Rolling Up the Charts : Cypress Hill Parlays Pot to Album, Merchandise Success

It’s no mystery to Cypress Hill, the South Gate hip-hop trio, why its “Black Sunday” album entered the pop charts at No. 1, blowing away such superstar competition as U2 and Barbra Streisand.

In a word: cannabis.

“We smoke pot and we rap about it,” said Sen Dog, the trio’s 27-year-old Latino rapper whose real name is Senen Reyes. “That’s what gives Cypress Hill our bugged-out edge.”

Puffing on a joint in his manager’s West Hollywood office, Cypress Hill cohort B-Real agreed.

“There’s a lot of stoners out there right now and they like us because we aren’t afraid to tell the truth,” said B-Real, 23, whose real name is Louis Freese. He and Sen Dog are scheduled to perform a scholarship fund-raiser Saturday with partner D.J. Muggs (Larry Muggerud), 24, at El Camino College.

Cypress Hill’s stoner image certainly hasn’t hurt the group any. The pro-pot rhetoric has transformed the self-proclaimed former gun-toting gangbangers into a multimillion-buck merchandising machine--appealing primarily to a new wave of weed-toking white suburbanites.

Indeed, the glassy-eyed hip-hoppers--who also act as official spokesmen for the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML)--have quietly sold more than $25 million in records since 1991.

Plus, their line of pot-emblazoned clothing and paraphernalia is currently PolyGram Diversified Entertainment’s hottest property--generating more than $6 million in sales at U.S. record stores this year alone and an additional $2 million in worldwide merchandise sales.

“Cypress Hill is saying things sociologically and politically to a growing segment of the population that feels alienated from mainstream adults,” said John Scher, president of PolyGram’s huge merchandising and concert division, which also sells souvenirs for pop stars Peter Gabriel, Elton John and Billy Ray Cyrus.

So far, the rebellious trio has escaped the wrath of the nation’s media watchdog organizations and law enforcement groups that have pressured some stores and record companies to stop distributing other controversial rappers such as Ice-T, Ice Cube and 2 Live Crew.

But Glen Levant, executive director for Drug Assistance Resistance Education (D.A.R.E.) America, suggested that Cypress Hill’s record label, Sony-owned Ruffhouse, may soon be headed for legal trouble.

“Smoking marijuana is illegal and it’s not inconceivable that these guys could be cited for aiding and abetting the commission of criminal acts,” said Levant, a former L.A.P.D. deputy chief who served as the city’s drug czar from 1985 to 1991. “It’s outrageous for a corporation as prominent as Sony to affiliate itself with a group that flouts narcotic laws and espouses criminal behavior.”

Is Cypress Hill an irresponsible pack of criminals or simply a shrewd triumvirate of counter-culture capitalists?

Insiders attribute much of the Latino rap crew’s swift rise to their manager, Happy Walters, a 25-year-old entrepreneur who made his mark in the Midwest hawking a line of university sportswear. Walters also manages House of Pain, Funkdoobiest and the Whooliganz, who will appear with Cypress Hill in concert at Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre on Oct. 28 and Santa Monica Civic Auditorium on Oct. 29.

Cypress Hill--named after Cypress street in South Gate--hooked up with Walters in 1991, three years after the hip-hop trio formed. Walters invested his $200,000 life savings in the group and maxed out a dozen credit cards to finance touring plus development of a merchandising logo to complement Cypress Hill’s unique nasal-heavy rap style.

“As far as marketing goes, man, we know what we’re doing,” said Sen Dog, who describes himself as a fan of such classic rock acts as Led Zeppelin and Jimi Hendrix. “The way we look and dress. The dusted-out design of our logo. B-Real’s rapping style. It’s no accident, man. The whole thing was an attempt to come up with something different.”

Fusing stark rap lyrics with escapist heavy metal imagery, Cypress Hill released a self-titled debut album in 1991 and penetrated the MTV market, earning a reputation for lyrics that juxtaposed the futility of gangbanging with the joys of pot smoking.

PolyGram Diversified Entertainment signed the trio to a multimillion-dollar merchandising deal to produce their own line of sweats, sock hats, jams and bandannas, as well as day-glow decals, buttons and posters silk-screened with marijuana leaves or psychedelic imagery and lettering lifted from ‘60s hippie lore.

Unlike other rap acts, Cypress Hill toured relentlessly for two years to promote its music and merchandise, performing at hundreds of underground clubs and small venues in the United States and abroad. Following a stint on the “Lollapalooza” tour in 1991 and a concert with Pearl Jam last year, the group began to cross over big time with white alternative rock fans. The trio will share several tracks with Pearl Jam and Sonic Youth on a soundtrack to the upcoming film “Judgment Night.”

Cypress Hill concerts these days typically attract a multiracial mix of stoners, hip-hop groupies, skateboarders and surfers. While the group has never had a violent outbreak at any of its shows, their fans are famous for pelting the stage with joints.

The fascination with pot seems to be paying off. After baring their dilated pupils on the cover of the pro-marijuana magazine High Times, the trio’s debut album, “Cypress Hill,” went on to sell more than 1.5 million units in sales. “Black Sunday”--which includes 19 facts about cannabis provided by NORML in the liner notes--has sold more than 700,000 copies since its July release. The album, which entered the Billboard magazine sales chart at No. 1 for the week ending July 25, is still in the national Top 5.

Not all hip-hop aficionados embrace the group’s broad-based musical style.

“Cypress Hill gets some respect in the hip-hop community, but they don’t have much street cache,” said James Bernard, senior editor of the Source, the nation’s leading rap magazine. “If you’re looking for what’s on the cutting edge, Cypress Hill isn’t it.”

B-Real and Sen Dog dismiss their detractors, saying they consciously add various elements to their music to attract a wide cross section of fans from all races--and both men and women. And they make no apologies for their success.

“I like hard-core rappers like Dr. Dre and the Geto Boys, but we don’t write raw-edge music like that,” said Sen Dog, a soap opera fan who plays semi-pro football for the Bellflower Bears. “We don’t degrade women like those cool little perverts in 2 Live Crew either. We want to be accepted as a music group, not just as a rap or hip-hop act.”

Lighting up another joint, B-Real concurred.

“We ain’t into excluding anybody with our music,” said B-Real, whose hobby is gardening. “What we’re trying to show is you can be a real cool mother and still get respect. You know what I’m saying? We don’t see ourselves as bad guys. We see ourselves as businessmen.”