Cypress Hill and Rusko – Cypress Hill x Rusko

Hip-Dub, Hop-Step? Yes.

Think, for a moment, about the dream musical collaboration you would sell your first born to see come true. Many modern day super groups which have appeared in recent years have blown us away (The Throne, Blackroc, and Super Heavy to name a few) while some are arguable failures (Hangover Hero, New Kids/Backstreet Boys). One that no one anticipated is the joining of hip-hop legends Cypress Hill and dubstep pioneer Rusko, creating a so-unlikely-that-it-makes-perfect-sense synergy. How could this unprecedented team-up get more out of control? Throw in Damian Marley, of course.

Their 5 track EP opens with “Letz Go”, a jam which deftly combines the heavy music production Rusko is known for and the hard lyrical stylings that made Cypress Hill what they are today. The result is surprisingly predictable, yet powerful. “Roll It, Light It” is a stoner anthem typical of Cypress Hill, made fresh for a younger generation by saturating it with kick, snare, and oceans of bass. The droning synth orchestra on “Shots Go Off” is a head-bobbing, thuggish good time. The following song, “Here From Day One,” starts with a reggae tone cornerstone before Rusko lets loose some the kicks, claps, and laser-like operators.

B-Real rocks the lyrical content for a majority of Cypress Hill x Rusko, but what would a stoner album be without Damian Marley? Although his chorus on this song is short (“I blow monster clouds / no one can keep me down”) it is well placed and a refreshing change in style. The final track, “Stay Medicated,” evenly rounds out the motif of the EP. Although the subject is the same, the speed and tone of the song give it a very nu-disco feel which sets it apart from the other songs on this EP.

Although one of the best attributes of this Cypress Hill x  Rusko EP is the replay value of every song, individual tracks aren’t incredibly diverse and this EP leans on stale towards the end. Still, the advent of Cypress Hill and Rusko may have given us a small taste of what may very well become the future of hip-hop, which is very likely. Cypress Hill fans, Rusko fans, and smokers in general have a new reason to rejoice, and this EP is it.