Cypress Hill isn’t your average rap group. Theyre very unlike the rappers of the 80s and 90s like 2pac and N.W.A, and they are even more unlike modern rappers such as 50 cent and T.I. They have their own unique style. Its rap with a little bit of latin and a little bit of rock. Thats what Cypress Hill is and thats what makes them so good and sometimes unique. Cypress Hill formed in 1989 in California and made it big in 1993 with the album Black Sunday and the single Insane in the Brain. Soon they started playing at large acts like Lollapalooza and Woodstock 94 pushing them to be one of the biggest rock involved rap groups of the era. Throughout the 90s they released many albums but by the end of the decade, they started to lose momentum. In 2004, they released their 7th album Till Death Do Us Part.
Till Death Do Us Part is an interesting album. Its very inconsistent and the songs often jump from one style to the other, but this actually can sometimes keep the album from becoming boring. The producer did a very good job with this album. The beats are sometimes dark and haunting and many unusual instruments not used commonly on the rap scene are featured, and as Cypress Hill are fairly good and experienced rappers, upbeat songs like Money and Street Wars are truly awesome. The album opens with Another Body Drops. Its an excellent song to open with. It has a fast ripping beat with a heavy synthesizer that works perfectly with the rapping and memorable gangster chorus "Shoot em up, Bang Bang, Another body drops you can’t stop the Hip-Hop". The first song really pumps you up for the rest of the album, but the next song, Till Death Comes, disappoints. It’s a slow song with a nice emotional piano, but that doesn’t go well with the drums and the vocals. Unfortunately, this isn’t the only song like this on the album. The song One Last Cigarette also has a slow beat that doesn’t fit with the rapping.
As the album moves on, the listener discovers the latin style from Cypress Hill. Songs like Latin Thugs and Ganja Bus are great latin tunes with trumpets and other instruments that shape latino type songs. Also, the latin icon Damian Marley is featured on Ganja Bus and does a great job with Cypress Hill making it an album highlight. Then the album moves on with Busted in the Hood. It’s an okay song with a nice bass and a reggae like guitar with a catchy chorus. The song tells a story about selling drugs and such, but theres a flaw in the track thats seen often on the album and rap albums in general. The lyrics can be stupid and repetitive touching on themes too common and uninteresting, but overall this is not a bad song. Next, probably the greatest accomplishment on the whole album, Money, begins with a fast, gangster orchestra riff. The rapping on this song is top notch and the lyrics avoid becoming stupid or generic. This is certainly a highlight and in my opinion a Cypress Hill Classic up there with Insane in the Brain and Hits From the Bong. Then the listener discovers the rock side of Cypress Hill on the slow organ based Never Know and Last Laugh. Although these song are not heavily rock-influenced songs they feature distorted guitars that mix well with the gangster rapping.
Now that Cypress Hill have touched on styles such as gangster rap, latin, and rock, the only thing that is missing is the poppier more mainstream tunes such as Whats Your Number and Once Again. Whats Your Number is probably the catchiest song on the whole album. Its based off of The Clash song Guns of Brixton and features a great chorus, but again stupid lyrics can ruin this song. Once Again is also a very catchy, strange song and diffidently a great song with slightly better lyrics. Then the album is started to reach its end. Theres a couple weird, short songs, Number Seven and Eulogy and some fairly average songs that are pretty good, but fairly normal compared to the rest of the album.
Overall, Till Death Do Us Part is certainly not a classic rap album, but it incorporates elements not normal in more modern rap records. This album is diffidently a change from their earlier albums, but all groups change and this is certainly worth picking up for any Cypress Hill fan. In conclusion, Till Death Do Us Part is a very good, entertaining rap album that incorporates different styles of music into many different tracks.
3/5 Good
Pros.
Many different styles
Very few songs sound alike
Good rapping
The songs are not repetitive
Doesn’t sound like every other modern rap album
Cons.
The lyrics are often stupid and generic
Some of the slow songs don’t fit well with the rapping
Theres a few short, pointless songs
Recommended Tracks
Another Body Drops
Money
Never Know
Once Again
Till Death Do Us Part
Please comment and enjoy
Flea is Godly
Odd
