"Who is playing with the London Symphony Orchestra? C'mon, people — somebody ordered a London Symphony Orchestra!"
Any Simpsons fan can answer that without hesitation: it was Cypress Hill, possibly while high.
That's why in our current reality, where America's favourite yellow family "predicted" everything from Donald Trump's batshit presidency to Roy Horn's shocking mauling by his white tiger, nothing seems too absurd anymore.
But if there's one prophecy the world needs right now, it's Cypress Hill playing with the goddamn London Symphony Orchestra.
"For many years, we didn't act on it or push on it or nothing — it was just a Simpsons episode," Sen Dog tells Exclaim!, referencing the iconic Season 7 episode "Homerpalooza." "I think it was the anniversary of the show, and [fans] saw it again. Then somebody picked up on it and started messaging the LSO, and they messaged back, and we were like, 'Oh, wow.'"
Nearly a year after the L.A. rap legends manifested this dream collaboration — and almost 30 years since that prophetic Simpsons episode — Black Sunday Live at the Royal Albert Hall hits shelves and streamers on June 6 via Mercury Records. "We've never said no," says Sen. "So, it made sense just to give it a shot and see what happens."
It seems like Cypress Hill has built their career on saying yes, especially to left-field opportunities, be it recording with Sonic Youth, touring with Slipknot, or appearing at the rock-heavy 1992 and 1995 Lollapalooza tours. "There was nobody there, and it was maybe like three hours before showtime," Sen says about their '92 second-stage slot. "As I walked around to get a brew, people were like, 'Hey man, we'll be there!' I got good feedback for my little walk. That was the first time I seen people moshing to our music."
It's this fearless spirit that makes a Cypress Hill concert a truly visceral experience, where generations of hip-hop heads, metal fans and indie rockers are equally welcome, unifying their druggy energy into a melting pot of electricity.
Rappers B-Real and Sen Dog, joined by percussionist Eric Bobo and guest bassist Christian Olde Wolbers of Fear Factory, have taken another leap forward by pairing with the 70-piece London Symphony Orchestra. "It was mind-blowing to the point where sometimes I had to turn around and look back just to see this music actually being made live right there on the spot," beams Sen. "I felt like [we were] actually doing something important."
When it comes to fandom, you can add "classical musicians" to the list of Cypress Hill supporters. "A lot of the players on the orchestra told us, when they saw that this was on the schedule, that they all wanted to be part of it," reveals Sen.
Having been introduced to classical music by his father at a young age, Sen was eager to show off his chops to the family patriarch at a showing of the corresponding concert film. "My father, who's now 92 years old, came to the screening. After it was done, he goes, 'Man, tell that dude to play it again.' I'm like, 'We're in a movie theatre — I can't just go tell the guy to play the movie again.'"
As Cypress Hill shift gears from symphonic luminaries back to rap superstars, Canadian fans are in for a treat, as the trio is hitting the road with fellow legends De La Soul and the Pharcyde for a five-date O Canadabis tour across New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Quebec and Ontario.
"When we first started, we had this reputation of being bad boys and pro cannabis," says Sen." When we first started going up [to Canada], we got a little bit of a hard time from folks at immigration — I'm like 'I'll just go back to New York or whatever.' But we wanna be there and perform for our fan base in Canada and go through all that."
Fortunately for Sen Dog, marijuana legalization has seen Canadians embrace weed culture as fully as they've embraced Cypress Hill.
"I don't want to take personal responsibility for that," he smiles. "But I know we had something to do with it."