Cypress Hill III: Temples of Boom

Cypress Hill III: Temples of Boom is the third studio album by Latin-American hip hop group Cypress Hill. It was released on October 31, 1995, by Ruffhouse and Columbia Records. It was the first album to feature Eric Bobo as an official member of the group. The album featured a stylistic change, as the group turned towards a darker, tranquil, slower, and spookier sound with their beats. The album went Platinum in the U.S. with 1 million units sold.

Cypress Hill III: Temples of Boom
Studio album by
Cypress Hill
ReleasedOctober 31, 1995
Recorded1994–1995
Genre
Length55:54
Label
Producer
Cypress Hill chronology
Black Sunday
(1993)		 Cypress Hill III: Temples of Boom
(1995)		 IV
(1998)
Singles from III: Temples of Boom
  1. "Throw Your Set in the Air"
    Released: September 26, 1995[1]
  2. "Illusions"
    Released: February 20, 1996[2]
  3. "Boom Biddy Bye Bye"
    Released: May 21, 1996[3]

Background

With this album, the group turned towards a more tranquil, sedate, slower, spooky sound with their beats.

Wu-Tang Clan members RZA and U-God both make an appearance on the track "Killa Hill Niggas".

Also notable was the track "No Rest for the Wicked", which ignited the feud between Cypress Hill and rapper Ice Cube who they claimed stole the hook from the group’s single "Throw Your Set in the Air", for his song “Friday” from the movie Friday. At the peak of the feud on the “Temples Of Boom” tour, the group would take time in between songs to talk about this and get the crowd to yell obscenities about Ice Cube.

The darker mood tone reflected the strife in the 90’s and the different aspects the group faced as they became more famous. During this era member Sen Dog temporarily left the band to pursue other projects.

Reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[4]
Chicago Tribune[5]
Christgau's Consumer Guide(dud)[6]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music[7]
Entertainment WeeklyC+[8]
NME7/10[9]
Q[10]
Rolling Stone[11]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[12]
Spin5/10[13]
  • Rolling Stone - 3.5 Stars - Good - "…half of III bumps with a new and improved Cypress Hill sound that marks producer Muggs' progress.… For all the rude immediacy of its rhymes, III is an album of many musical hues…Cypress Hill still wield an intoxicating power that's all their own…"[11]
  • Q - 4 Stars - Excellent - "The production is sophisticated, incorporating Indian sitar and sloping, almost psychedelic bass grooves to create a vaguely threatening ambient hardcore."[14]
  • Melody Maker - Bloody Essential - "…resonates with freakish cheese-wire paranoia…a gobsmacking paradox of expansive claustrophobia.… The funk patters like an erratic heartbeat, the voices are stretched to bursting with menace and loathing and mockery…"[15]
  • Rap Pages - 7 (out of 10) - "B-Real spits out lyric after lyric lambasting critics, ex-homies and anyone else not down with his familia.… Some of the record might sound familiar, but, hey, that's the Cypress sound."[16]
  • NME - 7 (out of 10) - "At its most powerful, tuneful, sarcastic and entertaining, it's sneering '90s hip-hop.… In the weeks of the OJ fall-out and the Nation Of Islam Million Man March, Cypress Hill have made the album which reflects US and, therefore, global paranoia with spookily apt timing."[17]

Track listing
  • All tracks produced by DJ Muggs, except track 5 produced by RZA
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Spark Another Owl"
3:40
2."Throw Your Set in the Air"
  • Muggerud
  • Freese
4:08
3."Stoned Raiders"
2:54
4."Illusions"
  • Muggerud
  • Freese
4:28
5."Killa Hill Niggas" (feat. RZA and U-God of Wu-Tang Clan)
4:03
6."Boom Biddy Bye Bye"
  • Muggerud
  • Freese
  • Reyes
4:04
7."No Rest for the Wicked"
  • Muggerud
  • Freese
5:01
8."Make a Move"
  • Muggerud
  • Freese
4:33
9."Killafornia"
  • Muggerud
  • Freese
2:56
10."Funk Freakers"
  • Muggerud
  • Freese
3:16
11."Locotes"
  • Muggerud
  • Freese
  • Reyes
3:39
12."Red Light Visions"
  • Muggerud
  • Freese
1:46
13."Strictly Hip Hop"
  • Muggerud
  • Freese
4:33
14."Let It Rain"
  • Muggerud
  • Freese
3:45
Bonus tracks
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
15."Everybody Must Get Stoned"
  • Muggerud
  • Freese
3:05
16."Smuggler's Blues" (Japanese Bonus track) 4:23
17."Buddha Mix" (Bonus CD edition only) 20:54

Personnel

Charts

Album - Billboard (North America)[18]

Year Chart Position
1995 The Billboard 200 3
1995 Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums 3

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[19] Gold 50,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[20] Gold 100,000*
United States (RIAA)[21] Platinum 1,000,000^

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References
  1. "Throw Your Set in the Air [Ruffhouse Single] - Cypress Hill". AllMusic. Retrieved February 21, 2015.
  2. "Illusions [12"] - Cypress Hill". AllMusic. Retrieved February 21, 2015.
  3. "Boom Biddy Bye Bye [Vinyl Single] - Cypress Hill". AllMusic. Retrieved February 21, 2015.
  4. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Cypress Hill - Cypress Hill III: Temples of Boom". AllMusic. Retrieved 2019-01-12.
  5. Kot, Greg (1995-11-09). "Looking Inward". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2018-04-09.
  6. Christgau, Robert (2000-10-15). "Cypress Hill". Christgau's Consumer Guide: Albums of the '90s. Macmillan Publishing. ISBN 9780312245603.
  7. Larkin, Colin (2011). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Omnibus Press. ISBN 9780857125958.
  8. Browne, David (1995-11-03). "Hempilation: Freedom is norml; Cypress Hill III (Temples of Boom)". Entertainment Weekly.
  9. "Cypress Hill III: Temples of Boom". NME. 1995-10-28. p. 54.
  10. "Cypress Hill III: Temples of Boom". Q. January 1996. p. 124.
  11. "Cypress Hill III: Temples of Boom". Rolling Stone. Straight Arrow. 16 November 1995. p. 109. ISSN 0035-791X. Retrieved 20 October 2011.
  12. Cross, Charles R. (2004). "Cypress Hill". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. pp. 206. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
  13. Eddy, Chuck (January 1996). "Cypress Hill III: Temples of Boom". Spin. SPIN Media LLC. p. 84.
  14. "Cypress Hill III: Temples of Boom". Q. Bauer Media. January 1996. p. 124. ISSN 0955-4955. Retrieved 20 October 2011.
  15. "Cypress Hill III: Temples of Boom". Melody Maker. IPC Media. 28 October 1995. p. 39. ISSN 0025-9012. Retrieved 20 October 2011.
  16. "Cypress Hill III: Temples of Boom". Rap Pages. Beverly Hills, CA: LFP. January 1996. p. 32. ISSN 1063-1283. Retrieved 20 October 2011.
  17. "Cypress Hill III: Temples of Boom". NME. IPC Media. 28 October 1995. p. 54. ISSN 0028-6362. Retrieved 20 October 2011.
  18. "Cypress Hill III: Temples of Boom – Charts & Awards – Billboard Albums" at AllMusic. Retrieved 20 October 2011.
  19. "Canadian album certifications – Cypress Hill – Temples of Boom". Music Canada. Retrieved December 29, 2022.
  20. "British album certifications – Cypress Hill – III (Temples of Boom)". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved December 29, 2022.
  21. "American album certifications – Cypress Hill – III (Temple of Boom)". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved December 29, 2022.
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