The ECHO Project is a three day Atlanta music festival dedicating to raising awareness about global concerns, particularly concerning new, innovative programs for both energy creation and consumption. Among the bands slated to perform at this event: The Killers, The Flaming Lips, Cypress Hill, The Bravery, Phil Lesh and Friends, and many more.
Cypress Hill’s self titled debut album was released in 1991 and sold two million copies in the US alone. This success was based largely on the massive airplay of the B side of their first single “Phuncky Feel One,” entitled “How I Could Just Kill A Man.” The second album, Black Sunday, was released in 1993 and debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, recording the highest Soundscan for a rap group at that time. The band also became the first rap artists to have two albums in the top ten of the Billboard 200 simultaneously.
Cypress Hill has been an influential force for many of the bands formed after them, due in part because of their incorporation of Spanish lyrics and other elements of Latin culture into their songs, and also because of their progressive genre crossover style. Cypress Hill is also well known for their support of NORML, the National Association for The Reform of Marijuana Laws, and many of their songs deal with what they view as the hypocrisy of lawmakers concerning the non legalization of marijuana for non medicinal purposes. This activism has helped the band grow in notoriety, and expand their fan base beyond that of the traditional rap/hip hop fan.
Cypress Hill, while primarily classified as a rap group, involves rock instruments and other elements of this genre in their songs, resulting in the sometimes classification of a rap metal group. The true sound of the band is constantly changing, and everything from horns to soundboard effects and more has been featured in their music. Each of the band’s members has their own unique vocal style, which further adds to the diversity of their music and has also helped to build their reputation and expand their fan base.
The current members of Cypress Hill are as follows: B-Real (Louis Freese) rapper, DJ Muggs (Lawrence Muggerud) DJ and producer, Sen Dog (Senen Reyes) rapper, and Eric Bobo (Eric Correau) percussionist.