I’m coming to the conclusion that despite my East Coast upbringing, I’m a West Coast guy when it comes to the golden age of hip hop. I’m still learning about the genre’s roots, so it seems like every new album I hear during my exploration of the 90’s is even more definitive than the last. This album and this group are even more emblematic of the west coast sound as I know it than previous favorites like Snoop Dogg and the Pharcyde. G-funk is slowly weaseling its way into my heart right alongside Grunge and my precious, precious 2000’s rap-metal (am I joking? Do I really love rap-metal or is this some kind of sick joke? Do I do it all for the nookie? Stick around to find out).

The feelings this album creates are more complex than you might imagine when you picture the biggest single, “Insane in the Brain.” There’s plenty of bizarro subject matter and G-funk style beats, plus the standard confrontational boasty early 90’s hip-hop hallmarks, but on top of that this album has a twisted feeling like you’re in a battle of wits with the Joker. The sounds and rhythms distort ever so slightly, while B-Real and Sen Dog throw their wild don’t-give-a-damn loco vocals over the top. It makes you feel like you’re in a smoke-filled basement or the parking lot of an L.A. Shell gas station either having a dance battle or tripping on shrooms, depending on the song.

You can also hear, for better or worse, the precursors of what I can only fondly refer to as “early 2000’s shit-rock” in their sound as well, the inspirations for what would eventually become the broader genre of nu-metal and maybe nu-punk. Don’t get me wrong, I love some nu-metal and rap-metal as much as any other card-carrying millennial, but that genre was perhaps the most hit or miss genre that’s ever existed. The gulf between the best and worst rap-metal emulators of the Cypress Hill sound is HUGE - to me, only Country can boast such a wide spread between its best and worst moments. Imagine having Limp Bizkit and Rage Against the Machine in one subgenre? Crazy how difference the quality levels can be.

But Cypress Hill themselves are among the best in the G-Funk sound. The blend of west coast hip hop and hispanic influences and attitudes is just perfect (not to mention the mixing that was done largely while tripping on ‘shrooms - chef’s kiss). It’s a melting pot of the west coast itself, a cultural smoothie that just works. This is one of my favorite albums I’ve heard in the past year.

Better believe this one’s getting blasted at the BBQ this weekend.

Jams

“I Wanna Get High”
“Insane In The Brain”
“When The Shit Goes Down”
“3 Lil’ Putos”

From the roundup Jamwise #44 - The Best Albums of 1993, pt. 3.