by SCOTT C

As one of the few hip hop groups that can proudly attest to being in the game for 15 years, DJ Muggs (Lawrence Muggerud), Sen Dog (Senen Reyes) and B-Real (Louis Freese) created a place for themselves with the release of their now-classic first album Cypress Hill back in 1991. With blunted beats and an unapologetic pro-weed message that burned its way into every one of their early songs, Cypress Hill quickly became Columbia Records' key West Coast group with massive East Coast appeal. They also cashed in on the early '90s marriage of alternative rock and hip hop, becoming regulars at Lollapalooza and drawing the most diverse crowd of stoners that you ever did see.

Having visited the highs and lows of the rap-rock connection over the years, Cypress Hill join the likes of the Beastie Boys and Everlast with another new release this year, but it seems that with their 10th LP Till Death Do Us Part, they've decided to give rock a rest for now. DJ Muggs gives me the rundown from a treadmill somewhere in a gym in L.A. "There's no rock-rap on this album, just straight hip hop," he proclaims.

Till Death Do Us Part finds Cypress returning to stories of gunplay, hood-life and smoking ample amounts of weed, backed by Muggs' production. The man who inspired a wave of producers with his blunted Soul Assassins sound has taken a page from Dr. Dre's book, focusing on more polished, string-laden beats that bump along under the Latin lingo. Although regular fixtures in the studio, Cypress might be one of the most well-travelled groups in the business, having been around the world and back again several times over. "People just don't understand that if you don't see us for a year, it's because we're touring like fuckin' crazy. We get around. We're still doing shit on our own terms, because that's how we started out. We did our own thing and we're still doing it to this day."

Muggs also mentions a new imprint he has lined up for longtime label Columbia, called Angeles Records. With names like Self Scientific, Chase Infinite, DJ Khalil, Supernatural and the Alchemist on board, as well as the third volume of his Soul Assassins series, Muggs is keen to continue moving forward.

"I bet you were wondering, ‘Why is this motherfucker breathing so hard,' right? We do Muy Thai and end up sparring a couple times a week to balance out the music business. We've been in it this long because we were fighters then, and we're fighters now." Although Muggs speaks fondly of the days of Public Enemy, Beastie Boys, Run DMC and the like, he also speaks to the reality of hip hop today, and where Cypress Hill find themselves in all of it. "Hip hop today has become exactly what we were trying to get away from in the first place - shitty pop music. People need to wake up and realize that being yourself is the best thing you can do in this music. We went against the grain and look where it got us."

With Sans Pression at Dôme on Tuesday, May 25, 7:30pm, $40

>> Music Listings