THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.

963-Cyprus Hill-Insane in the Brain

1993-Number 23 single.

Best Bit At 0.05. They say there is a fine line between genius and insanity, this song walks that very thin tightrope between the two.

Cyprus Hill are a Hip-Hop, and Rap/Rock group that were formed in South Gate, California, United States, in 1988, by the Cuban brothers Senen Reyes, (Sen Dog) and Ulpiao Sergio Reyes, (Mellow Man Ace) along with Laurence Muggerud, (DJ Muggs) and Louis Freese (B-Real.) Mellow Man Ace would leave soon after to pursue a solo career, and DJ Muggs left in 2004, before re-joining again between 2014-2018, the other official member is Eric ‘Bobo’ Correa,’ who joined the group in 1993. Cyprus Hill who took their name from a street in South Gate, are recognised for being among the earliest acts to fuse the genres of Hip-Hop, and Rock Music, and in 2019 they became the first Hip-Hop act to receive a star on the ‘Hollywood Walk of Fame.’All of the group members advocate for medical and recreational purposes the use of Cannabis in the United States. The bands second studio Album ‘Black Sunday’ came with a booklet containing 19 facts about the history of ‘Hemp,’ and the positive attributes of Cannabis.

Cyprus Hill have sold in excess of 20 million Albums worldwide, releasing their self titled debut in 1991, and their 10th and most recent to date in 2022. They have also released 37 singles in the same time period, with ‘Insane in the Brain’ giving them their only American Billboard Hot 100 top 40 single when reaching Number 19 in 1993. In the UK, Cyprus Hill have made the top 40 on 11 occasions, with (‘Rap Superstar’)/ (‘Rock Superstar’) charting the highest when making Number 13 in 2000.

‘Insane in the Brain,’ which was co-written by the Cyprus Hill band members B-Real, DJ Muggs, and ‘Sen Dog,’ with the production by DJ Muggs, was the first of four singles released from the groups second studio Album ‘Black Sunday,’ from July 1993. In 1992 DJ Muggs had written a beat which the other group members rejected, so he decided to shop it around, with the American Hip-Hop group ‘House of Pain’ accepting it. That beat would eventually become the ‘Hip-Hop’ classic ‘Jump Around,’ (see also best songs 75) and after it’s success the other members of Cyprus Hill gave DJ Muggs free rein with the bands second Album.

Like many a good ‘Hip-Hop’ track, ‘Insane in the Brain’ contains many samples from many different sources. The lyrics ‘I think I’m Going Crazy,’ are taken from the 1967 song ‘All Over the World’ by the ‘Youngbloods.’ Other samples used include a drum break from organist George Semper’s cover version of Lee Dorsey’s “Get Out of My Life, Woman,’ and there is also a sample of James Brown ‘grunting,’ from the opening of his song ‘Say It Loud-I’m Black and I’m Proud,’from 1968. The most prominent sample throughout the song has always been a matter of dispute, with DJ Muggs initially claiming that the sample was a pitched Blues guitar, although at a later date he claimed it was the sound of a horn. Many sources claim that it was actually a sample of a horse from the American Soul duo ‘Mel and Tim’s’ 1970 song ‘Good Guys Only Win in the Movies,’ but of course what has to be remembered is that admitting to using a sample can cost the user a great deal of money in royalties.

‘Insane in the Brain’ according to B-Real started out life as a ‘diss-song’ aimed at the American Rapper ‘Chubb Rock,’ after he had ridiculed their style on his 1992 Album ‘I Gotta Get Mine Yo.’ A ‘diss track’ is a song whose primary purpose is to verbally attack someone else, usually another artist. ‘Diss tracks’ are often the result of an existing, escalating feud between two people. ‘Insane in the Brain’ is a saying that derives from gang talk in Los Angeles between the rival gangs, the ‘Crips,’ and the ‘Bloods.’ DJ Muggs has said,’You could have a shootout with the police or anyone. So if you walked up to somebody and said, “I’m crazy insane, got no brain,” you’d better be ready to prove that sh.t. That lingo was reserved for the hardest homies.’

‘To the one on the flamboyant tip, I’ll just toss that ham in the frying pan. Like spam, get done when I come and slam, Damn, I feel like the Son of Sam.’