DJ Muggs is in the midst of a career resurgence, at least as far as press is concerned, thanks to a string of well-received solo projects & collaborations in the last few years. For a while, though, it seemed like Muggs was a hiphopper's best-kept secret--one of the most important sonic innovators in the genre but generally flying under the radar compared to the superstar producers he inspired. For an example, look no further than the album that started it all (respect due to 7A3), Cypress Hill's 1991 self-titled effort.
(Coincidentally, as I write this, yesterday Cypress Hill announced a new album to be fully produced by Black Milk, with no Muggs in sight.)
One listen to Cypress Hill confirms Muggs, who produced the whole album, as one of the unsung architects of the West Coast gangsta sound. The slower tempos on songs like "Pigs" & "Stoned is the Way of the Walk," loping basslines & druggy atmosphere are distinct from the sharper, more uptempo production of earlier L.A. gangsta acts like Ice-T. Still, Cypress Hill's particular blend of elements is wholly unique: skanky funk guitars, psychedelic leads, Latin rhythms, & samples like vocal chops, sound effects, isolated bits of noise that come & go in the mix like random synapses firing in the stoned brain. The overall effect is off-kilter, carnivalesque (see the brief hurdy-gurdy beat change in the middle of "How I Could Just Kill a Man"), colorful & vaguely comedic. The congregate impression is of the world turned slightly askew, leading to surprising flips like the "Duke of Earl" sample that propels "Hand on the Pump." Even the cover art is stretched out of shape, mimicking the distorted view through a haze of cheeba smoke.
This cartoonish quality extends to the lyrics & vocal performance. B-Real's nasal falsetto delivery is a love-it-or-hate-it element; personally I love it, & I'm always a little disappointed when Sen Dog starts rapping. No disrespect to Sen--he & his brother Mellow Man Ace are legends in Latin rap--but he's significantly less interesting than B-Real both lyrically & vocally. Most of the album showcases B-Real's nimble flow, as he seemingly invents slang on the fly, flips turns of phrase without calling attention to them, cracks sly asides & dares you to keep up. Cypress Hill never took themselves as seriously as other West Coast gangsta acts (though, for what it's worth, Sen & B are genuine gang members). Although there is plenty of violence in the lyrics, the whole thing is shot through with a sense of gregarious fun. I think this element is what made Cypress Hill such a successful crossover act with white suburban audiences. They delivered tough street tales with just enough winking at the camera to make the pill easier to swallow, & their music had a rock & roll bent that got more pronounced as the years went on.
"Pigs" is a great opener, setting the stage for what is to come, with a monumental beat & a sneering anti-police message that's almost makes me forgive this for being the 2nd album in this series where you hear a homophobic slur before a full minute has elapsed. On the other hand, Cypress Hill lacks the extreme misogyny that was a common feature of this era of gangsta rap. B & Sen crack a few jokes at the expense of objectified women, but there's nothing approaching the extreme woman-hating of an album like N.W.A.'s Efil4zaggin, which was made contemporaneously, released 3 months earlier, & had a similar sonic profile.
Ultimately, for me Cypress Hill fall into the Busta Rhymes category of iconic, influential hiphop figures who never managed to make a truly great album. I'm tempted to use the word "frontloaded," but the problem is more just a dearth of ideas. All the good ones were used in the album's first half, & the rest starts to feel a little samey. There are surely bright spots on the album's back half ("Stoned is the Way...", "Latin Lingo," "Tres Equis"), but overall it feels like all the crew's tricks have been exhausted by track 9.
One thing I've always loved about early West Coast gangsta rap is its diversity. Boo-Yaa T.R.I.B.E. represented American Samoa, Mellow Man Ace & Kid Frost brought Latin flavors, & there were even folks like Muggs, Everlast (pre-House of Pain he was part of Ice-T's Rhyme $yndicate) & Eazy-E's signee Tairrie B representing the mayonnaise delegation. The multi-platinum-selling Cypress Hill were the first crew to bring Latin rap to the mainstream, & they have proudly represented their Cuban & Mexican roots ever since. Despite any quibbles I have about the album, that (& the 2 million+ units it sold) are things I can never argue with.
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