It’s hard to imagine, that just over 20 years ago, hip hop was still a relatively new musical genre just breaking into the mainstream. Today, no one questions its legitimacy or attempts to marginalize rap by calling it a “fad.” It’s hard to even imagine anyone ever doing that, at this point. There were a litany of great hip hop artists, DJs, and groups in the ’80s that laid the groundwork for the genre’s success, but it was the artists of the ’90s that broke through to the mainstream. Cypress Hill and their sophomore album, Black Sunday, helped make that happen. Black Sunday was a West Coast gangster rap album that was really a fun stoner album or maybe it was a fun stoner album that was actually a West Coast gangster rap album. If you were from Cali and doing gangster stuff in the ’90s, it’s probably a gangster rap album, but for everyone else, it is possibly the greatest stoner hip hop album ever made.
It’s been 21 years since it debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200, and it’s still a banger. Black Sunday is a love letter to people who smoke and have friends who like to listen to pro-marijuana music while they are stoned. It is a dream realized for the stoner who enjoys putting on a flannel shirt and only buttoning the top button, waving his hand around, thumb up and forefinger pointed to his friend’s face (you know, like a gun.)
Until about a week ago, while watching This Is The End and seeing Danny McBride smoking a spliff in the bathtub to “When The Shit Goes Down,” I had not listened to Black Sunday in an unknown amount of time. Like a really long time. So, I immediately purchased it for free, via the Internet, locked my bedroom door and listened to it about 35 times.
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xhu0s_cypress-hill-insane-in-the-membrane_music
I know “Insane in the Membrane” is kind of like a child’s birthday party song now, but I mean, who cares?
Black Sunday is a classic album from a good time for music. I mean, most times are good for music but the early to mid ’90s are particularly nostalgia inducing, especially when it comes to hip hop. I mean, The Chronic, Doggystyle, 36 Chambers, duh. So put on a flannel shirt and give it a listen.
Article by Timothy White. Follow him on Twitter @TipToTheHip.