Latin identity has been at the core of Cypress Hill’s music from the very beginning — their 1991 track “Latin Lingo” gave voice to the Latin roots of hip hop with its funky Spanglish callouts. But it took the band thirty-five more years to make an album of original songs written in Spanish: Dios Bendiga, which was just released. In this episode, Felix chats with the band — B-Real, Sen Dog and Eric Bobo — about the influences behind the album, and why this moment felt right to finally make it. Plus, a cameo from the band’s longtime producer and turntablist, DJ Lord.
This podcast episode was produced by Noah Caldwell. Suraya Mohamed is the executive producer of NPR Music.