“How I Could Just Kill a Man.” Nineteen-ninety-fucking-one! That was so long ago, but B Real trucks on.
The co-founder of Cypress Hill, Los Angeles’ seminal Latino hip-hop group, helped develop rap-rock with 1991’s self-titled debut and ‘93’s Black Sunday. He also put out his first solo album in February. I ended up with two copies of the disc.
After giving one to a longtime CH fan, the second copy found itself stuck underneath a pile of other discs, not to be found again until I caught wind of Real’s blowout tonight with Bone Thugs-n-Harmony’s Bizzy Bone at Mohawk.
Smoke N Mirrors is the album you’d expect from a guy who cornered a niche in the game 18 years ago and hasn’t done much of anything for the past five.
It’s 15 minutes too long and relies too much on guest verses. Thirteen of the 15 songs are augmented by featured MCs, the majority of which are unknown California rappers just getting their feet wet. It’s different when you’re getting Young De, Sick Jacken, and Trace Midas spelling Real’s curling swagger rather than partner Sen Dog. Mainstays Snoop Dogg (“Dr. Hyphenstein,”) Too $hort, and Kurupt (both of whom get in on “When We’re Fucking,” a closer that should be been relegated to the cutting floor) don’t do much to raise the level of excitement either.
The album does have a healthy dose of classic Cypress beats, abrasive rock-based low ends, and fitting orchestral strikes. “Everything U Want,” which features a low-key Buckshot spitting wisdom, rides with a chip on its shoulder, and “10 Steps Behind” marks an appropriately-sized procession for the MC who last year was honored at the VH1 Hip-Hop Honors. The majority of the beats – and the best ones come from J. Turner (”Stack’n Paper,” “10 Steps”), the Alchemist (“6 Minutes”), and Soopafly (“Gangsta Music”) – don’t hold up for five minutes at a time.
This means tonight B’ll surely jump tracks after just one verse, sprinkling in more than a healthy dose of old Cypress Hill jams like “Pigs,” “Insane in the Brain,” “Legalize It,” and “(Rap) Superstar.” As for Bizzy, see him at “The Crossroads.” Who knows how he’ll follow that one.
This article appears in June 12 • 2009.