Cypress Hill - IV (1998)

One evening, Alexis, the other transfer student, took the trolleybus with me, and I went out of my way to go down as far away from my own home and as near hers as possible, because her conversation was delicious.  At the time, I was obsessively spinning what I consider to be the absoute peak point of Cypress Hill's career, IV, and I happened to quote a line from the chorus of a song; "From the window of my room, I shoot all stars." I don't think I'll ever forget that little sparkle in her bright blue eyes when she commented that that, she wanted me to not forget, because she would, and she wanted to write it down somewhere.

One snowy night in Bratislava, and I had From the Window of My Room in mind.  I walked back home, quite a ways back, with IV in my ears.  I remember that I was all the way up to Audio X when I got there.

Cypress Hill's IV is part of what I call an unholy trinity in their discography*, but I happen to think it as the finest album of their career.  The first reason is obvious: the darkness inherent in Cypress Hill reaches maturation with this one, having brought itself to the fore before.  Further, the cover image you see up there reflects the album perfectly, as it is plague green and riddled with skeletons, in the closet, under the ground and walking the streets.

There is something about IV that always brings fond memories to mind and a smile to my face.  At a raging 18 tracks, it has some of their most brilliant work.  Lyrically, Cypress Hill is on another level. Not fond of messing around, the album kicks open with Lookin' Through the Eye of the Pig.  This one is a police officer's musings through his regular day, and while it starts as a hard day in the life of a cop, it quickly degenerates into pure personal apocalypse and the cop turns out to be in the middle of a divorce ("My marriage is all fucked, my wife is with the neighbors"), corrupt, dealing drugs, and fades out during a standoff... it's bone-chilling.

Then comes Checkmate ("Checkmate, fool! Hang them high!") which is a fun fist-in your face song with a rocking sampled piano.  It's sort of in line with the later Riot Starter, which I'd remember when I was in an actual riot, screaming my lungs off.  Siren-like synthesizer laid under the rapid-fire lyrics, it carries that fist-in-the-air spirit, a touch of anarchy.  (Goin' All Out) Nothin' to Lose is the unhinged, more personal version of that, more to deal with finally sayin "fuck it" and dealing with it.

In these harder-hitting songs, Cypress Hill's first brush with metal, Lightning Strikes.  While rap and rock had met a few times before, this was a different beast altogether.  Also of note is that B-Real would feature on a Fear Factory album, the 2001 Digimortal, on the track Back the Fuck Up.  This little experiment would branch out within Cypress Hill as well, and end up making the song that made me pay attention in the first place.

In another vein, From the Window of My Room is a profound song, with Sen Dog delivering "From my window I can see: reality has gone insane, G." No wonder she was impressed, it is an introspective song that taught me to look inside first, not out - who you are, not who you want to be.

Similarly, High Times, the mellow companion of Dr. Greenthumb and the closer, Case Closed were, in isolation not notable at all, but as a part of the whole, perfect parts in a well-oiled machine.  Case Closed  in particular is one of the best closers I've heard... yes, that includes now.

Of course, it wasn't all serious. When it's Cypress Hill, fun is always on the menu, and two songs deliver: I Remember That Freak Bitch (From the Club) which would supply me with a hilarious line about protein ("High and rich!") and, the unforgettable single about a marijuana expert that does his own TV commercials, Dr. Greenthumb.  The latter song is hilarious not because of the tribal chanting in the chorus or the commercial that opens it, but because it ends on a cliffhanger, with Dr. Greenthumb on the run from the DEA.

The album also has skits*, four, I think, that aren't marked separately but are parts of a song.  The storyline is interesting: a gangster, straight out of jail, wants to celebrate with his homies, so he goes to the local weed man for party favors.  The weed man, reputed to have the best shit ever, gives him a time and a place.  They meet up there, they wait, but he's a no-show.   When the album ends, finally, long after night has fallen, he actually does show up, and hands them a single joint.  He then produces seeds - seeds that you "put in the ground" so you can "grow it", telling them that with two seeds, they have a hundred pounds' worth.  He then gets in his car and drives away, leaving the homeboys with a single joint and two seeds they don't know what the fuck to do with.

An example of this is Tequila Sunrise, famous for its Latin flavor, which, being a rather bright, under-the-sun tequila and good times vibe, has the line "Realize we're all gonna die - so get the money" that instantly changes everything.  In the vein of mischevious fun and gangsta raps, the album houses the double-time masterpiece Audio X, the ghastly Steel Magnolia, the slightly pirate-themed 16 Men Till There's No Men Left ("Yo-ho ho and a bag of endo!"), the infectious Dead Men Tell No Tales that hooks the listener with its simple but hard-hitting melody... it is all just marvelous.

But one song, I saved for last.  One of the best songs ever written: Clash of the Titans.  Normally, that title would suggest some hip-hop rivalry, or a boast rap where the rapper proclaims himself a Titan, but B-Real chooses a different path.  With it's epic instrumentals, the repeating "Attention!" and the wordless chorus that only features disjointed whispers of "assassins"*, Clash of the Titans was epic on every scale imaginable.  Carrying the battle from the streets to the endless bloody fields, dispensing with the gats to make way for the sword, it is a work of genius and to me, one of the finest songs they have made.

Cypress Hill's IV, eventhough it inevitably recalls dark days with little sun and constant snow, has a special place in my heart.  This album is basically the reason why I got into the habit of collecting entire catalogues if I am invested enough.  As for the companion to this sentiment, that was their 2000 follow-up, Skull & Bones.

*Footnotes: 1- This consists of its predecessor, the 1995 III (Temples of Boom) which also featured the ghastly track Stoned Raiders, and of course, the monumental 2000 effort, Skull & Bones.
2- There are variants of this in the 2010 effort, Rise Up.  Doesn't work as well.
3- One of the best rap-metal hybrid songs in existence is on the successor of this album, and it takes its title from this song: it's Dust.
4- Referring to Cypress Hill's label, Soul Assassins.