Skull & Bones (album)

Untitled

Skull & Bones is the fifth studio album by the rap group Cypress Hill, released on April 25, 2000. The album is divided into two — a hip-hop disc ("Skull") and a rap metal disc ("Bones").

Album information

It features Everlast, Eminem, N.O.R.E., Christian Olde Wolbers and Dino Cazares of Fear Factory, Brad Wilk of Rage Against the Machine and Chino Moreno of the Deftones.

Cypress Hill gained critical recognition for the album and landed a slot opening for The Offspring and MxPx on the Conspiracy of One tour. The song "(Rock) Superstar" was a radio hit on both rap and some rock stations. It was once performed live by the band with Slash, Duff McKagan and Matt Sorum of the band Velvet Revolver. The Intro includes a sample from Ralph Bakshi's Wizards.

Reception

• Rolling Stone (5/11/00, p.132) - 3.5 stars out of 5 - "A bipolar breakdown....proving hip-hop is more like T2...capable of morphing into anyone they wanna be."

• CMJ (5/1/00, p.23) - "Proves rather convincingly that Cypress Hill still packs a mighty punch."

• Vibe (6/00, p.223) - "Marks the first major shift in the group's direction....Half of [the album] is a head-banging jam session....Songs like '(Rap) Superstar' prove that the group still has that winning formula."

• The Source (6/00, pp.218-20) - 3.5 mics out of 5 - "May be their most drastic turn yet....Cypress' flavor runs thick across the disc....They break down the barriers in order to transcend the industry-imposed terms of alternative and rap....another set for the weeded."

• Rap Pages (6/00, p.42) - "...May be the best album you hear for the next 2 years....[it] is so artistically good that it [will] stay in your personal rotation..."

• Mojo (6/00, p.113) - "Finds them sticking a finger in the air and finding the wind blowing in the direction of thrash-metal."

• NME (4/29/00, p.33) - 7 out of 10 - "Picks up where the groggy metal/rap melange of '98s Cypress Hill IV left off....It's business as usual....They do hip-hop and they do funk-metal rawk....evolving slowly."

Track listing

Skull (Disc 1)

1. "Intro" (Muggerud) – 1:52
2. "Another Victory" (Freese, Muggerud) – 3:11
3. "(Rap) Superstar" (Freese, Muggerud) – 4:53
4. "Cuban Necktie" (Freese, Muggerud) – 4:13
5. "What U Want from Me" (Freese, Muggerud, Reyes) – 3:50
6. "Stank Ass Hoe" (Freese, Muggerud) – 5:09
7. "Highlife" (Freese, Muggerud, Reyes) – 3:53
8. "Certified Bomb" (Freese, Muggerud, Reyes) – 4:03
9. "Can I Get a Hit" (Freese, Muggerud) – 2:47
10. "We Live This Shit" (Freese, Muggerud, Reyes) – 4:20
11. "Worldwide" (Freese, Muggerud, Reyes) – 2:45

Bones (Disc 2)

1. "Valley of Chrome" (Freese, Muggerud, Reyes) – 4:04
2. "Get Out of My Head" (Freese, Muggerud) – 3:31
3. "Can't Get the Best of Me" (Correa, Freese, Muggerud, Reyes, Wilk) – 4:15
4. "A Man" (Correa, Fleener, Freese, Reyes, Zambrano) – 3:08
5. "Dust" (Cypress Hill, Fleming, Freese) – 3:56
6. "(Rock) Superstar" (Freese, Muggerud, Reyes) – 4:37
7. "Jack You Back" (Bonus Track) (Freese, Muggerud, Reyes) - 3:32

Notes

The untitled instrumental segue after "Stank Ass Hoe" was re-used for the track "Heart of the Assassin" on the 2000 DJ Muggs produced album Soul Assassins II.

Personnel

• B-Real - Vocals
• Sen Dog Vocals
• DJ Muggs - Producer
• Eric Bobo - Drums
• Michael Barbiero - Engineer
• Dino Cazares - Guitars
• Jeremy Fleener - Bass
• Rogelio Lozano - Guitar
• Reggie Stewart - Bass, Guitar
• Brad Wilk - Drums
• Christian Olde Wolbers - Bass
• Andy Zambrano - Guitar
• Alfunction - Guitar and keyboard

Charts

Album - Billboard (North America)

Year	Chart	Position
2000	The Billboard 200	5
2000	Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums	4