Rise Up

iTunes Review

After an astounding 20 years in the rap game, Cypress Hill has earned its stripes as one of the culture’s most consistent and original groups. B-Real told the press that they wanted Rise Up to be more aggressive and uptempo, in order to enliven the group’s concert experience. The rap/metal mash-ups “Trouble Seeker” and “Shut ‘Em Down” go too far in altering the Cypress Hill blueprint, but on the other hand, “Rise Up” is a winning balance of ‘roid rock and Latin funk. (The song is definitely aided by the inimitable grooves of longtime group percussionist Eric Bobo.) The group has reached out to a diverse list of producers. The rich funk of Pete Rock’s “Light It Up” and Jake-One’s “Armed and Dangerous” is a comfy fit for Cypress, and there is an awesome synergy at work in “Armada Latina,” a luminous summertime flip of Crosby, Stills and Nash’s “Suite Judy Blue Eyes.” But at the end of the day, the group does best when it works close to home. B-Real laces the album with the swift-and-tough “Get ‘Em Up,” while the inimitable DJ Muggs revives the classic Cypress groove for “Pass the Dutch” and “Take the Pain.”