Neil
from Columbia Records is on the phone. In perfect radio voice
he just said: "So, can Cypress Hill be on the cover?"
Nice try, Neil. I didn't actually say that to him. I thought
of all the ways Cypress Hill could possibly be on the cover.
Snowboarding in Vail downhill in a gravity bong, Skateboarding
Venice Beach with hip, new skate bong in tow, or just them rapping
in tubs of weed. But, it all sounded like brick weed to me.
This was god damn Cypress Hill we’re talking about. What
do they need to willy nilly Heckler for? They go platinum everytime
they take a shit and they've even been characters on The Simpson's.
I tell Neil I want two plane tickets waiting at the airport,
a limo to pick me up, 2 blunts of Cypress Hill's sweetest sensimella,
a 40 oz of Camo, and a tall blonde Swedish escort to aid in
the interview process and then we’ll talk Heckler cover.
The bastard had the audacity to hang the phone up on me. I got
a phone call a week later from this guy named Muggs claiming
to be the DJ and mastermind behind the highly successful Cypress
Hill. How lame. I bet Neil at Columbia put this Muggs guy up
to this shit. Some people have no spines.
How many years have you been laying down the beats?
Since
1985.
How many years have you been packing the peace pipe?
Since about '80. Yeah, 1980 (laughing).
When you are working on new material, is there any difference
when you lay down beats over rap as opposed to rock, the later
of which we’re seeing more of on the new album, Stoned
Raiders?
I think in rap you used to be able to be so much more creative.
I think now it's not as open as it used to be. With rock stuff
I am able to do whatever the fuck I want. Write new things,
try new instruments, really just go out on a limb with it. If
you listen to the early stuff we were always rock influenced.
I have always sampled rock albums. I have always considered
ourselves a rock group in the sense that, whatever we wanted
to be as a band, we compared ourselves to rock bands because
we've always strived for longevity, and I don't think any rap
groups we could even look up to have been around that long.
There are no rap groups we would want to compare ourselves to.
We've always compared ourselves to the Stones, Pink Floyd, and
Led Zeppelin, and said, "When we make music, this is what
we want our band to stand for." We want our band to be
able to stand the test of time and have four or five generations
of fans. To me that's the true test of a band. Anybody can go
make a hit record, or two hit records, its not really that hard.
I've done it before, know what I'm saying?
Cypress Hill used to have an infamous bong known as the "Road
Warrior." Does it still exist and do you smoke out of it?
Yeah, it's a big bong the guys take on tour. I never use it,
I don't really smoke out of bongs. I'm old-fashioned man; these
guys just want to find new ways to get high all the time. I'm
pretty simple.
Straight blunts to the cranium?
Straight joints and pipes. A bong blows my lungs up; I can't
handle that shit.
Willie Nelson says all the weed he smokes he gets from fans,
doesn't matter the quality or the grade. Cypress Hill is in
the same situation with all the fans that throw weed on the
stage. Do you smoke it or check it out like Mom does candy on
Halloween?
There is some great shit, and there is some shitty shit. We
get it all. Lots of times you break it open and check it out.
You never know when you might get a Taliban. Motherfuckers might
try to give you an anthrax-laced joint or something.
Do you have any preference when it comes to sampling?
It just develops into whatever. I will sample any fucking record
- it doesn't matter. As long as I can find a sound to manipulate
it doesn't matter.
How big of a factor does money play when it comes to sampling?
I've lost $50-80,000 on one song because we sampled it. Some
things I didn't even really need to have in the song. On Black
Sunday (Album #2) I probably gave up all my publishing' just
because of samples, so I am little more aware of what I do.
Plus, the people you are sampling from now days are more aware.
They have companies now who clear samples. They go and buy every
hip-hop album and listen to them just so they can find a sample
that you used that their company owns. It became a big business
and there are a lot of artists that just make a lot of money
off it, like Isaac Hayes and others. If you sample one of their
songs they want 100% of the publishing, so why even use the
fucking song? I'll share it, I'll give you half, but why you
want it all?
Neil
from Columbia Records is on the phone. In perfect radio voice
he just said: "So, can Cypress Hill be on the cover?"
Nice try, Neil. I didn't actually say that to him. I thought
of all the ways Cypress Hill could possibly be on the cover.
Snowboarding in Vail downhill in a gravity bong, Skateboarding
Venice Beach with hip, new skate bong in tow, or just them rapping
in tubs of weed. But, it all sounded like brick weed to me.
This was god damn Cypress Hill we’re talking about. What
do they need to willy nilly Heckler for? They go platinum everytime
they take a shit and they've even been characters on The Simpson's.
I tell Neil I want two plane tickets waiting at the airport,
a limo to pick me up, 2 blunts of Cypress Hill's sweetest sensimella,
a 40 oz of Camo, and a tall blonde Swedish escort to aid in
the interview process and then we’ll talk Heckler cover.
The bastard had the audacity to hang the phone up on me. I got
a phone call a week later from this guy named Muggs claiming
to be the DJ and mastermind behind the highly successful Cypress
Hill. How lame. I bet Neil at Columbia put this Muggs guy up
to this shit. Some people have no spines.