Hand On the Pump

Doo-wop and gangsta rap come together in "Hand On The Pump," where Cypress Hill threaten to blast you with a shotgun while rapping over a sample built on Gene Chandler's 1962 hit "Duke Of Earl." These guys were legit gangstas, associated with the Latino Bloods of Los Angeles, but they put some levity into their music that gave it a different spin and made it stand out from the pack. Their DJ was also their producer: DJ Muggs, who had a talent for finding unexpected samples. He also produced House Of Pain, who had a hit the following year with "Jump Around."

The rappers in Cypress Hill are B-Real and Sen Dog, who have very different styles. B-Real has a high-pitched voice that can wrap around lines with surprising dexterity. Sen Dog has an intimidating growl. "Hand On The Pump" follows their familiar formula where for the hook, B-Real delivers a line ("Sawed off shotgun, hand on the pump, left hand on a 40") and Sen Dog answers ("puffin on a blunt!").

Cypress Hill loaded their songs with violent imagery and inevitably made references to smoking weed. Their first single was a fitting introduction: "How I Could Just Kill A Man." They followed it with "The Phuncky Feel One," then came "Hand On The Pump." All three songs were part of their self-titled 1991 debut album. Most radio stations wouldn't play these tunes, but that worked in their favor in a way because word got out anyway, and you had to buy the music to hear it. The album ended up selling over 2 million copies. After jumping on the Lollapalooza and opening some shows for Beastie Boys, they released their next album, Black Sunday, in 1993. The lead single, "Insane In The Brain," was a little more accessible and became a big hit.