Hip-Hop 50: Cypress Hill’s Weed Rap Changed Cannabis Culture

The Opus

In celebration of the 50th anniversary of hip-hop, we’re opening up The Opus podcast archives to re-release seasons focused on some of history's most legendary rap albums. Next up we revisit Cyrus Hills self-title record — a landmark of West Coast hip-hop that pioneered the “weed rap” movement. What’s more, Cypress Hill’s own B-Real, Sen Dog, and DJ Muggs all joined us for the journey through the album’s legacy.

For more from Cypress Hill, check out Sen Dog’s Crate Digging into 10 essential hip-hop albums.”, and there will be loads of artist interviews, essays, and more coming throughout the month, so make sure to check it all out at Consequence.net.

You can also snag some of our exclusive Hip-Hop 50 merch at the Consequence Shop.

Season 15 of Consequence Podcast Network and Sony’s The Opus comes to its conclusion on a high point as we explore how Cypress Hill put weed rap on the map.

Within a few months of its release, the impact of Cypress Hill and the subject matter of some of the raps therein was apparent. Other rappers started writing songs that expanded more on the glory of marijuana. While we think of Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre as pioneers in the art of weed rap, it’s often forgotten that Dre once bragged on record about never smoking weed. But, after Cypress Hill lifted their veil of smoke, Dre got to work on an album called The Chronic.

And Cypress Hill’s cannabis candidness wasn’t just relegated to their raps, either. The group became outspoken advocates for the legalization of marijuana, ushering in a new era of pot positivity that Cypress Hill are still pushing forward to this very day.

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