I’ve had the pleasure of working on a very special collaboration project for the last year and a half with an artist that tops the list as one of my all time favorites. He goes by the name B Real and is 1/3 of the mighty Cypress Hill, a multi-platinum group that has attained iconic status for the impact they have made on hip hop and youth culture, not to mention his unique ability to roll amazing joints with the best Kush on the planet, but you already knew that right? I have seen Cypress Hill numerous times both in the US and in Europe, where every show was always packed to the gills and the performance top notch. Well, I had an opportunity to ask B a few questions exclusively for the Media Contender readers, so maybe you will learn something you didn’t know about him before.

Photos: B Real Myspace

Oh yeah, we also decided to hook you up with an exclusive glitchy, dubbed out remix my boy High Rankin’ whipped up for us with a really dope acapella B sent me. Enjoy!

Click Here to Download B Real “Let Us Blaze”
(High Rankin Remix)
(Stream & Download Courtesy of Media Contender)

B Real – Media Contender Interview

Media Contender:
Hey B, where are you from/based/born?
B Real:
I was born in Los Angeles California, pretty much been here all my life.

Media Contender:
When did you start producing music?  What gave you that urge?
B Real:
I started trying to produce music 6 years ago, always had an interest, listening to my favorite music like Public Enemy, Beastie Boys, then seeing Mugs doing it…it inspired me as well.

Media Contender:
MC’ing before that?
B Real:
Yeah I was a rapper first and foremost, after hearing Run DMC, Curtis Blow, LL Cool J.  I hung out with a lot of the break dancers and graffiti heads back then, got into writing…poetry, and it eventually translated into the Hip Hop shit I do.

Media Contender:
How do your influences differ now, from when you first started to make music?
B Real:
You know…you listen to what new artists are out there that appeal to you, what they are saying…and what appeals.  You can find inspiration in old and new music alike…some people like one thing, some people like many things…I like many different things.

Media Contender:
Out of the releases/projects you have put out or been part of, which was your favorite and why?
B Real:
As far as Cypress Hill goes…its hard to say…if you go by success…Black Sunday, but I really cant go by that….I go by the vibe on each record…its hard as I like all of them, but my favorite to put out would have to be between Black Sunday and Cypress Hill 4.  Black Sunday we were rushed….but working with the momentum we were on at the time, also inspired by all the new music in New York…recording most of the record in NY…it was a very cool point in time working on that project.  On Cypress Hill 4…it was kind of a thing where we were coming back to evolving the sound….I thought it was a good album but unfortunately it didn’t get enough light, I thought it was one of our better albums!

Media Contender:
You live in Los Angeles, Southern California. How has your youth, upbringing and life there influenced your style of production and music taste?
B Real:
I grew up pretty much on the east side of LA, dealing with the gangs and drugs…you see all that stuff, it makes you want to write about life, things you’ve seen….so that’s what I wrote about…my life experience in those places.  I couldn’t make music, but I couldn’t write without the music…I would get inspired and write to a beat using one of those stories…

Media Contender:
What types of music would be on your Ipod right now if I turned it on?
B Real:
Umm…shit…a bit of everything really… hip hop, rnb, jazz, metal, punk…a little bit of everything…except for maybe country music.

Media Contender:
Any electronic music?
B Real:
Yeah actually…

Media Contender:
Tell me about your solo cd project?  What can we expect with the Gunslinger vol 3?
B Real:
Its actually a mix tape project, but my solo project will be following the mix tape.

Media Contender:
Your top 3 artists / producers at the moment?
B Real:
Boy that’s tough…I don’t have any favorites right now…but I like Jay Z, Snoop, Damian “Junior Gong” Marley, Timbaland, and Dre to name a few.

Media Contender:
What is it like touring all the time? Where was your favorite place to play?
B Real:
Anywhere in Europe is always good…Holland is always great!

Media Contender:
With a non electronic music background, how did you come to be interested in Drum & Bass, Dubstep and other electronic genres? What excites you about those sounds?
B Real:
Drum and Bass…the way the rhythm is popped out….which is different….there is a different sort of rhythm…the bass…it gets girls jumping…anything that gets the girls jumping on the dance floor is good for me!

Media Contender:
You have, in the past worked with some Drum & Bass producers and other urban electronica heads.  What enables you work between so many genres?
B Real:
Right now im focused on hip hop…im not trying to do anything with any other genres…other than see what I can learn from it, maybe apply it to what im doing if I like it…but as for right now I haven’t been doing different projects lately…the reason it can fit is because we are fans of it…we like to listen to it…you some how find a way to fit….but we’ve always tried to do our thing within our boundaries.

Media Contender:
You are currently also involved with collaboration projects with ROOR Music & Subconscious Records, working with some of the UK’s biggest Dubstep producers…how did that come about ?
B Real:
Basically ROOR did a bong for me which is a very beautiful bong, at that…during that time this collab project came about.

Media Contender:
Your new smoker’s community site (420room.com) has just launched.  Give some history on that project and some insight to the future and scope of the site.  What made you start the site?
B Real:
Keen, myself and her brother decided that there needed to be a site for the stoner culture. There wasn’t anything dedicated for that.  Since Cypress Hill is at the forefront of the culture…I decided to make the move, find ways to make it happen!  We are constantly finding ways to make it better and better.  In the future we will add video, music and marijuana law information will be available on the site to bring the whole community together.  There will be constant updates.  It’s all about finding exactly what the stoners want and making sure our servers can handle it all!

Media Contender:
What is the fundamental idea behind the 420room.com?
B Real:
To bring the stoner community together for people that partake in smoking marijuana for recreation.

Media Contender:
What and who are the Stoned Assassins?
B Real:
The Stoned Assassins are a paint ball team. We compete in tournaments throughout the year, comprised of 10 people.

Media Contender:
Any other projects you’re currently involved in you want to talk about?
B Real:
Just finishing up my solo record and a compilation called “The Harvest” which will come out some time this year.

Media Contender:
Anything about The Harvest you can tell me about?
B Real:
There will be about 20 artists.  Produced by Audio Hustler (myself and Jay Turner)…we got a bunch of new artists coming up.

Media Contender:
Any other shouts to the crew?
B Real:
You know…thanks to everybody. Thanks to the fans…were going to be bringing more & more music…and yeah…shouts to all those people!!

Media Contender:
Nice one, thank you B !
B Real:
No problem man.

Website: B Real Online, High Rankin on Myspace