[dropcap size=big]C[/dropcap]louded in wafts of weed smoke, just two days before 4/20, Cypress Hill became the first Latino hip hop group to get a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
“Nobody believed in us for a long time,” the longtime producer of the group, DJ Muggs, said at the ceremony Thursday morning. “But look at us now! We got a star!”
The group – consisting of Muggs, Mexican and Cuban rapper B-Real, and Cuban-born rapper Sen Dog – is originally from South Gate. They were one of the most successful hip hop groups in the 1990s, especially with their first two albums. Cypress Hill released a self titled debut in 1991, and followed that up two years later with Black Sunday, which included the massive hit “Insane in The Brain.”
With an eerie sound that combined gangster rap, occasional Spanish and Spanglish lyrics, and weed centric themes, the group found crossover success with all hip hop and rock music demographics—and apparently with L.A. City Councilman Mitch O’Farrell, who said at the ceremony, “I may not look like I like a Cypress Hill fan, but let me say, ‘I’m insane in the membrane!’”
Watch the full ceremony below.
Other attendees at the ceremony included local radio legend Big Boy, producer Alchemist, Public Enemy member Chuck D, Rage Against the Machine’s Tom Morello, and Spanto from the clothing line Born X Raised. Comedian George Lopez was also in attendance. He called Cypress Hill’s star “the most important on the Walk of Fame.” Rapper and Pimp My Ride host Xzibit also spoke, calling the group “The Rolling Stones of our generation. The West Coast Public Enemy.”
“It’s about time for this,” Xzibit continued. “In the 1990s, there wasn’t a lot of Latin representation in hip hop, Cypress Hill changed all of that.” The crowd, filled with people of color and at one point a procession of white robbed nuns walking by, erupted in cheers. “I feel like we should all be smoking right now!” Xzibit exclaimed to more cheers.
Later, B-Real dedicated his group’s star to “cannabis culture and the stoners of the world,” before changing tone and thanking his brothers for getting him into music.
“I want to thank my brothers for saving my life,” he said. “Before music, I was into gang culture, and, as you know, there isn’t a lot of ways out. But they brought me into music. And then, I want to thank our crazy ass fans for sticking with us for so long!”
The star is available to see near 6201 Hollywood Blvd.
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