The contributions of Latino rappers have often been overlooked – but no more. Next week, members of the influential rap group Cypress Hill, known for their hits “Insane in the Membrane” and “How I Could Just Kill A Man” will be acknowledged, by their peers and fans, at VH1’s Hip Hop Honors show.
The trio – comprised of Cuban-born lyricist Sen Dog, 42, wordsmith B-Real, of Mexican and Afro-Cuban descent, and Queens-bred DJ Muggs – will be toasted along with legends like De La Soul and Slick Rick, for their innovative sound.
We caught up with Sen Dog, born Senen Reyes, to talk about his solo debut, “Diary of a Mad Dog,” and we also learned a few details about Cypress Hill’s forthcoming 12th studio album.
Do you feel Latinos aren’t given enough credit for hip-hop’s evolution?
Latinos go back to the origins of rap. But the problem is, there weren’t that many of them and they weren’t popular enough. I think the reason Latinos are overlooked is because we didn’t establish ourselves early enough in the game the way black artists did.
Well you certainly established yourself with Cypress Hill in the early-’90s.
In my opinion, that era brought longevity to the rap game. There were so many influential acts like A Tribe Called Quest, Black Sheep, Pete Rock & CL Smooth, and Naughty By Nature.
Did the group ever receive any negative backlash because of its roots?
None. And once people found out we weren’t black, it tripped them out.
How does it feel to be the first-ever Latino rappers honored by VH1?
We think it’s pretty awesome. We never set out to break records or pile up awards. We also didn’t know the group would last this long. It’s an incredible feeling to know we did our job the right way.
Sadly, your achievement comes at a time when there’s tons of African American/Latino violence on the West Coast.
We’ve had race issues between blacks and Latinos out here for a long time now and unfortunately most of them end in shootings. It’s nothing new, but it escalates at times. I can remember problems as a kid growing up in LA after moving here from Cuba.
Your first solo album’s on its way and a brand new Cypress record’s in the works.
My solo record has a fun vibe to it. It’s full of personal and professional experiences. It may have been done earlier but I suffered a slight heart attack last year and had to take time to recover. My guests include B. Real, DJ Ace and Tangled Thoughts. Making a solo record has a lot of challenges. For one, I had to come up with much more content without B. Real or DJ Muggs involved. It was a learning experience, filled with creative pressure.
How about Cypress’s first joint in four years?
We’ve got like 30 songs already. We’ve been making it ourselves in our own LA studio and I honestly feel it’s the best material we’ve had in a long time. We have tracks with Tom Morello of Audioslave, Slash from Velvet Revolver, Mike Shinoda of Linkin Park and DJ Premier, to name a few. We’re curr ently label-shopping and hope to have it out early next year.
VH1 Hip Hop Honors, Oct. 6, 10 p.m.