Written by Chris “Preach” Smith

Let’s say you were setting out to pull a Quentin Tarantino move. You’re looking to create an action movie with just a touch of gunslinging a lá “spaghetti western” style. In order to open the film with a masterful theme that would make Sergio Leone proud (get hip to The Good, The Bad and The Ugly if you haven’t already), it all begins with a song that sticks with you long after the movie ends. And in this day and age, I can think of none better than “Tequila Sunrise” by Cypress Hill.

This track was on IV, their fifth album, in 1998. By then, Cypress had already established themselves in the Hip-Hop world. This album would see them slide into an artistic quagmire that relegated them exclusively to the pages of High Timesand had them headlining college tours with chintzy sponsors. The song was overshadowed by the lead single, “Dr.Greenthumb“, but hearing “Tequila Sunrise” had me so mesmerized I bought the CD immediately, came home and put it on repeat for a half hour.

The beat is a marriage of a simple yet hard-knocking bassline and a sultry guitar loop. Once the horns come in with the chorus, you’ll feel like you were slamming shots of Patron Silver at some BBQ in East Los Angeles. “Tequila Sunrise” speaks to Cypress Hill’s greatest strength; concise, hard hitting verses you can connect to over beats that ooze grittiness. That is their true legacy — powerful Hip-Hop with a definite Latino flavor. Both celebratory and cutting, this is a great, if slept on song from one of the more enduring Latino Hip-Hop.

If Oscar De La Hoya came into the ring with this, maybe he would’ve actually got fired up to finish off a couple of fights instead of coasting through.

Cypress Hill – Tequila Sunrise

Cypress Hill – Audio X bw Tequila Sunrise (Remix) Feat. Fat Joe 12″