Black Sunday (Cypress Hill album)
1993 studio album by Cypress Hill
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Black Sunday is the second studio album by American hip-hop group Cypress Hill. It was released on July 20, 1993, by Ruffhouse and Columbia Records, and proved as successful as their debut, Cypress Hill. The album debuted at No. 1 on the US Billboard 200, selling 261,000 copies in its first week of sales[3] and became the highest Soundscan recording for a hip-hop group at the time. Also, with their previous album, Cypress Hill, still in the charts, they became the first hip-hop group ever to have two albums in the Top 10 of the U.S. Billboard 200 at the same time. The album went quadruple platinum in the U.S. with 3.4 million units sold.[4]
- 38 Fresh, Hollywood, CA
- Baby Monster Studios, Hollywood, CA
- Image Recording, Hollywood, CA
- Chung King, New York, NY
- Greene Street, New York, NY
- Soundtrack Studios New York, NY
- Studio 4 Recording, Philadelphia, PA
| Black Sunday | ||||
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | July 20, 1993 | |||
| Recorded | February 1992 – April 1993 | |||
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| Genres | ||||
| Length | 43:38 | |||
| Labels | ||||
| Producers | ||||
| Cypress Hill chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Black Sunday | ||||
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Background
The first single, "Insane in the Brain", became a crossover hit. A clean censored version of the album was also made which removes the song "A to the K". The song "Hand on the Glock" is a re-recorded version of the track "Hand on the Pump" from the debut album Cypress Hill.
On July 20, 2023, an expanded edition of the album was released to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the album, with five additional songs.[5]
Reception
| Initial reviews (in 1993) | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Calgary Herald | B+[6] |
| Entertainment Weekly | A−[7] |
| Los Angeles Times |   [8] |
| NME | 8/10[9] |
| Orlando Sentinel | [10] |
| Q | [11] |
| Rolling Stone | [12] |
| Select |   [13] |
| The Source | [14] |
| Retrospective reviews (after 1993) | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |  [15] |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [16] |
| Spin Alternative Record Guide | 8/10[17] |
The single "I Ain't Goin' Out Like That" was nominated for the Grammy Award's Best Rap Performance of the year category.[18]
Rolling Stone - 4 stars - Excellent - "…it's the Cypress combo of stark grooves and cinematic gangsta fairy tales that allows them to rule the streets, a formula not messed with on Black Sunday…"[12]
The Source - 4 stars - Excellent - "…a darker sequel…this album is definitely worth buying as it easily rips the frame out of all those Cypress bandwagon jumpers…"[14]
- Included in Q's list of the 50 Best Albums of 1993.[19]
- Ranked No. 35 in Melody Maker's list of "The Albums of the Year" for 1993.[20]
- Ranked No. 29 in the Village Voice's 1993 Pazz & Jop Critics Poll.[21]
- Ranked No. 8 in New Musical Express's list of "The Top 50 LPs of 1993".[22]
Track listing
All tracks are written by Lawrence Muggerud, Louis Freese, and Senen Reyes, except track 2, written by Muggerud, Freese, and Todd Ray. All tracks produced by DJ Muggs, except track 2, produced by T-Ray.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "I Wanna Get High" | 2:54 |
| 2. | "I Ain't Goin' Out Like That" | 4:27 |
| 3. | "Insane in the Brain" | 3:31 |
| 4. | "When the Shit Goes Down" | 3:08 |
| 5. | "Lick a Shot" | 3:23 |
| 6. | "Cock the Hammer" | 4:25 |
| 7. | "Lock Down" | 1:16 |
| 8. | "3 Lil' Putos" | 3:40 |
| 9. | "Legalize It" | 0:46 |
| 10. | "Hits from the Bong" | 2:40 |
| 11. | "What Go Around Come Around, Kid" | 3:42 |
| 12. | "A to the K" | 3:27 |
| 13. | "Hand on the Glock" | 3:32 |
| 14. | "Break 'Em Off Some" | 2:44 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 15. | "Insane in the Brain - Statik Selektah Remix" | 3:32 |
| 16. | "Lick a Shot - Baka Boys Remix" | 3:12 |
| 17. | "Hits from the Bong - DJ Muggs 2023 Remix" | 2:59 |
| 18. | "Scooby Doo" | 3:40 |
| 19. | "Loco En El Coco - Insane in the Brain (Spanish Version)" | 3:24 |
| Total length: | 60:24 | |
Notes
- "I Ain't Goin' Out Like That" samples "The Wizard" by Black Sabbath
- Later repressings have a fade at the end of "Insane in the Brain" due to sample clearance issues, & "Lock Down" is omitted.
Personnel
Cypress Hill
- B-Real – vocals
- Sen Dog – vocals
- DJ Muggs – turntables, arrangements, executive production, programming and mixing
Additional personnel
- T-Ray – producer ("I Ain't Goin' Out Like That")
- John Gamble – engineer
- Andy Kravitz – engineer
- Manuel Lecuona – engineer
- Jason Roberts – engineer
- Chris Shaw – engineer, mixing
- Joe Nicolo – executive producer, mixing
- Chris Schwartz – executive producer
- Jay Papke – design
- Anthony Artiaga – photography
Charts
Weekly charts
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Year-end charts
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Singles
| Year | Song | Chart positions | |||||
| Billboard Hot 100 | Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks | Hot Rap Singles | Rhythmic Top 40 | Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales | Hot Dance Music/Club Play | ||
| 1993 | |||||||
| "Insane in the Brain" | #19 | #27 | #1 | #16 | #5 | #16 | |
| 1994 | |||||||
| "I Ain't Goin' Out Like That" | #65 | #86 | #21 | - | #21 | - | |
Certifications
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA)[43] | Gold | 35,000^ |
| Canada (Music Canada)[44] | 3× Platinum | 300,000‡ |
| New Zealand (RMNZ)[45] | Platinum | 15,000^ |
| Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[46] | Gold | 25,000^ |
| United Kingdom (BPI)[47] | Platinum | 300,000^ |
| United States (RIAA)[48] | 4× Platinum | 4,000,000‡ |
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^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. | ||