Cypress Hill — NPR Tiny Desk, Washington D.C., 2023

Recorded in July 2023 at NPR headquarters in Washington, this Cypress Hill Tiny Desk Concert is part of the series celebrating 50 years of hip-hop. The Californian group, a pioneer of Latino rap and the creator of a grimy sound turned cult, arrives at the famous desk with a horn section and a full backing band. Across five tracks — ‘When the Shit Goes Down’, ‘Hand on the Pump’, ‘How I Could Just Kill a Man’, ‘(Rap) Superstar’ and the inevitable ‘Insane in the Brain’ — B-Real, Sen Dog and Eric Bobo prove the robustness of a repertoire inherited from the 1990s. This spare, intimate live capture highlights the flow and stage chemistry of a group that also comments on its own journey between songs. For fans of hip-hop and old-school rap, this filmed concert is a gem: the meeting of a legend and the most endearing format of today’s live scene. A complete live concert, sourced and unifying.