REVIEW: Cypress Hill : Tres Equis

When I turn 30, I want my celebration to be as dope as Cypress Hill’s. “Tres Equis” traces the legendary groups roots back to South Gate and on to their road to the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Their road though is far from filled with glitter as the trio pursues the promise of gold in exchange for their skills. The journey is a trying one, and puts into perspective the inspiration behind some of the groups most politically-charged songs and stories of pure L.A. thuggery that the Vlad audience love to feast their eyes and ears upon. Yes, the marijuana influence is as heavy as smoke in a sit-com college dorm room, but the only time that the strain is really played up for humor is when a nun appears in the oddest places and shares a toke or two with the legendary crew. Other than that and some brotherly bickering, “Tres Equis” is as serious as the streets of Los Angeles are.

One moment a person can either win all or lose all, and “Tres Equis” provides a sobering picture of a group that now lauded, easily could have not been by in-fighting, discrimination, contractual restrictions, and other such obstacles. But readers don’t have to hold their breath – in a medium so respected for it’s painful realism and scoffed at for instilling unrealistic hopes, “Tres Equis” has a happy ending that has never even heard or tasted the concept of corny. Just like a Cypress Hill record, “Tres Equis” is a funky journey into the minds of Sen Dog, B-Real, DJ Muggs and their Soul Assassins associates. It really is a “tribe thing” as lyrics from Run-DMC and Naughty By Nature reverberate off the page like a subwoofer in a deserted parking lot.

The pencils in each chapter are stellar dedications to the phases featured in the legend that is Cypress Hill. My personal favorite was in the way Damion Scott (no stranger to Hip-Hop or comics) drew Muggs scratching on the wheels of steel. It was something to see the liveliness of these men in action on the come up, such presentation made it so easy to forget that this book was only brought for viewing through the 2D. Honestly Scott could have drew the whole book himself – but then what would “Tres Equis” be without the bloody recount of B-Real’s experience at the gates of “Killa King” (provided by Jefte Palo), or the lavish sunbathing days atop a New York skyline during the groups days building a buzz on the underrated Bomb Squad – curated “Juice” soundtrack; expertly interpreted by Angel Hernandez?

My only gripe is that he never drew B-Real with his hair blown out (yes Afro-Hispanics do exist), but that is a short list of complaints, in consideration for a group that I never would have guessed would be interested in the medium. With The Black Eyed Peas (“Masters of The Sun”), The Weeknd (“Starboy”), Public Enemy (“Apocalypse 91”), Pharoahe Monch of Th1rt3en (“Kill Kill Kill”), and many others either dipping their feet in or diving straight into comic book culture with original offerings to bridge the gap between comics and Hip-Hop (which in actuality are deftly intertwined and inseparable) – Cypress Hill is not just another group doing what many have already accomplished. “Tres Equis” is yet just another successful venture in where the group has found only another medium to conquer through their mastered skill of controlling a crowd through the art of storytelling.

Cheers to the Gods from Cypress Ave. ! And with art like this, one with any taste can only pray to them for another 30 more – straight off The Hill !

Score : 4/5

By Noah Callahan-Bever, Gabriel Alvarez, Cypress Hill and Z2 Comics

Edited by Chris Robinson / Illustrated by Felix Ruiz, Jefte Palo, Juan Gedeon, Damion Scott, Angel Hernandez and Paris Alleyne / Performed by Cypress Hill