After delving heavily into hard rock on their past two releases, Cypress Hill are going back to straight-up hip-hop on their upcoming seventh album, Till Death Do Us Part, due in March.

"When we were doing the rock stuff, I wanted to take the band in a different direction and let it grow and flourish," says sonic mastermind DJ Muggs. "But now I totally flipped it again and it's seventy percent hard-core, straight-up hip-hop, and about four songs that are more dub reggae. I was thinking of all the musical directions we've gone in and reggae seemed like the natural place for us to go and try something new creatively."

The group, which also includes rappers Sen Dog and B-Real and percussionist Bobo, have been recording the album in Muggs' Los Angeles studio for more than six months, amassing two dozen tunes that Muggs plans to cut down to fourteen.

The majority of the songs were produced by Muggs, with Alchemist lending a hand on "Bang Out" and "Latin Thug," which features Puerto Rican rapper Tego Calderon. "That is the Latin anthem of the year," Muggs says of "Thug," a track thick with congas and guitars. Tony "CD" Kelly (Sean Paul) produced the album's lone weed anthem, "Ganja Bus," on which Damian Marley adds a verse and the hook. Prodigy from Mobb Deep raps the chorus to "Last Laugh," a track Muggs described simply as "an action-packed thriller."

Though they sample island rhythms on Death, Cypress haven't completely abandoned their rock side. Thanks to former MTV VJ Matt Pinfield -- now an A&R man for Columbia Records -- the group hooked up with Rancid's Tim Armstrong and the Transplants' Rob Aston for "What's Your Number," which (pending clearances) samples the Clash's "Guns of Brixton." "It's a reggae-influenced track that Tim is playing guitar on and ad-libbing vocals," Muggs says. "It was an honor to work with him. It just brought a whole new level of maturity and fun."

Other songs expected to make the album include "Can't Stop the Gunshots" and the likely first single "Money."

Before heading to Japan for some dates in December, Cypress Hill will headline their sixth annual Smoke Out show on November 15th at the NOS Events Center in San Bernardino, California. Also on the bill are Linkin Park, DMX, Pennywise, Papa Roach, Body Count, Superjoint Ritual, Obie Trice, Doc Martin, MC Supernatural and Dead Prez.

GIL KAUFMAN
(October 27, 2003)