Since we first met them in 1991, Cypress Hill have made a real point of letting us know that, despite it being illegal, they smoke marijuana and smoke it often. Quick browsing through their catalog yields songs titles like "Light Another," "I Wanna Get High," "Hits From the Bong," "High Times" and "Can I Get a Hit." The Smokeout Festival is an extension of their love for all things cannabis sativa, an annual gathering for folks who like their rap and rock served with a bulging bag o' green (and a fine place for vendors to hock knee-slapping bumper stickers reading, "Marijuana Is Nature's Way of Saying High"). For the happening, Cypress request security go easy on peaceful tokers and treat the crowd with respect, though, judging by the chaos at this year's event, respect means kicking asses and macing faces. But that's a tale for another time.

Cypress MC B-Real welcomed RollingStone.com into the band's backstage trailer at Smokeout 2000 for a chat about his favorite leisure time activity. Not surprisingly, the place reeked of weed. On a table, half-buried by a mound of porn, there rested what's surely the most radical smoking utensil in the cosmos: a bong attached to a gas mask. Ouch.

If you had to estimate, how many times in your life do you think you've gotten stoned?

Oh my god, probably about as many records as I've sold. [According to the band's official Web site, www.cypresshill.com, the group had sold 12 million albums worldwide prior to the release of Skull & Bones six months ago. B-Real turned thirty this past June. Assuming he began smoking dope at age fifteen, the rapper's reply suggests he smokes pot on an average of 2,192 times a day].

In, say, the last five years, what's the longest period you've gone without getting high?

About a month. I was down in Panama doing some religious stuff, some spiritual stuff and I chose not to take any herb with me.

And how was it?

It was cool, no problem.

In your whole life, how much money do you think you've spent on weed?

Enough to feed a third world country.

If you could have all that money back, what would you do with it? Would you buy a huge sack?

No, this time I would take all the money I've spent and invest it in a few grow rooms so I wouldn't have to spend that money again.

Have you ever been high during a significant event in your life, like a birth or at a funeral?

Not really, no.

When you're as well known as you are, how do you go about getting weed? Do dealers supply you with it as some kind of endorsement deal, like the way Blink-182 get free Hurley sportswear? Do you still have to "make that call"?

Some people give it to me. Some wanna sell it. It all depends, bro. Sometimes I have to buy it -- sometimes, but not always.

Have you ever smoked weed dusted with PCP?

Never.

Would Cypress Hill ever consider setting aside some of the profits from their albums to help those poor souls who can't afford quality bud, who are forced to smoke dirt weed?

No one ever did that for me. I think educating people on what's kind and what's schwag is enough.

There's a song on Skull and Bones about weed etiquette, about people coming up to you at clubs, mooching hits off your joint. Was that based on a real experience?

That's based off of shit that happens everyday. I could walk through this crowd right now with a joint and that would happen over and over again.

So what's the protocol on asking for a rip?

If you're gonna come to a party and bogart everybody's weed, you better have some of your own to share.

Cypress talks so much about weed, but what about other drugs? Did you ever have a coke phase, an acid phase or an ecstasy phase?

Acid, mushrooms, yeah. When I was a kid I fucked around with a little coke but I learned that lesson quick.

Of all the famous people you've no doubt hung out with, who is the strangest person you've gotten high with?

Wow, lemme think. I guess it would have to me that guy who hosts Politically Incorrect.

Bill Maher? You smoked a joint with that guy?

I sure did.

Was it your weed or his?

My weed, man. He was cool. We were at a Playboy party.

Being pro-hemp, who will you cast your vote for in these coming elections?

I don't think you can vote for anybody at this point. I don't think either of those guys is really behind the movement. I still haven't decided who I'll be voting for. I'll probably vote for Nader 'cause in the end he's probably not gonna win. I'd rather vote for the guy who's gonna loose than deal with those other guys' hypocrisy.

Can you remember the strongest weed you've ever smoked?

The weed I get right now. It's called "The Cush."

And how potent is it? Is it the kind of weed B-Real only needs one bong hit of?

Exactly. It's not just me taking one bong hit and falling off -- it's everybody.

If someone offers you crap weed, would you rather just not get high?

Exactly. That shit's like cigarettes to me. It gives me a bad taste, a sore throat and a headache. Get that shit away.

Did the cops ever try and snatch your crops?

No, not really. You know for these motherfuckers to let us do [the Smokeout] shows that some people are tolerant.

GREG HELLER
(October 10, 2000)