Name: Insane in the Brain / Insane in the Brain (Instrumental)
Brand: Cypress Hill

Bonus disc

Bonus disc: No

Catalogue number

MRB7182

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Colour

Black

Colour details

Discogs ID

Format multiplier

Download code

Download code: No

Rough Trade Exclusive

Rough Trade Exclusive: No

Extended format

Extended format: No

Format detail

Format Music GB

Limited edition

Release date

2020-09-25

Signed copies

Signed copies: No

Supplier GB

Proper

Tax rate GB

Standard:20

UPC / Barcode

7119691266572

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Total Cap

1 / 7" / Extended format: No / Rough Trade Exclusive: No / Signed copies: No / black

Artist

Cypress Hill

Genre GB

Hip Hop

Label GB

Mr Bongo

Cypress Hill is an American hip hop group hailing from South Gate, California. They were formed in 1988 and have been making waves in the music industry ever since.
The current members of Cypress Hill include Louis "B-Real" Freese on vocals, Senen "Sen Dog" Reyes on vocals, and Eric "Eric Bobo" Correa on drums/percussion. B-Real has been with the group since its inception in 1988, while Sen Dog took a brief hiatus from 1995 to 1998 before rejoining. Eric Bobo joined the group in 1993 and has been an integral part of their sound ever since.
Although Cypress Hill has seen some changes over the years, with former member Ulpiano "Mellow Man Ace" Reyes joining briefly in 1988 and Lawrence "DJ Muggs" Muggerud leaving the group in 2004 (only to return from 2014 to 2018), they continue to create groundbreaking music that resonates with fans worldwide.

Mr Bongo is a British label that was founded in 1989. Originally located in a small record shop of the same name, it later moved to various locations in Soho and Shibuya, Japan. In 1999, the label's office was relocated to Brighton and its London & Shibuya shops were closed in 2003. However, a new shop was opened in Brighton in 2016. Since 2004, Mr Bongo has expanded into the world of cinema and also has a publishing division that produces and licenses music for third parties.
The label's rich history and diverse range of music make it an influential player in the industry. With its extensive catalog and commitment to quality, Mr Bongo continues to be at the forefront of discovering new talent and delivering exceptional music experiences.
Label Code: LC 12527

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So much legendary hip-hop begins with a misunderstanding. You might not realise it on first or even hundredth listen, but Insane in the Brain is a diss track. What has become one of the hip-hop's most iconic party anthems, and one of Cypress Hill's biggest hits, started out with them taking offence at Chubb Rock.

He'd flipped some of their lyrics on his own Yabba Dabba Doo song in 1992 and the group didn't like it. While B-Real's lyrical attack on Chubb is subtle and almost subliminal, Sen Dog spends most of his verse making fat jokes at Chubb's expense. It's a little known beef, hidden beneath the vast success of this single in 1993, with it reaching number one in the US rap charts and proving a pop hit worldwide too. At this stage, the group's producer DJ Muggs had perfected an idiosyncratic sound all of his own, lending it to tracks for the likes of House of Pain and Funkdoobiest.

Here he melds samples from Sly and the Family Stone and The Youngbloods with a beat lifted from George Semper's instrumental cover of Get out my Life, Woman. Those subtle songs are alchemised into a boot-stomping head-nodder that transcended hip-hop to become a festival favourite, a rise that ended in Ned Flanders delivering the line, "this may sound just a teensy bit insane in the old membrane, Homer," in The Simpsons.

The only official 7" of this was released in the Philippines, and fetches prices in the hundreds of pounds – this reissue puts a hip-hop classic in crate-friendly form.