Written and Photographed by : Eric Sperrazza
It was 1991 when Cypress Hill debuted, with their single “Hand on the Pump.” Members, Senen ‘Sen Dog’ Reyes, Louis ‘B-Real’ Freese, and Lawrence ‘DJ Muggs’ Muggerud were on their way to super-stardom. Touring on the stage that made the definitive soundtrack of the ’90s, Lollapalooza, Cypress Hill discovered mass appeal from
all walks of life; fans of Grunge, Heavy Metal, Punk, and Pop joined Hip-Hop aficionados in embracing the band’s blended tales of west coast criminality mixed with a healthy love for marijuana. It was B-Real’s voice and cadence that captivated the casual listener, galvanized by Sen-Dog’s authoritative exalting, and the fiercest of beats by DJ Muggs. With six chart-topping Billboard singles, three Grammy nominations, a Billboard Music Award, and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, Cypress Hill solidified themselves as groundbreaking pioneers in Hip Hop.
It seemed that, upon walking into the Etess Arena inside the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino at showtime, the kickoff show was already underway. Souls of Mischief, a Hip-Hop group with a lineage that stretches back to 1991, had already begun tearing up the stage and getting the incoming attendees ready. Consisting of artists, A-Plus, Phesto, Opio, and Tajai, the group is an extension of the famous rap collective, Hieroglyphics. During their time warming up the room and warming it right, they performed hits like “93 til Infinity,” “Never No More,” and “That’s When Ya Lost.” Overall, the lyricism and energy were so effortless it’s a testament to the prolific and creative lexicon that was the secret sauce of 90’s Hip-Hop.
Here’s a question for you, what do you get when you mix an Albanian Muslim from Flushing, Queens with a Food & Travel Show on Vice, Pro Wrestling cameos in All Elite Wrestling on TBS, a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu career under the great Ryron Gracie, soulful bars on seven different LPs, and two BET Hip Hop Award nominations? You get Action Bronson. It was he who was next to take the stage and keep the party going. Bronson kicked off with hits 2019 hit, “Dmtri,” and kept the proverbial dice rolling throughout the set. A completely different kind of vibe from anything I’d seen before, some aspects felt like I was watching a fusion of Hip Hop, Jazz, and Jam Band Funk, at times. With bass, guitar, drums, and even bongos onstage to accompany this former chef turned lyrical tour de force. It was evident you had to go out of your way not to be entertained. Bronson continued with EPs from his storied career like “Bonzai,” “Live From the Moon,” “White Bronco,” and the 2015 hit, “Easy Rider.”
In the early 2000s, original Sublime members, Eric Wilson and Bud Gaugh, worked to keep their music, and the legacy of their late lead singer, Bradley Nowell, alive by hitting the road with a new singer, Rome Ramirez. Through legalities over the name (Hence the change to the name, “Sublime with Rome.”), injuries, and side projects, the revamped lineup changed, quite a bit. It was announced that, after the dates for Sublime with Rome were honored in 2024, Ramirez would head into the next chapter of his career, solo. Meanwhile, Wilson and Gaugh would begin hitting the road, once more, as Sublime with Nowell’s son Jakob at the helm. One of those dates honored would be the Bongwalk Empire show with Cypress Hill in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
One by one, the current iteration of Sublime with Rome, Ramirez, along with Joe Tomino (drums), Brian Allen (bass), and Gabrial McNair (keyboard and trombone),
took to the stage as the final show before Cypress Hill’s main event. It was possibly one of the final times we’d see this current lineup play such coveted songs. The band wasted no time, opening with the Sublime favorites, “Doin’ Time” and “Smoke Two Joints.” Throughout the set, Ramirez endeared himself to the audience and gave due and proper flowers to former Cypress Hill artist, DJ Muggs, for helping him at the beginning of his career. The band continued, covering Fishbone’s “Skankin’ to the Beat,” The Grateful Dead’s “Scarlet Begonias,” and even Post Malone’s “Goodbyes.” After a long thirteen-song set had come to an end, Ramirez gave the crowd what they truly were salivating at the mouth to sing along to, “What I Got” & “Santeria.”
Finally, it was time for Cypress Hill. Out came a giant skull onto the stage with glowing eyes to signal the beginning of the main event. Adorned on top was a former member of Prophets of Rage and Public Enemy, DJ Lord, standing in for DJ Muggs. He needed no introduction or validation of his pedigree to start the show off as the master turntablist quickly went to work, hyping the crowd with surgical precision on the decks. With that, smoke bellowed from the bottom of the skeletal DJ booth. An inflatable grew from the back of the stage taking shape into a dapper skeleton holding a jar full of herbs and an afro made of hemp. Next to take the stage was longtime percussionist for Cypress Hill, Eric “Bobo” Correa. As the intro to “Stoned is the Way of the Walk” began, out came B-Real holding an 18-inch long functional and smoking joint. Soon after, Sen-Dog joined holding an equally large spliff of his own. From that point, a whopping nineteen-song set was kicked off by the veteran Hip-Hop artists that included epic singles like “When the Shit Goes Down,” “Hand on the Pump,” “The Phuncky Feel One,” and “Illusions.” Weed anthems, “I Wanna Get High,” “Hits From The Bong,” and “Dr. Greenthumb” were performed in a brilliant montage mix as well. And if that wasn’t enough, DJ Lord and Eric Bobo put on a venerable clinic with their respective solos.
Plumes of smoke from the audience covered the ceiling of the Etess Arena and billowed out of the doors into the lobby, as the set list started wrapping up with legendary hits like “Throw Your Set in the Air,” “I Ain’t Going Out Like That” and, of course, the band’s magnum opus, “Insane in the Brain.” Seemingly, as quickly as it started, it was over. When every song was a hit, performed with the same fervor and enthusiasm as they had in the 1990’s, what more could they have possibly encored with, anyway? Would I have liked to have heard “Band of Gypsies?” Absolutely. Was it in any way missed? Not in the least. This was a perfect show, custom-made for the fans and delivered with excellence in every regard.
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