Three decades ago, B-Real, Sen Dog, and DJ Muggs sparked a trip that left popular culture stoned, stunned, and staggering in anticipation for more. Naming themselves after a local street in Los Angeles, Cypress Hill burst on the scene in 1991 with the release of their self-titled debut album. The singles “How I Could Just Kill a Man” and “The Phuncky Feel One” became underground hits, and the group’s public pro-marijuana stance earned them many fans among the alternative rock community. Cypress Hill followed their debut with Black Sunday in the summer of 1993, which debuted at #1 on Billboard’s Top 200, garnered three GRAMMY® Award nominations, and went triple platinum in the U.S. As a result, Cypress Hill became the first rap group to have two albums in the top 10 of the Billboard 200 charts at the same time and are the first Latino-American hip-hop group to achieve platinum and multi-platinum success. Since the release of Black Sunday, Cypress Hill have put out seven more albums including 2018’s critically acclaimed, Elephants on Acid. Cypress Hill made history once again in 2019 when the group was honored with their very own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.  In 2021, Cypress Hill released “Champion Sound.” Produced by Black Milk, the single appears on the soundtrack of R.B.I Baseball 21 and is also the featured song for the band’s partnership with Montejo Cerveza. 2021 also saw Cypress Hill celebrate the 30th anniversary of their self-titled debut this year with a SONY reissue on vinyl, 7-inch box set, a reissue across all DSP’s that includes eight unreleased tracks, as well as a graphic novel and their very own STANCE sock. Cypress Hill continue to be busier than ever in 2022. The band will release a new album this spring and have already dropped three singles, “Champion Sound,” “Open Ya Mind,” and “Bye Bye.” Their “Hits From The Bong” documentary, which is part of Mass Appeal’s “Hip Hop 50” franchise in partnership with Showtime, will also be released this year.

Wasalu Muhammad Jaco, better known by his stage name Lupe Fiasco, is a Chicago-born, Grammy award-winning American rapper, record producer, entrepreneur, and community advocate. The independent rapper who parted ways with his former label, Atlantic Records, following the release of 2015’s Tetsuo & Youth, is pegged as one of the most gifted lyricists and visionaries to grace the mic.  Rising to fame in 2006 following the success of his debut album, Food & Liquor, Lupe has released six acclaimed studio albums; Drogas Light, released in 2017 on his own label, 1^st & 15^th.   These albums have netted 3 platinum singles, 3 RIAA Gold Certifications, 12 Grammy nominations and one Grammy Award in 2008 for his infectious single, “Daydreamin,” feat Jill Scott.  With a trilogy of albums set for 2018 and beyond, Lupe is at his creative peak as an artist.  Most recently, Drogas Wave released on September 21^st, 2018 via 1^st & 15^th. His efforts to propagate conscious material helped solidify him as GQ’s Man of the Year in 2006, and garnered recognition as a Henry Crown Fellow.

 

While musical genius and ingenuity are at the forefront of Lupe’s achievements, the artist extends his innovation to projects that aim to foster creative discourse and opportunities in underprivileged and impoverished communities.  As the co-founder and co-owner of community initiatives such as, We Are M.U.R.A.L, The Neighborhood Start-Up Fund, Society of Spoken Art, and Studio SV, Lupe Fiasco proves that he is more than just a mouthpiece for change, but a committed facilitator of intellectual community discourse and outreach.