B-Real

It's always been a struggle for Latin artists within hip-hop. Even though we started it with everybody else, we never really got the props for doing so.

If something's considered a hit - so be it. It's not something we go out of our way for, because when you do then it's real stiff.

We go against the grain - always have.

Anytime you want to stand up and be heard, you have to rise up and speak your mind. Say whatever you're feeling - the state of what our country is, the state of the world.

Anytime we put out an album, we always do a lot of road work because in the early days we didn't have the luxury of having a lot of radio play.

I mean, 'Insane in the Brain' and 'Rock Superstar' are the ones that got significant radio play for us. But everything else was us going out and touring and winning people over that way.

We've always been geared towards touring and live shows and winning people over that way.

After 'Insane In The Brain' came out, we started doing our own tours, headlining stuff. It just pretty much changed our situation all together. But the important thing is that even though your situation changes, you have to check yourself so that you don't change with that situation.

People thought we were only gonna be around for one record, that it was a one-shot deal.

We went from being known somewhat, kind of obscure, to now everybody knows us. Our privacy level was totally gone.

For me, if I've been on another project and I come back to Cypress, I know the beats Muggs gives me are gonna be 100% different than what I was doing previous to the Cypress project.

The Bay's always been good to us since Day 1. Early, early on it's just been a great place for us.

When Ricky Martin came in, even though it was kind of pop and dance, it caused an opportunity for the Latin rappers and singers alike for the record companies by showing that Latin artists are definitely marketable in this day and age.

I'm just a regular guy.

If you let record companies mold you into what they think you should be, your career won't last no matter how good your music is.

Gimmicks play out real fast, but being yourself never plays out.

No matter how good you are you can fall prey to the big machines of the record companies.

It's one thing to be saying what you're saying in music because it's art coupled with a lot of different things. Whether you're trying to inspire somebody, or educate somebody, or provoke some sort of thought - it's all artistry.

Our whole thing was that we wanted to challenge ourselves and go out of the box that everyone else was doing, and even what we were doing. We challenged ourselves.

Usually because of our ethnicity we would be labeled a 'Latino Hip Hop' group. But we were able to get past that and say that we wanted to just be labeled a Hip Hop group.

They're the ones, the record companies and the record industry are the one who plays artists out like that. Well, 'You're above 30, you're above 40, done.' That is not true.

Our school, the 'gold school,' we continue to work even past the so-called prime. Everybody continues to work and it's like playing a sport. The more you train, the better you get at it. The more you do it, the more it becomes innate it's second nature.

I think with that connection, that there's with the Hip Hop is a young man's game thing, it really isn't. It's for whoever and those who hold onto the passion for it and if you keep razor sharp.

Muggs has got so many tricks up his sleeve in the studio. So the track could start off one way and it'll end up a whole different way, so you can't get used to it when you're recording it.

You have your purists and you have people who want to go outside of what they think hip hop is. You've got to have people who aren't afraid to try different things.

As a kid, I spent more time running around in the streets than I did at home, running around aimlessly with my friends and stuff like that, and getting into all sort of mischief, if you will.

As artists, we evolve, and certain music speaks to us a certain way. I've always subscribed to: whatever the music is telling me, that's what I'm telling you.

Fortunately, Ruffhouse Records and Sony allowed us to be ourselves. More importantly, they allowed Muggs to command the ship. They didn't try to throw other producers at us or undermine him.

Basically what you perform for is to get a reaction out of people.

Cypress and House of Pain were pretty much a tight-knit unit. We would go on tour with them, they would go on tour with us and we'd just go back and forth like that.

Yeah, I've been in a couple games. I was in one of the 'John Maddens' or actually a couple of the 'John Madden' games as a hidden character in there. Hidden character in a few games, actually.

Bands get passed down as a tradition because people say to their kids: 'You want to hear this, because this right here shaped what you're listening to now.' It happened with lots of bands before us. You'd say: 'This is Led Zeppelin,' 'This is the Beatles' and 'This is The Rolling Stones.' As it relates to hip-hop, you say: 'This is Cypress Hill.'

When you're a young artist, you're playing for your peers and you never realise that you're going to get older!

To flip from being virtually unknown to not being able to walk in the mall was quite an experience.

For us, we've always felt compelled to talk about the realities of life. That's where we come from, from that first Cypress Hill album all the way down the line.

You can do hip-hop no matter how old you are. It's about relating to people, and the older artists have something to teach, and that's relatable.

If you're a boxer, to become a great boxer, you need to be training all the time, boxing all the time. And it's the same thing with writing and performing. The more you do it, the better you get at it.

Music was something that was always close to me. Every night before I knocked out, I turned the radio on and would fall asleep to the music.

Most rappers try to put themselves in a box to try to be the image of what Tupac and Biggie were. Mostly Pac, because Biggie's image is hard to replicate. You have to be a certain dude to replicate the image of Biggie.

We broke in New York first. No one knew we were from L.A.

In terms of breaking an artist traditionally, it was in the form of radio. You had to pop your record off there. Now you don't have to rely on radio. That traditional route, it was a hard climb. I think it's a little bit easier now to break yourself if the record companies ain't knocking on your door.

A celebrity is a person with the light and the opportunity to expand their own light in others. It's someone in a notable position that is celebrated, obviously.

For me, if Public Enemy doesn't exist, Cypress Hill definitely doesn't exist, because we were directly influenced and inspired by them. From the production to the way we flipped our vocal tones back and forth. That very much revolved around what P.E. had done.

I've got nothing but love and respect for Cube. When I started, he was my benchmark.

We were no angels, but over the course of our career we never wanted to be disrespectful to women.

Before I knew what hip-hop was, I listened to rock, metal, punk, reggae and old soul. I loved Black Sabbath.

In the beginning, in 1991, we opened for the likes of Naughty By Nature and Ice Cube, but developed a reputation for energetic shows. We somehow got booked for Lollapalooza and thought: 'What are we doing here?' but started seeing crowdsurfing and stage diving. After that, rock fans, metal kids and punk fans started showing up to our shows.

I want Cypress Hill to be the Grateful Dead of hip-hop. The Dead never wore out their welcome, and I hope in terms of rap our group is the same way.

I'll continue to make albums until my voice finally gives out.

I just love making records, and I couldn't care less about the fame.