Cypress Hill - Rise Up

“In 1991, an artist in Compton picked up Cypress Hill’s debut album. What he heard blew him away; the futuristic funk with a diehard dedication to a certain herb...” Dragging us once again into their halcyon days of glocks and ganja, it’s a shame the Latino legends’ rate of production has slowed to the point they offer a crash course in their own history with every release. Less playful than its predecessor (2004’s Clash-sampling Till Death Do Us Part) – but surprisingly more focussed, given Muggs’ notable absence from the producer’s chair – Rise Up finds B-Real and co. roll calling their stoned celebrity compatriots (K.U.S.H) and threatening to get all “up in yo’ home with the internet technology” (Get it Anyway) as they source inspired collaborations with Pete Rock, Jim Jonsin and Marc Anthony to reinforce their timeless agenda. Rise Up? They just might, but will The Hill ever levitate away from the towering shadow of their 90s output? [Emil Muzz]