number 45 on the Billboard Hot 100. This song also earned Cypress Hill their third Grammy nomination. After this album, Sen Dog left the group for a short time. He was tired of the constant touring. Cypress Hill continued to tour with Eric Bobo and other guest singers. Sen Dog later started a rock band called SX-10. He wanted to try different kinds of music. In 1996, Cypress Hill went on the first Smokin' Grooves tour. They also released a short album called Unreleased and Revamped. It had nine rare songs.

Solo Projects and New Albums (1997–2002)

Germany 1998

In 1997, the band members worked on their own music. DJ Muggs released his album Soul Assassins: Chapter 1. It featured many other artists. B-Real appeared on songs for the Space Jam Soundtrack and Dr. Dre's album. He also worked on an album with the group Psycho Realm. Sen Dog released music with his band SX-10. Eric Bobo played drums for rock bands like 311.

In early 1998, Sen Dog came back to Cypress Hill. He said his therapist and working with SX-10 helped him decide to rejoin. The group then went on the Smokin' Grooves tour again. They released their album IV in October 1998. It sold well and reached number 11 on the Billboard 200. The main song from the album was "Dr. Greenthumb". It reached number 11 on the Hot Rap Tracks chart.

In 1999, Cypress Hill helped with the PC video game Kingpin: Life of Crime. Three of their songs from the IV album were in the game. The group also did voice acting for some of the game's characters. Also in 1999, the band released a collection of their best songs in Spanish, called Los Grandes Éxitos en Español.

In 2000, Cypress Hill released their fifth album, Skull & Bones. This album had two discs. The first disc, Skull, had rap songs. The second disc, Bones, had rock songs. The album reached number 5 on the Billboard 200. It was certified platinum. The first two songs released were "(Rock) Superstar" for rock radio and "(Rap) Superstar" for urban radio. Both songs were played a lot. This helped Cypress Hill become popular with both rap and rock fans.

Because Skull & Bones had a lot of rock music, Cypress Hill used members of Sen Dog's band SX-10 for their live shows. Cypress Hill toured with bands like Limp Bizkit. They also released a live album called Live at the Fillmore in 2000. In 2001, the group appeared in the movie How High. Cypress Hill also recorded a song called "Just Another Victim" for WWF wrestler Tazz.

Changes and Collaborations (2003–2012)

Vegoose Festival, Sam Boyd Stadium, 2007

Cypress Hill released Till Death Do Us Part in March 2004. It reached number 21 on the Billboard 200. The album featured other artists like Bob Marley's son Damian Marley. The album had a strong Reggae influence. The main song, "What's Your Number?", featured Tim Armstrong from the band Rancid. This song helped Cypress Hill get on the rock charts again.

After this, DJ Muggs took a break from the group. He wanted to work on his own music projects. In December 2005, a collection of their best songs called Greatest Hits From the Bong was released. It had nine old hits and two new songs. In 2007, Cypress Hill toured as part of the Rock the Bells tour. They performed with other big groups like Public Enemy and Wu-Tang Clan.

In August 2009, a new Cypress Hill song called "Get 'Em Up" was released. It was also in the Madden NFL 2010 video game. This was the first song from their next album.

Cypress Hill at Metro City, 2010

Cypress Hill's eighth album, Rise Up, came out on April 20, 2010. It featured many guest artists and producers. DJ Muggs only worked on two songs on this album. The album reached number 19 on the Billboard 200. The song "Rise Up" was used as the theme song for a WWE event. It also appeared in the trailer for the movie The Green Hornet. Another song, "Armada Latina", featured Pitbull and Marc Anthony.

Cypress Hill started their Rise Up tour in 2010. They canceled a show in Tucson, Arizona, to protest a new law. In 2012, Cypress Hill worked with the electronic artist Rusko. They released a joint album called Cypress X Rusko. DJ Muggs and Eric Bobo were not on this album. Also in 2012, Cypress Hill worked with Deadmau5 on his album Album Title Goes Here.

Recent Albums and Achievements (2013–Present)

Cypress Hill on the big stage of the Beauregard festival, 2015

Cypress Hill - Sen Dog - Nova Rock 2016

Between Cypress Hill albums, the members worked on their own projects. B-Real formed the band Prophets of Rage. Sen Dog formed the band Powerflo. DJ Muggs worked on his Soul Assassins project. Eric Bobo formed a duo called Ritmo Machine.

On September 28, 2018, Cypress Hill released the album Elephants on Acid. DJ Muggs returned as the main producer for this album. It reached number 120 on the Billboard 200. Four different songs were released to promote the album. In April 2019, Cypress Hill received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. They were the first hip hop group to get this honor. All four members, B-Real, Sen Dog, Eric Bobo, and DJ Muggs, were at the ceremony.

Cypress Hill - Le Cabaret Vert, 2017

In January 2022, the group announced their 10th album, Back in Black. Cypress Hill also planned to tour with the band Slipknot. Back in Black was released on March 18, 2022. This album did not feature DJ Muggs on any songs. Other producers handled the music. Back in Black was the lowest charting album for the group. It did not reach the Billboard 200 chart. However, it did reach number 69 on the Top Current Album Sales chart. A documentary about the group, called Cypress Hill: Insane in the Brain, was released in April 2022. It told the story of the group's beginnings and their first ten years.

Sen Dog has said that the group will make an 11th album with DJ Muggs. He also stated that this will be their final album.

Music Style

How They Rap

One special thing about Cypress Hill is B-Real's very high-pitched, nasal voice. B-Real said his voice is "high and annoying." He developed this style to stand out. He wanted to be different from other rappers. B-Real has said that the Beastie Boys influenced his rapping style. Sen Dog's voice is deeper and often sounds like he is shouting. His vocals are often made stronger by adding another background voice. Sen Dog's style is very different from B-Real's. B-Real said, "Sen's voice is so strong," and that their voices "blend together" on the same song.

Both B-Real and Sen Dog started writing songs in both Spanish and English. B-Real was first inspired to write raps by watching Sen Dog and Mellow Man Ace. He originally thought he would only write for the group, not rap. Their songs are known for having a "cartoonish" way of talking about strong topics.

How Their Music is Made

The band sometimes uses rock and metal instruments. Because of this, they are sometimes called a rap rock group. Their album Skull & Bones had two parts. One part, Skull, was pure rap. The other part, Bones, was rock. In their live album Live at The Fillmore, some of their old songs were played in a rock or metal style. Eric Bobo played the drums, and Sen Dog's band SX-10 played other instruments.

The album Rise Up in 2010 had a very different sound. DJ Muggs had produced most of Cypress Hill's earlier albums. But on Rise Up, he only worked on two songs. Other producers made the rest of the music. The 2018 album Elephants on Acid marked DJ Muggs' return. This album had a more psychedelic and hip-hop feel.

Albums

Studio Albums

Cypress Hill (1991)
Black Sunday (1993)
III: Temples of Boom (1995)
IV (1998)
Skull & Bones (2000)
Till Death Do Us Part (2004)
Rise Up (2010)
Elephants on Acid (2018)
Back in Black (2022)

Awards and Nominations

Billboard Music Awards

Year	Nominated work	Award	Result
1992	"The Phuncky Feel One"	Top Rap Song	Won

Grammy Awards

Year	Nominated work	Award	Result
1994	"Insane in the Brain"	Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group	Nominated
1995	"I Ain't Goin' Out Like That"	Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group	Nominated
1996	"Throw Your Set in the Air"	Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group	Nominated