B-Real interview Part 2 up on raptalk Talks Cypress Hill: link inside

[Mitchy_Duz_It]

http://raptalk.net/website/content/view/1309/54/

Raptalk.Net: Ok. How deep is the crew into the Cypress Hill album at this time?

 

B-Real: We’re pretty much way over half way done; we’re nearly done with the recordings actually. We’re starting to mix. We should be done by the end of February. We’re trying to get that knocked out. We’ve been working on it for the past nine months probably. We’re done the recording and we just started the mix process two months ago. It’s going to be a very strong record. I think people are going to be surprised with what we’re doing. I think after that last record, people probably counted us out of the game like we were done and what not. There were rumors of us breaking up and all this other nonsense. We never really broke up; we just took some time out to do what we wanted to do before we came back to recording the next record. What happens when you go and do other projects, you learn things from those projects and you bring them back to base. All the experiences that we’ve had in-between the time we did the last record, you’ll get to hear most of the inspiration we’ve had throughout this. I’d say this is going to be a raw Hip-Hop record. It’s going to be raw, gritty, it’s very aggressive with an in your face type of vibe.

 

Raptalk.Net: We’re all excited to hear that. Is Muggs handling the majority of the production?

 

B-Real: Muggs is handling half. I’m handling a good portion of it. We’ve called out to a few producers to contribute and stuff like that. It’s going to be a well-rounded record.

 

Raptalk.Net: Would it be too early to divulge information regarding which producers you’ve reached out to?

 

B-Real: Yeah, it would be a little early. We did go after Pete Rock, Apathy, and Jake One aside from my production and Muggs’ production; those are the only guys…and possibly something from (DJ) Premier.

 

Raptalk.Net: That sounds like a monstrous line-up right there. What label is the project going to come out on?

 

B-Real: Well right now we’re without a label because we didn’t want to have anybody rushing us or trying to get involved in the creative process and what not. We just financed the record on our own, recorded out of my studio and Muggs’ studio, out of my pocket. I pretty much invested in the group because I know what we’re worth and what we’re capable of. I didn’t want to have to go to a label and ask for a budget to record or ask for a budget to make this next album. We have the resources to make the album without them. We wanted to make the best album possible before taking it to a label and I think it worked for us. I’ve been doing that since 1997. If I want to record an album, I pretty much come out of pocket with it first through my studio.

 

When it’s ready is when I take it to a label. It gives them less room to come and try to get involved and try to put their two cents into it. These days when they make their investment like that, they’re gonna’ have so many suggestions that might not work for your record. You take this to where you know it’s gonna’ be right for them. It’s important to have your record in the right place, with the right people that are going to put the right push behind it. You can’t just give it to any label because they’re offering a lot of money. They’re offering a lot of money and then in the end, they don’t push the record right, they fuck it up. You may have the best record in Hip-Hop’s existence and nobody will ever know because it’ll never get out or there is no momentum or heat on it. They don’t know how to get the momentum or heat. They just let you sell yourself.

 

We couldn’t have that. We want to win; we’re in this game to win. We’re not it in to take second best; we’re trying to win the whole shit every time like a basketball or baseball team. Hip-Hop is very much like sports. You have to be in it to win. Cypress Hill has always been in it to win. If we lose, we dust ourselves off, pick ourselves up, come back and try it again.

 

Raptalk.Net: I like the direction you’re talking about going in. We definitely don’t need a major label watering down the Cypress Hill material.

 

B-Real: Never that. We could not have that. It wouldn’t be Cypress Hill.

 

Raptalk.Net: I agree with you. What is your favorite Cypress Hill album?

 

B-Real: I don’t know. I like “Cypress Hill IV” a lot. I think it’s an under rated album. I mean obviously I like the first three albums. You know we did a lot of classic material on those three. I would definitely have to say “IV” was a slept on and under rated album because at that point, after “Temples of Boom” we started having problems with our manager and turmoil within’ the group. They thought we were going off into the sunset and it would be our last record. They didn’t put too much behind it. When we started doing shows and started playing the songs for people, it eventually went Gold without any of the Sony push. Sony has a good product with all their resources; if they really push and put the machine behind it. “IV” basically sold itself and when it went close to Gold, Sony pretty much pulled us right off the road because they realized that they dropped the ball on that album and they didn’t want to fuck up the momentum that we were having. As for letting us go do the road work on this record, which always sold a lot of records for us – they pulled us off the road because they wanted us to go right back in there and work on another studio album.

 

They said “we dropped the ball on this one but we realize there is still life in this group – we wanna’ do this shit right.” So we did half of the amount of touring we usually do for a record on “Cypress Hill IV.” We sort of just bailed out on the touring and went back in the studio and created “Skull and Bones.” When they heard that record and the “Rock Superstar” song they were get back on it, full resources – let’s go. That record definitely had more success and that kind of actually helped sell “Cypress Hill IV” because we people went back and bought it and it finally went Gold. It pretty much validated Cypress Hill in the eyes of Sony as still being a very much marketed and successful group and what not.

 

After that, it just started changing up. A lot of the people that helped us in the first stages of our career started moving on to different jobs at different companies and what not. Now it was all new heads there with the exception of Don Ienner who was the main guy pushing us. When you have the top guy at the company pushing this group out there, they listen because that dude cracked the whip. We own a lot of our success to Don Ienner for him seeing the vision and having the push in us even when people thought we were done; even when he thought we were done. He still, because he loved us so much, had that push and we were able to still have success. Once all those people we were familiar with and had a good relationship with as far as Cypress Hill goes on Sony, pretty much after we released “Stoned Raiders” and that one took a new shift because all the departments were arguing over who was gonna’ push Cypress (Hill); is it gonna’ be the rock market, the urban market. In the end, we kind of got left to sell ourselves again. At that point, we weren’t really touring a lot because we were going through this deal with another fucking management company. We were going through shit with the label because everybody had changed up. Nobody knew how to work our project anymore. They were focusing more on Lauryn Hill, Nas – they just kind of left Cypress (Hill) off on its own.

 

If we hadn’t taken our shit back on the road, Cypress Hill would probably be dead by now. We took our knocks and rolled with the punches and got back on the horse and started writing again. We went through a couple of things being with Sony. I have to give them props at the same time because they saw the vision and they let us do what we wanted to do.

 

Raptalk.Net: Great answer, thanks for the in-depth insight into all the politics with Sony, both positive and negative. Do you have a specific memory that sticks out in your mind from the recording sessions for “Black Sunday?”

 

B-Real: Yeah, I sure do. We recorded 80%-90% of the album in New York at a studio called Baby Monsters Studios. At that time, it was just me and Muggs out in New York; he (Muggs) had an apartment out there. He was bi-coastal; he lived in L.A. and in New York; he drove back and forth. At that point, he wanted to get the inspiration from what was going on in New York at the time. He moved out there during that time period.

Muggs had me come out there to New York to live with him to do the record. We had a great time out there doing the record.

 

There was one instant; Muggs had called on this guy named T-Ray who was a really good producer; still is and he is a good friend of ours. We called him in to do a couple of tracks for us; he ended up doing one called “We Ain’t going out Like That.” That was one of my favorite songs on that album. I have a few on that record though but that is one of my favorite because it’s so up-tempo and it has the Black Sabbath vibe in there. When I picked that beat out, I was like “oh shit, this is gonna’ be crazy” Me and Sen Dog, we wrote to it.

 

The day we were going to lay it into the studio, somebody had given us some mushrooms. We thought “we know what? Fuck it, let’s take some mushrooms and go in to record this song” (laughs). We were peaked out of our fucking minds doing that song. The recording you hear on “Black Sunday” for “We Ain’t Going out Like That”, we’re totally mushroomed out of our fucking minds right there. When we listened to it the next day, we thought we were going to have to do it again but it actually came out exactly the way we wanted it to. That’s the song were we we’re frying our brains out off mushrooms (laughs). That’s one of the studio stories that I can tell you for sure.

 

Raptalk.Net: (Laughs) that’s a great fucking story man. We appreciate that. We’re going to end the interview on that note. I want to get your last words. I want to thank you for your time; it’s been a pleasure to interview you. For your last words, why should people go cop “Smoke N’ Mirrors” when it’s released?

 

B-Real: I think people should grab my album because it’s an album of substance which you don’t really hear too much about these days. There are only a few people who still have albums with substance. Most of the major albums out there which are in rotation on the radio or video play; a lot of that stuff sounds the same. A lot of it is material driven as far as a materialistic standpoint I should say. This is more substance; it’s about life, experiences, what’s going on in the world right now but it’s not preachy – it’s very street shit, thought provoking and it’s got humor; it’s a little bit of everything. I’m just trying to bring substance back.

 

Raptalk.Net: I appreciate your time B.

 

B-Real: I should have called it “Substance Abuse” (laughs). Maybe that’s my next record.

 

Raptalk.Net: Will be looking forward to that one but we firstly must go cop “Smoke N’ Mirrors” and appreciate it for what it truly is.

 

B-Real: Right on man! Thank you very much.

[Lunatic]

props for posting my work my dude