Jammin’ With Josh: Cypress Hill

This is Jammin’ With Josh. Each week I take a look at one of the bands that I love. Or perhaps it will be a band that I just discovered and think you should check out. Or maybe it will just be a way for me to post music videos. Honestly, no one will ever know.

I am going to change gears this week. We are going to take a look at Cypress Hill. How does a guy who loves classic rock, 90s alt-rock, and whatever is that O.A.R. classifies as, also love Cypress Hill? Well, it is a funny story. Or maybe not funny. I suppose it is just a story.

I think most of you have figured out that my dad was a major influence on me when it comes to my musical tastes. And then you have a spattering of other folks who introduced me to different over the years. The one summer, my cousin Bill lived with us because he was working for my dad. It must have been the summer before his senior year, so I would have been 12, and getting ready to start 7th grade (that was the beginning of Junior High back in those days…nowadays that shit is weird, I think 5th graders go to the middle school as it is called). Anyways, Bill was in a rap phase and we would listen to Cypress Hill at the house, usually while playing ping-pong (I swear everything revolved around ping-pong when I was younger). There were a few other groups he listened to (Onyx being one that I remember), but none of them ever hit me like Cypress Hill.

I think I have mentioned before that I am not into marijuana. And yet, I love a group that raps about smoking weed. It is even funnier to think about me as a 12 year old, jamming out to this. I remember being on the wrestling bus, listening to Cypress on my Walkman, when one of the older kids was like “what are you listening to Croyle?” Since I was the smallest, I tended to get picked on about everything (and the fact that I was probably reading a book didn’t help), but the kid listened and was like “damn, you listen to Cypress Hill? My parents would kill me if they knew I had that CD!” I wish I could tell you that I had a cool comeback or something, but no, I probably said something lame like “oh, that sucks.” I was very cool.

The funny thing is that Bill probably does not even listen to them anymore. Over the years, I bought more of their albums. I even saw them in concert (granted, it was when they toured with Linkin Park, but still, I got to see them). I have to admit though, I have not listened to them in awhile, but as I was thinking about music that I loved growing up, this was one of those bands that came to me immediately.

I will warn you that even if these videos are edited, they might not be suitable for work or children.

The song everyone knows is “Insane in the Brain”, even my dad would say things like “ugh, insane in the membrane. Yo!”

My favorite song is probably “Hits From the Bong.” Which…seriously, is really funny when you consider that I did not even know what a bong was when this came out. Also, it is probably weird that a 12 year old knew every single word in this song. And that I still know them…

“Dr. Greenthumb” is also one of my favorites. The opening is hilarious “my name is Jed…”

Here is another one that is a little more popular and many of you actually might know…”(Rock) Superstar”, there is also another version called “(Rap) Superstar.” One has Everlast and the other has Eminem.

Finally, we have probably the weirdest thing ever. B-Real from Cypress Hill teamed up with Coolio, Method Man, Busta Rhymes, and LL Cool J for the Space Jam soundtrack. The song is called “Hit ‘Em High” and it is pretty awesome.

 

Author: Ngewo