When getting ideas for Cypress Hill's seventh studio album, "Till Death Do Us Part," producer and mixer DJ Muggs wanted to capture the group's original sound.
"I thought back to the first album where we were doing the dark hip-hop thing," said Muggs during a phone interview from a recording studio in Los Angeles, where he was working on his new "Soul Assassins" side project album. "I wanted to get there again but make the sound a bit bigger and stronger."
The fact that Cypress Hill's self-titled debut was released some 13 years ago shows the hip-hop group is still in the game. And that, said Muggs, is because the group — DJ Muggs (Lawrence Muggerud), vocalists Sen Dog (Senen Reyes) and B-Real (Louis Freese) and percussionist Eric Bobo — isn't afraid to experiment.
"We've always been one of those groups that like to mess with world rhythms," said Muggs. "I mean, we're a multiracial and cultural band. So it makes sense."
That comes through clear on "Till Death Do Us Part." Cypress Hill takes reggae, ska and punk and throws them into the hip-hop mix. It even enlisted Rancid guitarist Tim Armstrong for some grinding licks on "What's Your Number," which also features the Transplant's Skinhead Rob "SR" Ashton doing some background vocals. Even Damian Marley (Bob's son) finds his way into the mix on the dance hall ditty "Smoke It Up."
"We try to keep it fresh," said Muggs. "We have never been uptight about trying to find new ways to make the music."
Looking back on the Hill's career, it's easy to see what Muggs means. The boys have not only headlined their own "Smokin' Grooves Tour," but also headlined Lollapalooza, played Woodstock '94 and toured with the Offspring and rap/rock baddies limpbizkit (formerly known as Limp Bizkit). This time around, the group is hitting the road with Blink 182.
"It's all music," Muggs said. "I mean, even hip-hop is derived from rock. Listen to Run D.M.C. or my favorite, Public Enemy. They all were inspired by rock music. And when groups like Public Enemy teamed with Anthrax or Run teamed with Aerosmith in the '80s, it was all a natural progression."
These days, the hip-hop world is much more in tune with rock. Case in point being OutKast's Grammy winning "Speakerboxxx/the Love Below," which pushed the idea of rock-hop to the top of the Billboard charts.
"It's all music," said Muggs. "And if you keep an open mind, there are not limits on what you can do."
It was Muggs who, back in the late 1980s, pushed Sen Dog and B-Real into becoming a professional group.
"When they started, it was just those two rapping over some tapes," said Muggs. "I knew they had potential, and we teamed up."
Back then, there wasn't anything called "American Idol." Nor were there any "how to become a superstar rap group" classes available in school. In short, there was no shortcut to the big break.
"We hit every rap contest we could in South Central Los Angeles," said Muggs. "We won nearly every one we entered. And those we didn't win, we should have."
Then came the trips to New York.
"I suggested we go to the East Coast," said Muggs, who is a Queens native. "Since Sen and Real worked at Delta at the time, they were able to get free tickets. It was an impressionable time for the group, and we learned a lot as we went along."
By then, the group had fine-tuned its performance skills and, in 1991, released an extended-play single "The Phunky Feel One."
That opened the way for a signing with Columbia Records and the release of "Cypress Hill" later that year.
By mixing in street-cred raps with some beat-crazy Latin rhythms and lyrics, Cypress Hill made a new category for itself in the midst of the Gangsta rants of N.W.A and the militant rhetoric of Chuck D.'s Public Enemy.
Armed with new singles "Hand on the Pump," "Latin Lingo" and "Insane in the Brain," Cypress Hill found itself competing with the aforementioned players and released its critically acclaimed "Black Sunday" in 1993. The album debuted at No. 1 on Billboard's Top 200.
Nearly 11 years and five albums later, Cypress Hill is still making noise.
"We all have side projects that we're involved in," said Muggs, referring to the numerous outings that take the Hill's members' time during their free time — including Muggs' work with Infinite, B-Real's work with Kush and Audio Hustlers and Sen Dog's funk-metal SX-10. "Like I have the 'Soul Assassins' album coming out. And the others are doing their own thing. These things give us a chance to go crazy with what we have going on in our minds. It's a lot better than trying to push your solo ideas on your group. That's not the way we do things. We go off on our own and do what we have to do and then come back to Cypress Hill and work on being Cypress Hill."
If you go
What: Blink 182, Cypress Hill and Taking Back Sunday
Where: E Center
When: Tonight, 7:30 p.m.
How much: $31.50 and $32.50
Phone: 467-8499, 1-800-888-8499
Web: www.smithstix.com
E-mail: scott@desnews.com