Black Sunday [Explicit Lyrics]

Cypress Hill | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (July 20, 1993)
• Original Release Date: July 20, 1993
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Explicit Lyrics
• Label: Sony
• ASIN: B00000295Y
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (63 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,509 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #12 in Music > Rap & Hip-Hop > West Coast
  • #30 in Music > Rap & Hip-Hop > Experimental Rap
  • #57 in Music > Rap & Hip-Hop > Gangsta & Hardcore

Editorial Reviews

No Description Available
No Track Information Available
Media Type: CD
Artist: CYPRESS HILL
Title: BLACK SUNDAY
Street Release Date: 07/20/1993
Domestic
Genre: RAP/HIP HOP

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars There's Nothing Like This in the Rap Game Anymore..., December 10, 2003

By 

Michael Crane (Orland Park, IL USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Black Sunday (Audio CD)

Ahh, yes. The good ol' days when rap was interesting and had some creative skills behind it instead of a bunch of over-hyped rappers bragging about how rich they are or how many cars they have. Cypress Hill's "Black Sunday" is a classic rap album with some great songs, great beats, and most of all, catchy lyrics that had a nice flow to them. They sure don't make anymore gems like these anymore... or it's very hard to come by one in the game of rap these days.

While following the "gangster rap" format, this album isn't as vulgar or as offensive as most rap albums. Don't get the wrong idea and think that these guys are "squeaky-clean" or anything like that. They have their fair share of profanities and violent/drug references. What I mean is that the album's a lot more milder than most rap albums, but while it is milder it has a better structure to it than most. The songs are very gun/drug oriented, but the songs do a great job of flowing and appealing to those who don't find the two topics all that interesting. In other words, you don't have to be a druggie or a gun fanatic to enjoy these tunes.

This is an excellent album with some great songs. My favorites are "I ain't goin' out like that," "insane in the brain," "when the (explicit) goes down," "lick a shot," "what go around come around, kid," "hand on the glock," and "break 'em off some." While I enjoy the entire album, those are my favorite songs. The album has a very high replay value and never feels outdated.

"Black Sunday" is able to achieve what many of the new rap albums of today fail to do. It's a great listen with songs that are simply about more than bragging about "bling-bling" or that type of nonsense. If you're not a big fan of rap, then chances are you may not take a liking to Cypress Hill. If you're like me and have been disappointed with many of the new rap acts, then pick up "Black Sunday" and take a trip down memory lane.

24 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Beginning Of An Era, January 24, 2001

By 

3rdeadly3rd (Brisbane, Queensland Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Black Sunday (Audio CD)

Until this album dropped, hip-hop was still largely a genre of music recorded for blacks by blacks about blacks. Cypress Hill changed the dynamics of rap by firstly being Latinos and secondly appealing to white college boys.

It has been argued that the stoned sound of the group was partly responsible for Dr Dre's G-Funk. Whether you believe this or not, it is quite easy to see the similarities on this album.

"Black Sunday" is of course the album responsible for one of the most well-known tracks of early 90s hip-hop "Insane In The Brain" with the now well known "Insane in the membrane/Insane in the brain" chorus and that whining beat with Public Enemy influence - later to appear on House Of Pain's work produced by DJ Muggs.

What is often forgotten in the memory of "Insane In The Brain" is the fact that both B-Real and Sen Dog have skills of a very high order. B-Real's flow on "Insane" has some very clever changes of pace and inventive rhymes - the start of the third verse "Like Louis Armstrong/played the trumpet/I'll hit that bong and break ya off somethin'" is worth attention. In the same track, Sen Dog is able to send up his own size while in the thick of a very creative battle rhyme.

The are certainly some very good moments on this album, however the ideas remain slightly under-developed. It would appear that whenever B-Real and Sen Dog are running low on ideas they just put in something about smoking marijuana, the track "Legalize It" is entirely that - just a collection of pro-weed samples. Also the "Interlude" only serves to interrupt the flow of the album.

In short, the 4 stars are for originality - which the album still has almost a decade after it was released - and lyricism. The lack of a fifth star is simply due to the underdevelopment of some of the ideas on the album and the frequent degeneration into marijuana chanting more likely to be found in a Bob Marley concert.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A decent sophomore effort (3.5 Stars), May 2, 2005

By 

A Customer - See all my reviews

This review is from: Black Sunday (Audio CD)

This is one of those reviews where I think, "Am I listening to the same album as everyone else?" Even 4 stars is a bit too generous. Don't get me wrong, Black Sunday can be a blast to listen to, but it has many flaws that make it far inferior to their classic self-titled debut.

B-Real's high-pitched whine sounded fresh on their debut and it still has certain uniqueness on Black Sunday. However, lyrically he shows no growth at all. B-Real often strays back to the same subjects of weed and guns, and the lyrics aren't as clever as they were on the debut.

Sen-Dog, on the other hand, isn't much of a rapper; he's more of a Latin version of Flava Flav. He kicks a few verses here and there, providing a ying to B-Real's yang in terms of voices and vocal dimension, but his main purpose seems to end up being to repeat what B-Real says in each hook in formulaic fashion.

The best part about Black Sunday is most definitely the beats. DJ Muggs provides a great backdrop to B-Real's paranoid rhymes with horns, sirens and haunting basslines everywhere. The beats never get redundant, and it's hard to imagine Black Sunday sounding any different. Samples are used kind of sparingly compared to other rap from '93, but songs like "Hits From The Bong" contain some extremely clever dug-up samples, as opposed to easily-recognizable ones.

The last real beefs I have with Black Sunday is that the two interludes in the middle of the album completely destroy what would otherwise be impeccable song pacing. Also, the album seems a bit rushed, like something's missing; perhaps a result of the formulaic hooks - I can't quite put my finger on it.

Other than the flaws (most of them minor), Black Sunday is a blast to listen to. The songs range from classic (Insane In The Brain, Hits From The Bong, Cock The Hammer) to lukewarm (A To The K). Fans of the Hill should have this in their collection. New fans should cop the classic self-titled debut instead, no matter how tempted they are to buy this one because of Insane In The Brain.

Best moments: Hits From The Bong (personal favourite), Insane In The Brain, Cock The Hammer, Lil' Putos, I Ain't Goin' Out Like That.