CYPRESS HILL'S SECONDHAND SMOKE

Cypress Hill came low-riding out of Los Angeles in the early '90s sporting
sinister grins and trailing pungent smoke. Comprising B-Real, a Latino with
an Afro and a comically nasal drawl, his stentorian Cuban-born sidekick,
Sen Dog, and a white producer (DJ Muggs) with a taste for noise, the
multi-ethnic rap trio hardly seemed built for mass consumption.

But its self-titled debut was a classic, a twisted West Coast update on the
edgy, harmolodic hip-hop of New York's Public Enemy. On "Cypress Hill," the
group immediately established two obsessions: ghetto nihilism and marijuana
smoking, the latter of which turned out to be a commercial coup. While
songs like "How I Could Just Kill a Man" spoke to the experiences of a
particular urban underclass, pot-smoking kids in Peoria could claim "Light
Another" as their own. "Cypress Hill," which went on to sell more than 2
million copies, helped usher hip-hop into the mainstream and beyond. (Last
year the group released its first Spanish-language recording, "Los Grandes
Exitos en Espanol.")

Signs of the group's early greatness have been sporadic on subsequent
releases, and Cypress Hill's latest, "Skull & Bones," is no different. The
title refers to two different discs, one containing straight hip-hop
tracks, the other forays into of rap-edged heavy metal.

Muggs is the only member who's grown measurably as an artist over the
years, and on "Skull," the rap disc, he maintains his role as the group's
soul. His influence as a producer has been profound enough that you can
hear it reflecting back at him in the mixes he creates. The ethereal
soundscapes of Wu-Tang Clan's RZA, for instance, wouldn't have happened
without Muggs's example, and in the looped string samples of "Another
Victory" and the eerie, octave-leaping synths of "Cuban Necktie," it's
possible to hear RZA repaying his debt.

There are moments that hark back to the glory days. "What U Want From Me"
is a gritty appraisal of a street dweller's narcissism, and "(Rap)
Superstar," a hip-hopper's answer to the Byrds' "So You Want to Be a Rock
'n' Roll Star," features some memorable sparring between B-Real and guest
rapper Eminem.

But for the most part, Cypress Hill seems to reserve its real fire for
sparking joints. "Can I Get a Hit" is playing to the cheap seats--it's the
ubiquitous ganja homage you've heard at least four times before. And while
Muggs still boasts a bulging bag of tricks, on "Skull" he only upholds his
cohort's ghetto-tough pose where he used to transcend it. The disc's mixes
are uniformly ominous and cold-eyed. Hearing that from a guy who once
hammered a "Duke of Earl" sample into a singsongy murder anthem, it's hard
not to long for the days when Muggs crafted what amounted to sonic jokes.

The six rap-metal tracks on the "Bones" disc aren't the embarrassment they
could have been. Hill's rap music has always contained a steady rock beat,
and the members have collaborated with rockers before, most memorably avant
punkers Sonic Youth.

But machismo-fueled cuts like "Can't Get the Best of Me" and "A Man" are
barely distinguishable from anything on the last Limp Bizkit record.
Ultimately, "Bones" is the sound of Cypress Hill trying to forge a broader
market share, not fresh artistic ground.

(To hear a free Sound Bite from this album, call Post-Haste at 202-334-9000
and press 8174.)