Greatest Hits From the Bong

Cypress Hill celebrates extraordinary longevity with Greatest Hits From The Bong

Since the group's formation in 1988, the pioneering rap-rock quartet Cypress Hill – founders B-Real (Louis Freese), DJ Muggs (Lawrence Muggerud) and Sen Dog (Senen Reyes), along with newest member Eric Bobo – have come a long way from the streets of South Central L.A. Over the course of its 17-year history, Cypress Hill has sold more than 17 million albums worldwide, including more than 11 million records in the U.S. alone. The group has garnered 15 multi-platinum, platinum and gold certifications; headlined Lollapalooza, Woodstock and the group's own Smokin' Grooves tour; appeared on Saturday Night Live, among other shows, all the while breaking down the musical and cultural barriers between hip-hop, alternative, metal, rock, reggae, ska and Latin music. To this day, many of Cypress Hill's hits remain on active rotation on the nation's foremost hip-hop, rock and alternative playlists while the sounds of Cypress Hill continue to rock the world's hottest underground parties. Cypress Hill celebrates the group's extraordinary longevity with the long-awaited Greatest Hits From The Bong. The collection is a first-ever English language collection from the group (diehard Cypress fans will no doubt remember the band’s Spanglish best of collection from 1999 Los Grandes Exitos en Espanol).

Chronological layout displays the growth of the group

The wait for this compilation was entirely worth it, since Greatest Hits From The Bong is filled with top-notch tracks. The mostly chronological layout may seem dry, but it displays the growth of the group and all the risk-taking and genre-blending that happened along the way. Raw, gangsta tracks and hedonistic odes to pot smoking give way to reggae-influenced numbers, layered Clash samples, and more intricate smoking songs. The album is beginning with 1992's underground hits How I Could Just Kill A Man, Hand On The Pump, and Latin Lingo, cresting with 1993's massive crossover breakthrough smash Insane In The Brain, rolling through the mid-to-late 1990's with the signature anthems Throw Your Set In The Air, Dr. Greenthumb, and I Ain't Going Out Like That, banging the new millennium with 2000's (Rock) Superstar and 2004's Latin Thugs (featuring Puerto Rican Reggaeton rapper Tego Calderon) and laying the groundwork for a green Cypress Hill future with two brand-new cuts: Ambrosia-sampling The Only Way and EZ Come EZ Go. Rounding out the set is a special bonus Reggaeton Mix of Latin Thugs (featuring Tego Calderon), remixed and produced by DJ Kazzanova.

Cypress Hill's career has a lot to teach newcomers

Cypress Hill were notable for being the first Latino hip-hop superstars, but they became notorious for their endorsement of marijuana. Not only did the group campaign for its legalization, but their slow, rolling bass-and-drum loops pioneered a new, stoned funk that became extraordinary influential in '90s hip-hop – it could be heard in everything from Dr. Dre's G-funk to the chilly layers of English trip-hop. DJ Muggs crafted the sound, and B Real, with his pinched, nasal voice, was responsible for the rhetoric that made them famous. Cypress Hill's career has a lot to teach newcomers about how a veteran act can hold onto a devoted fan base even after the hits stop coming, radio play dries up, and its signature sound grows old and self-cannibalizing. In a cutthroat industry, Cypress Hill has managed to avoid commercial obsolescence by touring constantly and actively courting the skateboard, metal, Spanish, and alternative crowds. With a running time of less than 50 minutes, Greatest Hits From The Bong isn't perfect, but being all killer and no filler, it's close enough.