Dj Muggs

Little did he probably expect it at the time, but as part of Cypress Hill, DJ Muggs was almost certainly responsible for one of the most infamous opening lines of a 90s rap album: the woozy sentiment of I Wanna Get High (So high...) simultaneously announced that the stoner generation had a new anthem and that grunge had passed into the background as the risqué American teen music of choice.

Muggs - born Lawrence Muggerlud - went on along with his 'Hill colleagues to shift more than 5 million albums during that decade, one in which hip hop finally crossed over into the mainstream and moral guardians were unceremoniously kicked into the long grass. He later went on to form the Soul Assassins whilst remaining a workaholic producer, but despite it's highly unoriginal title, Bass For Your Face marks something of a watershed for the veteran, a man whose CV includes the credit for House of Pain's near ubiquitous Jump Around.

The great leap forward here is that whilst much of his early work was created on primitive analogue set ups that even included four track tapes, this new album has seen him cross over into the digital age. The differences are vast - one being that the formerly laborious process of gathering samples from vinyl is now done with the aid of catalogued packs - but as proof that it's attitude which keeps the old dog in front of the game, his recent interviews have found him very open to the possibilities that this shift has provided, a boon to an artist known for constantly seeking out the new techniques and tricks.

Continue reading: DJ Muggs - Bass For Your Face Album Review