audio review : Back In Black ( album ) … Cypress Hill

audio review : Back In Black ( album ) ... Cypress Hill

The title seems to be a reference to Black Sunday, but it could also nod at the fact that the music is produced not by DJ Muggs but Black Milk. It’s a head-scratching move; Milk has no previous association with Cypress Hill; but a fitting replacement. If you didn’t know any better, in other words, you’d think that was Muggs on the beats.

On an album packed with marijuana references; Open Ya Mind celebrates its legalization in the group’s home state of California; The Original is a minor highlight. Most of the rest is merely decent. The worst songs are the ones with the worst hooks; namely Come With Me and Bye Bye. They should’ve called back Brevi Wood.

my rating : 3 of 5

2022

audio review : Elephants On Acid ( album ) … Cypress Hill

audio review : Elephants On Acid ( album ) ... Cypress Hill

Muggs ain’t dead. Though the DJ beatmaker has a Rzaish tendency to overstep the boundaries of hip-hop by overexperimenting with foreign instruments and samples, his music is still the best part of Cypress Hill. That he’s the sole producer here after having little to do with their last album should give fans a sigh of relief.

That assumes they can breathe at all, of course, thru the heavy clouds of weed smoke lead rapper B-Real exuberates. His Reefer Man anthem is a highlight, pun intended, along with Oh Na Na and Crazy; all featuring Brevi Wood on the hook. Acid is the main drug though, evident by both the set’s title and its psychedelic vibes.

my rating : 3 of 5

2018