Biography

    The band has already existed since 1985. At that time they were called DVX (Devastating Vocal Excellence), a kind of prototype of Cypress Hill. Sen Dog, B-Real and DJ Muggs named themselves after Cypress Avenue which runs across South Central in Los Angeles. At that time they lived in the Southgate area of South Central on the westcoast of California. Mostly Chicanos and Latinos lived in the area. The band has no typical east- or westcoast sound although Cypress Hill is coming from the westcoast.

    In 1990 they got a 65,000 dollar record deal with Ruff House (Columbia/Sony) which is near a suburb of Philadelphia. Meanwhile the owners have retired. In late 1991 their debut album Cypress Hill was published. In 1992 their first single The Phunky Feel One was released and it was played on radio (it was not commercially available). But the b-side How I Could Just Kill A Man became one of the most-played songs of the New York radio station WBLS. In 1993 they recorded their second album Black Sunday which established a record for all rap-cds at that time.

    In 1994 Bobo, who already worked for the Beastie Boys and the Black Crowes, joined the group. He became their percussionist. They had already appeared along with Bobo at large festivals such as Lollapalooza or Woodstock.

    In 1995 they were already one of the headliners of Lollapalooza. They shared the stage with bands such as Hole, Sonic Youth, Smashing Pumpkins, Sinéad O'Connor and many others. During the same year their extreme dark release III (Temples of Boom) directly jumped on the third place of the Billboard charts. Despite low rotation on MTV and radio the album earned platinum status several times. MTV thought the lyrics contained a lot of violence. After the tour Sen Dog quit the crew to take care of his band SX-10. In 1996 they were one of the headliners of the Smokin Grooves together with artists such as the Fugees, Busta Rhymes and A Tribe Called Quest. In the late year they published their EP Unreleased & Revamped which consists of some rare tracks and some remixes.

    In 1997 nearly every band member concentrated on his solo projects. Muggs released his Soul Assassins sampler and B-Real worked together with Busta Rhymes, Coolio, LL Cool J and Method Man on the Space Jam soundtrack. Besides B-Real worked with Dr. Dre and Psycho Realm. During the summer they were performing on the Smoking Grooves Tour again.

   In 1998 Sen Dog returned, after he recorded his solo-cd Get Wood Sampler with the rap-metal group SX-10. And he once again took part in recording with their new album IV. Barron Ricks did feature heavily on that album. Again, but in reunited power they heated the Smoking Grooves tour with Wyclef Jean, Gang Starr, Black Eyed Peas and Busta Rhymes.

    They released their long awaited Spanish album, Los Grandes Exitos en Espanol, in 1999 and will release their fifth studio album, Skull and Bones, on April 25, 2000.