For all the changes in approach, one thing remains the same: weed. Lots and lots of it. You may think Cypress Hill have uttered everything they could possibly have to say about getting high, but you’d be wrong. Like the open road for Springsteen, it remains an inextinguishable creative spark in their artistic consciousness. Come With Me compellingly repurposes the haunting chorus of 2Pac’s classic Hail Mary into a smoking anthem, but the standout is Open Ya Mind. Here the group – who campaigned so hard to help legalise weed in California – ponder the task ahead. ‘Now I’m fighting a case but the laws in the state ain’t the same as the federal so now these charges hold weight,’ raps Sen Dog. As far as songs about the interstate drug legislation go, this slaps very hard.
It’s not all herbal romanticism, either. More often than not, Back In Black feels like a victory lap – not only capping off Cypress Hill’s recent return to form, but also their career so far. On Bye Bye, B-Real re-traces their journey from the violence of LA streets (‘So many casualties casually forgotten’) to having to break down doors to get that reality across in the music industry. ‘They won’t play it on the radio? Fuck ’em,’ he spits at one point. The record closes with The Ride – a song which leans heavily on their spectral Temples Of Boom-era sonics, not least because it lifts its ‘some people tell me that I need help’ line from their classic Illusions as a hook.
‘Came a long way from gangbanging,’ reflects B-Real – and that’s really the defining sentiment here. Over 30 years and now 10 albums into their journey, Back In Black is Cypress Hill taking stock of what they did for music, for weed lovers, their home city and, most importantly, for themselves. You don’t need to be stoned to feel high off that.
Verdict: 4/5
For fans of: Rage Against The Machine, Public Enemy, Beastie Boys
Back In Black is out now via BMG