"East side L.A./Cypress Hill all day/Spark the La/We live this shit" --Cypress Hill Cypress Hill's founding members--B-Real, DJ Muggs and Sen Dog--and Bobo (a full-time member since '94) continue to walk it like they talk it on the two-CD set, Skull & Bones, the group's fifth full-length studio album which follows hot on the heels of their well-received Spanish language album Los Grandes Éxitos En Español, released December 7, 1999.

Celebrating the group's tenth anniversary, the 12 million albums they've sold worldwide over the course of their career, and the fact that every one of their preceding studio albums has gone gold, platinum or multi-platinum, the pioneering hip-hop group returns with a double-pronged approach: one disc of straight-up, state-of-the-art Cypress Hill style hip-hop and a second platter full of propulsive rap-rock.

"We felt we needed a challenge," explains B-Real about the decision to season their staple hip-hop diet with rock spice on the new album. "Hip-hop comes naturally to us. But we've been messing with the alternative stuff since at least '92-'93, when we recorded those tracks for the 'Judgment Night' soundtrack. We felt that a lot of the stuff out there now borrowed from what we were experimenting with way back then."

Remember, this group played both Lollapalooza and Woodstock, toured with Rage Against the Machine as their warm-up act, and recorded with Sonic Youth and Pearl Jam. Now, Cypress Hill are reclaiming the fan-base they created themselves through years of touring, night after night of galvanizing live performances, a fan-base the current generation of rock stars with hip-hop roots tapped right into.

Produced as always by sonic alchemist DJ Muggs for Soul Assassins, the dual direction of Skull & Bones can best be heard in the unprecedented simultaneous release of two versions of a song as singles--"[Rock] Superstar" and "[Rap] Superstar"--to two different radio formats. The song immediately took Alternative and Hip-Hop radio by storm giving Cypress Hill their biggest radio hit since "Insane In The Brain" led to a #1 debut for the band's second album, 1993's Black Sunday. As L.A.'s influential modern rock station KROQ-FM added "(Rock) Superstar" well in advance of the track's official add date, the City of Angel's urban music outlets--KKBT ("The Beat") and "Power 106"--began championing "(Rap) Superstar." A piece of cautionary advice for would-be rock and rap playas that the music business isn't as glamorous as it looks and success doesn't come without a whole lot of hard work, "Superstar" incorporates spoken-word testimonials from longtime pal Everlast and the Deftones' Chino Moreno on the rock version and Eminem and Noreaga on the hip-hop variation.

"We needed to do something new," says B-Real, who adds that the band decided to record the six rock tracks having finished a full dozen straight-up hip-hop tracks--eleven of which appear on the "Skull" disc--the members of Cypress found themselves with a little free time on their hands and plenty of new songs left over. They called on some local friends like Fear Factory's Dino Cazarres and Christian Olde Wolbers ("Get Out Of My Head"), Rage Against the Machine drummer Brad Wilk ("Can't Get The Best Of Me"), Andy Zambrano and Jeremy Fliner from Sen Dog's own longstanding funk-metal side project, SX-10 ("A Man") and Downset's Roy Lazano and proceeded to bust loose with a hard, funky, industrial thrash that is as jarring as it is welcome.

As B-Real explains, it was a natural progression from playing some of the old stuff--like "I Ain't Going Out Like That," "Cock the Hammer," "Lick A Shot," "Eye of A Pig," "Nothin' To Lose" and "Checkmate"--with a rock-type line-up live during the "Smoke Out" in San Bernardino late last year. This Cypress-sponsored and headlined all-day concert drew some 40,000 paying customers, according to police estimates.

"We worked with some of the best musicians in this city," exults DJ Muggs, who led them through their paces. "They know what they're doing. They know the Cypress sound. I let them have their rope. I wanted to deepen the old Cypress Hill sound and tap into the rock shit... keep it stripped-down in the verses and real bass-driven. Boom, boom, boom...." Bobo is featured drummer on five out of six tracks on the "Bones" disc and will be alternating between drums and his usual percussion on forthcoming tours.

Cypress Hill's loyal legion of hardcore hip-hop fans will find what they're looking for on the "Skull" disc, which features some of the best rhyming of the group's long and illustrious career in such action-packed joints as "Another Victory" ("I got you stuck in the Twilight Zone of shit"), the sing-song Latin ritmo of "Cuban Necktie" (which seamlessly rhymes Devito, Pacino, Gambino, Vinnie Barbarino, San Bernardino, Quentin Tarantino, El Sereno and Soul Assassino), the hilarious record industry snap of "Stank Ass Hoe" ("I got double-platinum records on the wall/While you got double cheeseburgers in your toilet stall"), the thugged-out "Highlife" and, of course, it wouldn't be a Cypress Hill album without the clipped dancehall tribute to the herb, "Can I Get A Hit," which brings new meaning to the term, "bogart."

"We're just taking a different street to the same destination," says DJ Muggs about "Skull & Bones." "I really don't give a f**k what other people think. I don't make music for nobody but me... if I like it, it's all good."

That's been the Cypress Hill philosophy since the group took shape in 1988 in the Los Angeles suburb of Southgate when the Havana-born Senen Reyes and his younger brother Ulpiano Sergio (Mellow Man Ace) formed the rap quartet DVX with an Italian-American transplant from Queens, N.Y. named Lawrence Muggerud and L.A. native Louise Freese. After Mellow Man split, DJ Muggs, B-Real and Sen Dog dubbed the group Cypress Hill after Cypress Avenue, a street running through their South Central L.A. home turf. With a distinctive hardcore rapping style, dense atmospheric music and its pro-hemp platform, Cypress Hill began performing to mostly Latino audiences in and around L.A.

The band's self-titled 1991 debut produced the college radio hit, "How I Could Just Kill A Man." The group's 1993 album, Black Sunday, driven in part by the success of the Grammy-nominated "Insane In The Brain," debuted at #1 in Billboard, registering the highest first-week SoundScan sales for a rap album to that point. In 1994, Cypress Hill appeared at both Lollapalooza and Woodstock, where they debuted their fourth full-time member, percussionist Eric Bobo, son of salsa legend Willie Bobo. That same year, they were named Best Rap Group by both critics and readers in the annual Rolling Stone poll. Headlining appearances on the Lollapalooza and Smokin' Grooves tour and the best-selling albums III (Temples of Boom) (1995), Released & Revamped (EP, 1996), IV (1998) and Los Grandes Éxitos En Español (1999) closed out the millennium for one of the most influential groups in hip-hop history with nine gold, platinum and multi-platinum certifications to their credit.

With all that success, B-Real explains what keeps Cypress Hill's eyes on the prize. "Most young groups today don't have the proper knowledge of what it takes to be in this game," he says. "We've always considered this to be like sports. You can be a contender, a playoff team or a champion. To do that, you have to consistently work on your craft, your skill and your strategy. It's not easy if you don't have a direction because somebody will find one for you. Doing this record was the most fun I've had in a long time. I was like a kid with a new toy."

DJ Muggs calls it a timing thing. "You can be ahead of your time and not get recognized or too late... This was our plan all along, but we had to wait for the rest of the world to catch up to us."

Skull & Bones offers you a chance to get aboard the bandwagon before it runs you over and flattens you out. As they put it in "Worldwide": "You want to hang with us/You want to bang with us/Cypress Hill worldwide/In Los Angeles...."

It's an offer you don't want to refuse.

A History of Cypress Hill

1988: Havana-born Senen Reyes (Sen Dog) and younger brother Ulpiano Sergio (Mellow Man Ace), who moved from Cuba to the L.A. suburb of Southgate with their family in 1971, form rap group DVX with Italian-American Queens, N.Y. transplant Lawrence Muggerud (DJ Muggs) and Mexican-Cuban L.A. native Louis Freese (B-Real). After Ace splits for a solo career, the group renames itself Cypress Hill, named after a street that runs through the South Central hood they call home.

1990: The trio purvey their pro-pot message and hardcore rapping style to mostly Latino audiences in and around L.A., recording early demos of "The Phuncky Feel One" and a song called "Trigga Happy Nigga," which was renamed "How I Could Just Kill A Man." The latter became the band's first hit after they sign with Philadelphia's Ruffhouse label, distributed by Columbia Records.

1991: Self-titled debut hits in November with such classics as "I Wanna Get High," "Pigs," "Latin Lingo," "Tres Equis" and "How I Could Just Kill A Man," all now with Spanish language versions on the brand-new Los Grandes Éxitos En Español.

1992: First single, "The Phuncky Feel One," is released, but the B-side, the gangsta rap classic "How I Could Just Kill A Man," starts to get college radio play and becomes the #1 most requested song at influential urban station WBLS in New York. Cypress Hill goes on to sell two million copies in U.S. DJ Muggs begins producing career by helming House of Pain's self-titled bow, then goes on to work with Funkdoobiest and Beastie Boys. The band appears on the side stage at Lollapalooza.

1993: Band's second album, Black Sunday, debuts at #1 in Billboard, registering highest first-week SoundScan sales for a rap album up to that point, with hit single, "Insane In The Brain," leading the way to double-platinum in U.S. and 3.25 million worldwide. Group appears on "Saturday Night Live," where they're banned after Muggs lights up a blunt on-air while the group trashes their equipment during the aptly titled second number, "Ain't Goin' Out." Headlines "Soul Assassins" club tour with House of Pain and Funkdoobiest followed by college dates with 7 Year Bitch and Rage Against the Machine, proving their versatility and ability to entertain diverse audiences. Further proof of which is their two collaborations on the hit "Judgment Night" soundtrack with alternarock gods Sonic Youth ("I Love You Mary Jane") and Pearl Jam ("Real Thing").

1994: Following a U.K. tour, Cypress Hill appear on the side stage at '94 Lollapalooza and at that summer's Woodstock, introducing newest member, ex-Beastie Boy percussionist Eric Bobo, son of salsa legend Willie Bobo. Names Best Rap Group in Rolling Stone Music Awards poll by readers and critics.

1995: Headlines Lollapalooza '95 with Hole, Sonic Youth, Pavement, Sinéad O'Connor, Beck, the Jesus Lizard, and the Mighty Mighty Bosstones. Contributed a track, "I Wanna Get High," to Capricorn release of High Times-sponsored Hempilation album to benefit NORML (National Organization to Reform Marijuana Laws). Third album, III (Temples of Boom), debuts on charts at #3, on its way to platinum-plus sales of more than 1.5 million U.S. Sen takes a break from touring with band to form punk-rap band SX-10.

1996: Headlines shows with 311 and the Pharcyde before hitting road with inaugural "Smokin" Grooves" tour featuring Ziggy Marley, the Fugees, Busta Rhymes and Tribe Called Quest. Release a nine-song EP, Unreleased and Revamped, with rare remixes never before available.

1997: Solo projects. Muggs cut a solo album, Muggs Presents... The Soul Assassins, with members of Wu Tang Clan, Dr. Dre, KRS-One, Wyclef Jean, Mobb Deep and others. B-Real collaborates with Busta Rhymes, Coolio, LL Cool J and Method Man on "Hit "Em High," from multi-platinum Space Jam soundtrack; hooks up with Dr. Dre, Nas and KRS-One on "East Coast Killer, West Coast Killer," from Dre's hit Aftermath album, and records his solo bow, The Psycho Realm, with L.A.-based Latino rappers Duke and Jacken. Band once again participates in "Smokin" Grooves" with George Clinton and Erykah Badu among others.

1998: Sen Dog releases Get Wood Sampler with punk-metal hybrid SX-10 on Jordan Schur's Flip label, then returns to Cypress Hill fold for band's fourth album, IV, and to join them for yet another stint on "Smokin" Grooves," this time with Wyclef Jean and the Refugee Allstars, Gang Starr and Canibus. The new album goes gold on the strength of the Latin-flavored smash, "Tequila Sunrise," "Checkmate," "Nothin" To Lose" and the hemp-flavored "Dr. Greenthumb," all of which are included on the new Los Grandes Éxitos En Español.

1999: The band turns down a spot on the "Warped" tour to work on two albums at once at Ameraycan Studios: their long-promised Spanish language album, U>Los Grandes Éxitos En Español, released December 1999 and their fifth studio record, Skull & Bones, due in stores, April 25.

2000: Influential modern rock station KROQ-FM adds "(Rock) Superstar" well in advance of the track's official add date with stations across the nation following suit. Meanwhile KKBT The Beat" and "Power 106" in Los Angeles immediately began championing "(Rap) Superstar" while tastemaking DJ's Funkmaster Flex and Stretch Armstrong débuted the track on NYC's influential "Hot 97."