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Cypress Hill – Till Death Do Us Part
Album | 23/03/2004 | Columbia Records
49:43 | 16 tracks | Vinyl/Cassette/CD/Digital
Hip Hop / Gangsta Rap
South Gate, CA, USA
The Magnificent Seven
After their previous longplayer Stoned Raiders (04/12/2001 | Columbia Records) lacked international fame, Cypress Hill were hungry for another successful release. Their seventh album did indeed receive a lot of positive feedback and was sold many times more than its predecessor. Nevertheless, some die-hard fans of Cypress Hill mayhave been disappointed by Till Death Do Us Part since the album sounds different to previous output. Calling this release the beginning of a shift in the rap crew’s sounds is yet complicated as the next longplayer was published after a short hiatus in 2010.
Weed, Guns, and Tough Backing
Of course, some things have not changed, and Cypress Hill are still Cypress Hill. Lyrics about the consumption and the distribution of cannabinoid narcotics are thus a central feature of Till Death Do Us Part, and so is the talk about life in the neighbourhood. And these gangsta themes scream for heavy and funky beats which they receive most of the time. One exception is the laid-back sample for the second track Till Death Comes which unfortunately is completely displaced on this album. And secondly, the influence of Reggae and Ska is a central piece of Till Death Do Us Part.
Once Again…
… Sen Dog, B-Real, Eric Bobo, and DJ Muggs have produced an album that combines Hardcore Rap with laidback Hip Hop. When Till Death Do Us Part, Cypress Hill have already been a legendary crew for years. But after Stoned Raiders they thereby managed to save their reputation. Pop songs like the slow jam What’s your number? featuring Tim Armstrong and a sample of The Clash’s Guns of Brixton coexist with harsh bangers like Street Wars. It is indeed an incoherent album with plenty of weak points. On the other hand, Till Death Do Us Part contains some really great tracks such as Money, Once Again, Another Body Drops, or Latin Thugs.
6/10 Mangoes
Next week in this series
POles – Pamplemoustique (2014)
We will dance again
Mia Schem
