"On this album we decided to bring together the best elements of our career, to bring together the funky side, the rock side, the dark side and the fun side. Its more diverse than the previous outings there’s a little something for everyone. We went after the vibe, we don’t want people to just listen to this album we want them to feel it too'.

This was how B-Real (Louis Freese) of Cyprus Hill describes their new album, Skull & Bones. Celebrating the group’s tenth anniversary, the 12 million albums they’ve sold worldwide over the course of their career, and the fact that every one of their preceding studio albums has gone gold, platinum or multi-platinum, it’s time to take stock of the phenomena of Cyprus Hill.

B-Real encapsulates all that is confusing and complex about the American Left. The son of emigrant Mexican-Cuban parents, he is proudly Latino yet patriotically American. He engages in the rhetoric of hip hop yet retains a quite courteous manner. He is informed by his life with the gangs yet often refers with respect to the opinions of Doctors and Lawyers. He supports the ‘War on Terrorism’ but hates to see the innocent suffer.

“We moved around a lot as kids, he says, “my parents were always moving. I was a loner not having the chance to make friends. When we moved to Southgate I met Sen Dog and his little brother Mellow Man. That’s when I got in touch with my wild side. I got involved with gangs and drugs and stuff like that.”

“This background is important to me,” he continues, “it informs me on what I do now, it taught me about the streets and the way people are. I know to watch myself in different surroundings. How not to let people walk over you. I learned a lot about the evils of life but also the positive things. It moulded me into what I am now. It gave me a lot of experiences to write about in that particular lifestyle. It’s what led me here, if I had not taken this route I may not have gotten involved with music. I was a person that held a lot of things inside and music helped me express those things that I had held inside for so long”.

Cyprus Hill’s ability to use music to express themselves has cast them in the role of campaigners. But B-Real is wary of the label: “To some extent we are, but it is always the music first and politics second, sometimes you just want to entertain”. The new album contains the obligatory track about the legalisation of marijuana, an ongoing Cyprus Hill project. When B-Real talks about the legalisation of cannabis, his enthusiasm and knowledge is overwhelming:

“The recent changes in British legislation is a very big step for the marijuana activists. It’s definitely looking good for the having legislation over here in the US. Britain, well, more particularly England (as I am not sure the legislation covers the whole of Britain) have decriminalised, this sends out a message throughout the world. In America thousands of good people are in prison for possession of marijuana. They never had criminal records before, they are not violent, they are not constant offenders.

“Lawyers, doctors, teachers have all lost their credentials to the determent of their careers. I don’t think the Bush administration would be to sympathetic to those problems that we have regarding marijuana especially now that they are dealing with the war against terrorism. Drugs are low on their priorities.

“Once this administration is gone I think we have a fighting chance because more and more Americans today believe it should be legalised. A lot doctors, a lot of lawyers and even judges on the Supreme and Federal courts agree. You know we’re close. We got the 215 Marijuana Medical law in effect right now. They tried to over turn that, it still going through the courts and everything but that was one step in a positive direction”.

Produced as always by DJ Muggs for Soul Assassins, the dual direction of Skull & Bones is best exemplified by the simultaneous release of two versions of a song as singles ‘[Rock] Superstar’ and ‘[Rap] Superstar’ with to two different radio formats. ‘Superstar’ incorporates spoken-word testimonials from longtime pal Everlast and the Deftones’ Chino Moreno on the rock version and Eminem and Noreaga on the hip-hop variation.

Cyprus Hill intend to follow their recent Spanish language album Los Grandes Éxitos En Español, with another Spanish album. A Greatest Hits is planned and more studio work combined with the band’s legendary touring ethos. The bands schedule has been curtailed somewhat by the effects of September 11th however B-Real finishes with the line: “All will be resolved soon, God willing”. b

Skull & Bones is available now on Sony Records