Cypress Hill | |
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![]() Cypress Hill performing at Bonnaroo in 2006
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Background information | |
Also known as | DVX (Devastating Vocal Excellence) |
Origin | South Gate, California, U.S. |
Genres | |
Years active | 1990–present |
Labels | |
Associated acts |
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Website | http://www.cypresshill.com |
Members |
B-Real DJ Muggs Sen Dog Eric Bobo |
Past members | Mellow Man Ace |
Cypress Hill is an American hip hop group from South Gate, California. Cypress Hill was the first Latino American hip hop recording group to have platinum and multi-platinum albums, selling over 18 million albums worldwide. They are considered to be among the main progenitors of West Coast rap and hip hop in the early 1990s, being critically acclaimed for their first four albums. The band has also advocated for medical and recreational use of cannabis in the United States.
Senen Reyes (also known as Sen Dog) and Ulpiano Sergio Reyes (also known as Mellow Man Ace) are brothers born in Pinar del Río, Cuba. In 1971, their family immigrated to the United States from Cuba. They initially lived in South Gate, California. In 1988, the two brothers teamed up with Lawrence Muggerud (also known as DJ Muggs) and Louis Freese (also known as B-Real) to form a hip-hop group named DVX (Devastating Vocal Excellence). The band soon lost Mellow Man Ace to a solo career, and changed their name to Cypress Hill, after a street in South Gate.
After recording a demo in 1989, Cypress Hill signed a record deal with the major label, Columbia Records. Their self-titled first album was released in August 1991. The lead single was the double A-side "The Phuncky Feel One"/"How I Could Just Kill a Man" which received heavy airplay on urban and college radio. The other two singles released from the album were "Hand on the Pump" and "Latin Lingo", the latter of which combined English and Spanish lyrics. The success of these singles led to the album selling two million copies in the US alone. Cypress Hill contributed the song "Shoot 'Em Up" to the soundtrack of the movie Juice. The group made their first appearance at Lollapalooza on the side stage in 1992.