Cypress Hill has remained at a fairly consistent level throughout their 10+ years in the biz. Though never maintaining serious credibility with the New York-centric glossy editors, the Los Angles collective has always stuck with a pop sensibility that slapped their tunes in the background of commercials and likewise procured the group a let’s-get-buzzed-on-sugar-this-weekend fanbase. With the release of Stoned Raiders, Cypress’ rap tendencies of old have melded into the sound of the day — nu metal. DJ Muggs recently spoke with Matthew Rodbard about Ice T’s house parties, Nas vs. Jigga and why rap rock makes us ill.

The Bader Herald: Do you seriously like nu metal?

DJ Muggs: I like it separate myself, but this is what my band needs to do. Personally, I just would rather do other things, but the bands got to do what’s good for the band’s future. The 13-year-old kids are our future and they have grown up with both types of music. They don’t mind hearing them together. I mind hearing them together. But not with Cypress. This shit sounds like Cypress Hill.

MR: But you sound like a nu-metal band rather than strictly rappers. What made you change direction?

DM: We never wanted to tread the same water we had treaded in the past. We felt we had to come different and go where we had never gone before as a band. As time went on we tried to keep the lid on our band going outside of hip hop because we were real purists. Then we gave it to you in a dose with the track “Rock Superstar.” And then the obvious next progression as a band was to put them together and not sound like a hip-hop band doing rock.

BH: What about your old fans? Some are going to think you’re wack.

DM: Your true fans are going to grow with you. They will always be there. You will lose some fans as you go; I mean, the true hip-hop heads aren’t going to fuck with this, of course. But your bands got to grow. And that’s where Cypress is going to grow.

BH: You’re going on tour really soon with Linkin Park. Do you have a specific rehearsal schedule?

DM: It’s all going really good. We got the songs down. It’s tight and we are ready to do it.

BH: What bands did you grow up listening to?

DM: Thing was when we grew up in the 70s and 80s, we listened to all that rock and roll. I grew up with my uncle playing the eight track tapes of Cream, CCR, Muddy Waters and the Doors.

BH: Where do you buy your new wax?

DM: Record Finders in New York. A1 Records and, of course, Fat Beats.

BH: Where do you look for your samples?

DM: What I used to do was go to the 49-cent bins. I stay away from the dealers because they overcharge. Every body is hip to the sampling now and the dealers will inflate the price whenever they know there’s a drum break on the record. These little mom and pop shops, I’ll go there and buy a couple hundred dollars worth of records and I find sounds of the most obscure shit. I don’t want no funk loop that I have to pay for.

BH: On that note, how much did you pay for Black Sunday’s sample clearance?

DM: We had to pay for all that shit. That cost us all the dough we made pretty much. Those samples ain’t no joke.

BH: Who got you into turntables?

DM: It was an accident. I used to go to my homeboys across the street and they used to DJ parties and I would just fuck around with the turntables and they would show me their thing. In a week I was doing it better than them. I played a party or two, caught the fever, and just started DJing more and more. I remember Ice T at back yard parties back in L.A. In ’84, he was rappin’ at some high school parties.

BH: Now that Meth and Red have starred in a movie, do they act like hard-ass movie stars?

DM: They are just cool as fuck. I’ve worked with [both] before. They come in and write their shit, one, two, three, bam, a couple takes and their done.

BH: They write their tracks when they come in?

DM: Right there. They do it in a half an hour. They will write a whole song in an hour.

BH: What kind of cars do you drive?

DM: I roll with three: Cadillac Escalade, convertible Jaguar and a ’63 Impala.

BH: Has MTV wanted to film your stuff?

DM: I won’t let those motherfuckers in my house.

BH: What’s up with the Soul Assassins project?

DM: We’re doing part three. That is going to drop sometime in summer on Anti Records. It’ll have a lot of electronic and some rock & roll and hip hop. They’ll [have] some dope vocalists too.

MR: What hip-hop records have you picked up recently?

DM: I like the Nas album a lot, I think that’s the best shit that’s come out so far. I got Ghost and Mobb Deep and Wu.

MR: You like the new Wu?

DM: It’s got some decent cuts.

MR: What about this Nas and Jay Z feud, do you buy it?
DM: We need this shit. They won’t let it go to far. They’re past that shit — they’re too old.