Louis Mario Freese (born June 2, 1970), known by his stage name B-Real, is an American rapper. Since 1991, he has been one of two lead rappers in the
hip hop group
Cypress Hill
Cypress Hill is an American hip hop group from South Gate, California. They have sold over 20 million albums worldwide and have multi-platinum and platinum albums. They are considered to be among the main progenitors of West Coast and 1990 ...
, along with
Sen Dog
Senen Reyes (born November 22, 1965), also known by his stage name Sen Dog, is a Cuban-American rapper and musician who is best known as a member of the rap group Cypress Hill and as the lead vocalist for the heavy metal band Powerflo. He has be ...
. He has also been a part of the
rap metal
Rap metal is a subgenre of rap rock and alternative metal music which combines hip hop with heavy metal. It usually consists of heavy metal guitar riffs, funk metal elements, rapped vocals and sometimes turntables.
History Origins and early ...
band
Kush
Kush or Cush may refer to:
Bible
* Cush (Bible), two people and one or more places in the Hebrew Bible
Places
* Kush (mountain), a mountain near Kalat, Pakistan Balochistan
* Kush (satrapy), a satrapy of the Achaemenid Empire
* Hindu Kush, a m ...
(2000–2002), the hip hop supergroup
Serial Killers (2013-present) and the
rap rock
Rap rock is a fusion genre that fuses vocal and instrumental elements of hip hop with various forms of rock. Rap rock's most popular subgenres include rap metal and rapcore, which include heavy metal and hardcore punk-oriented influences, resp ...
supergroup
Prophets of Rage
Prophets of Rage was an American rap rock supergroup. Formed in 2016, the group consisted of three members of Rage Against the Machine and Audioslave (bassist and backing vocalist Tim Commerford, guitarist Tom Morello, and drummer Brad Wilk), ...
(2016–2019). He has released a variety of solo
mixtape
A mixtape (alternatively mix-tape, mix tape or mixed tape) is a compilation of music, typically from multiple sources, recorded onto a medium. With origins in the 1980s, the term normally describes a homemade compilation of music onto a cassette ...
s, as well as two solo albums: ''
Smoke n Mirrors
''Smoke N Mirrors'' is the debut solo album by American rapper B-Real of Cypress Hill. It was released on February 24, 2009 through Duck Down Records with distribution via Koch Entertainment. Production was handled by Jay Turner, Scoop DeVille, ...
'' (2009) and ''Tell You Something'' (2020).
Early life
Born in Los Angeles to a Mexican father and a Cuban mother, B-Real moved with his sister and mother out of his father's home to
South Gate, California at the age of five. He later lived in
Bell, California
Bell is an incorporated city in Los Angeles County, California, near the center of the former San Antonio Township (abolished after 1960). Its population was 35,477 at the 2010 census, down from 36,664 in the 2000 census. Bell is located on the ...
. Before dropping out of
Bell High School, he befriended future
Cypress Hill
Cypress Hill is an American hip hop group from South Gate, California. They have sold over 20 million albums worldwide and have multi-platinum and platinum albums. They are considered to be among the main progenitors of West Coast and 1990 ...
members
Sen Dog
Senen Reyes (born November 22, 1965), also known by his stage name Sen Dog, is a Cuban-American rapper and musician who is best known as a member of the rap group Cypress Hill and as the lead vocalist for the heavy metal band Powerflo. He has be ...
and
Mellow Man Ace (who later left the group to go solo) and became an active member of the
Family Swan Bloods, known as the Neighborhood Family Bloods at that time. At the age of 17, Freese was shot in a gang-related shooting with a hollow-point .22 caliber bullet, which punctured his lung.
Musical career
After being introduced to
DJ Muggs by Julio G the
KDAY Mixmaster, B-Real and Sen gained interest in Muggs's concept of an album based on experiences from Cypress Ave in South Gate. The group was signed with Ruffhouse/Columbia records in 1991 and released their influential debut album, ''
Cypress Hill
Cypress Hill is an American hip hop group from South Gate, California. They have sold over 20 million albums worldwide and have multi-platinum and platinum albums. They are considered to be among the main progenitors of West Coast and 1990 ...
'', that year. B-Real would use fictional stories telling of life-threatening experiences as material for the group's debut album, and subsequent releases.
While working on their first album, B-Real developed his distinctive high-pitched, nasal rap style. Previously, he had rapped with something like his normal voice, but DJ Muggs told him that his rap delivery was boring and warned him that, unless he changed it, he would be overshadowed by Sen Dog. B-Real took inspiration from hip hop pioneer
Rammellzee, who had occasionally rapped in a high-pitched voice. B-Real initially saw the high voice as a silly gimmick, but was surprised at the positive feedback he got for his new style and decided to keep going with it.
Cypress Hill's self-titled debut album was a critical and commercial hit, selling 2 million copies, and their follow-up album, 1993's ''
Black Sunday'', was an even bigger hit, debuting at #1 on the
''Billboard'' 200 and eventually selling 3.4 million copies. They became the first Latin rap group to have platinum and multi-platinum albums, and remain the best-selling Latin rap group of all time.
["Greatest Hits From the Bong Out"](_blank)
In a 2010 interview, B-Real stated: "Fortunately I guess the fact we were able to achieve what we achieved, being Latino but without really exploiting that side of it, showed like a whole generation behind us how you could have that success without being labeled as just one thing. Because back in the day, when you were labeled 'a Latino rapper', the record companies would only try to market you to that Latin fan-base which didn't really exist yet!... So yeah, it feels good to see people recognizing us as some of the pioneers that opened the doors for a lot of these other Latino rappers to come through."
Aside from Cypress Hill, B-Real has been involved in several other musical projects. In 1996, he contributed to the soundtrack for the movie ''
Space Jam''. In 2002, he teamed up with Mellow Man Ace and
Son Doobie
A son is a male offspring; a boy or a man in relation to his parents. The female counterpart is a daughter. From a biological perspective, a son constitutes a first degree relative.
Social issues
In pre-industrial societies and some current co ...
for the short-lived Serial Rhyme Killas, which released one 12" single in 2002.
The group recorded a full-length debut album, entitled ''Deluxe Rapture'', but it was never released. B-Real formed a
rap metal
Rap metal is a subgenre of rap rock and alternative metal music which combines hip hop with heavy metal. It usually consists of heavy metal guitar riffs, funk metal elements, rapped vocals and sometimes turntables.
History Origins and early ...
group,
Kush
Kush or Cush may refer to:
Bible
* Cush (Bible), two people and one or more places in the Hebrew Bible
Places
* Kush (mountain), a mountain near Kalat, Pakistan Balochistan
* Kush (satrapy), a satrapy of the Achaemenid Empire
* Hindu Kush, a m ...
, with
Deftones guitarist
Stephen Carpenter and
Fear Factory
Fear Factory is an American heavy metal band formed in Los Angeles in 1989. Throughout the band's career, they have released ten full-length albums and have evolved through a succession of sounds, all in their main style of industrial metal. ...
members
Christian Olde Wolbers
Christian Olde Wolbers (born 5 August 1972) is a Belgian musician, songwriter, and producer who is the bassist and backing vocalist of the heavy metal band Powerflo. He is the former bassist, guitarist and backing vocalist of the heavy metal b ...
and
Raymond Herrera
Raymond Herrera is an American musician and entrepreneur, best known as the former drummer and founding member of the heavy metal band Fear Factory. He is the former drummer for his previous band Brujeria and for industrial metal band Arkaea. He ...
.
According to B-Real, Kush is more aggressive than other bands in the genre.
He was also previously a member of the group
The Psycho Realm
''The Psycho Realm ''is the first album by American hip hop group Psycho Realm. At this time the group consisted of Jacken, Duke, and B-Real. Later on B-Real had to leave the group due to his commitment to Cypress Hill. This album has no feature ...
,
and in 2007 announced that he would collaborate with Sick Jacken once again on a new album.
He revealed in an interview that he plans on recording a "vs." album with Cypress Hill member
DJ Muggs.
From 2005 to 2007, B-Real released three
mixtape
A mixtape (alternatively mix-tape, mix tape or mixed tape) is a compilation of music, typically from multiple sources, recorded onto a medium. With origins in the 1980s, the term normally describes a homemade compilation of music onto a cassette ...
s as a solo artist: ''The Gunslinger'', ''
The Gunslinger Part II: Fist Full of Dollars'' and ''The Gunslinger Part III: For a Few Dollars More''.
He released his first solo album, entitled ''
Smoke N Mirrors
''Smoke N Mirrors'' is the debut solo album by American rapper B-Real of Cypress Hill. It was released on February 24, 2009 through Duck Down Records with distribution via Koch Entertainment. Production was handled by Jay Turner, Scoop DeVille, ...
'', in 2009. He was a guest artist on the
Snoop Dogg
Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr. (born October 20, 1971), known professionally as Snoop Dogg (previously Snoop Doggy Dogg and briefly Snoop Lion), is an American rapper. His fame dates back to 1992 when he featured on Dr. Dre's debut solo single, " ...
single "
Vato", from Snoop Dogg's 2006 album ''
Tha Blue Carpet Treatment
''Tha Blue Carpet Treatment'' is the eighth studio album by West Coast hip hop recording artist Snoop Dogg. It was released on November 21, 2006, by Doggystyle Records and Geffen Records. It is also the final album to have Nate Dogg featured on ...
''. In 2017, he was featured on the
Hollywood Undead
Hollywood Undead is an American rap rock band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 2005. All of the band members use pseudonyms and previously wore their own unique mask, most of which were based on the common hockey goaltender design. The ...
song "Black Cadillac" from the band's fifth album ''
Five
5 is a number, numeral, and glyph.
5, five or number 5 may also refer to:
* AD 5, the fifth year of the AD era
* 5 BC, the fifth year before the AD era
Literature
* ''5'' (visual novel), a 2008 visual novel by Ram
* ''5'' (comics), an awa ...
.''
From 2016 to 2019, he was part of the group
Prophets of Rage
Prophets of Rage was an American rap rock supergroup. Formed in 2016, the group consisted of three members of Rage Against the Machine and Audioslave (bassist and backing vocalist Tim Commerford, guitarist Tom Morello, and drummer Brad Wilk), ...
, along with
Chuck D
Carlton Douglas Ridenhour (born August 1, 1960), known professionally as Chuck D, is an American rapper, best known as the leader and frontman of the hip hop group Public Enemy, which he co-founded in 1985 with Flavor Flav. Chuck D helped creat ...
and former members of
Rage Against the Machine.
Production work
![B-Real 2006](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b9/B-Real_2006.jpg)
In addition to his career as an MC, B-Real has worked as a
music producer
A record producer is a recording project's creative and technical leader, commanding studio time and coaching artists, and in popular genres typically creates the song's very sound and structure.Virgil Moorefield"Introduction" ''The Producer as ...
for six years, with clients ranging from
Proof
Proof most often refers to:
* Proof (truth), argument or sufficient evidence for the truth of a proposition
* Alcohol proof, a measure of an alcoholic drink's strength
Proof may also refer to:
Mathematics and formal logic
* Formal proof, a con ...
of
D12
D12 (an initialism for The Dirty Dozen) was an American hip hop collective from Detroit, Michigan. Formed in 1996, the group achieved mainstream success with its lineup of ''de facto'' leader Eminem, Proof, Bizarre, Mr. Porter, Kuniva and Swift ...
to the
WWE
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vario ...
.
He intentionally kept his production for Cypress Hill down to a minimum, as not to interfere with DJ Muggs' involvement in the group, but has produced several tracks for his own solo projects. B-Real also manages a team of music producers known as the 'Audio Hustlaz'.
B-Real produced three of the tracks on his solo album ''
Smoke N Mirrors
''Smoke N Mirrors'' is the debut solo album by American rapper B-Real of Cypress Hill. It was released on February 24, 2009 through Duck Down Records with distribution via Koch Entertainment. Production was handled by Jay Turner, Scoop DeVille, ...
'': "Don't Ya Dare Laugh", "Fire" and "Dr. Hyphenstein". B-Real and his production worked alongside DJ Muggs and others on the 2010 Cypress Hill album ''
Rise Up''.
Non-music projects
In 1998, B-Real voiced the part of a newborn baby for the song "This World Is Something New to Me" in ''
The Rugrats Movie''.
In the early 2000s B-Real and DJ Muggs co-founded and co-captained a professional
paintball team, the Stoned Assassins. They competed regionally, nationally, and internationally, usually in the second-level divisions. B-Real and the Assassins also appeared in the console game
Greg Hastings Tournament Paintball.
His live streaming site Breal.tv features live interactive programming over the internet. He is the host of the video
podcast
A podcast is a program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. For example, an episodic series of digital audio or video files that a user can download to a personal device to listen to at a time of their choosing ...
s ''The Dr. Greenthumb Podcast'', ''The Smokebox'' and ''Meditation''.
In 2018, B-Real partnered with marijuana subscription box company Daily High Club to craft a B-Real-themed smoking supply box for the month of March.
Discography
Solo
* ''
Smoke N Mirrors
''Smoke N Mirrors'' is the debut solo album by American rapper B-Real of Cypress Hill. It was released on February 24, 2009 through Duck Down Records with distribution via Koch Entertainment. Production was handled by Jay Turner, Scoop DeVille, ...
'' (2009)
* ''
Tell You Somethin'' (2021)
With Cypress Hill
* ''
Cypress Hill
Cypress Hill is an American hip hop group from South Gate, California. They have sold over 20 million albums worldwide and have multi-platinum and platinum albums. They are considered to be among the main progenitors of West Coast and 1990 ...
'' (1991)
* ''
Black Sunday'' (1993)
* ''
III: Temples of Boom'' (1995)
* ''
IV'' (1998)
* ''
Skull & Bones'' (2000)
* ''
Stoned Raiders
''Stoned Raiders'' is the sixth studio album by American hip hop group Cypress Hill, released on December 4, 2001 by Columbia Records.
Background
This album is best known for its two singles: "Trouble" and "Lowrider". The song "Kronologik" also ...
'' (2001)
* ''
Till Death Do Us Part'' (2004)
* ''
Rise Up'' (2010)
* ''
Elephants on Acid
''Elephants on Acid'' is the ninth studio album by American hip hop group Cypress Hill, and is the group's first studio album in eight years following '' Rise Up'' making it the group's longest gap between albums. The album was released on Septem ...
'' (2018)
* ''
Back in Black
''Back in Black'' is the seventh studio album by Australian rock band AC/DC. It was released on 25 July 1980 by Albert Productions and Atlantic Records. It is the band's first album to feature lead singer Brian Johnson, following the death of ...
'' (2022)
With Prophets of Rage
* ''The Party's Over'' (2016)
* ''
Prophets of Rage
Prophets of Rage was an American rap rock supergroup. Formed in 2016, the group consisted of three members of Rage Against the Machine and Audioslave (bassist and backing vocalist Tim Commerford, guitarist Tom Morello, and drummer Brad Wilk), ...
'' (2017)
With Psycho Realm
* ''
The Psycho Realm
''The Psycho Realm ''is the first album by American hip hop group Psycho Realm. At this time the group consisted of Jacken, Duke, and B-Real. Later on B-Real had to leave the group due to his commitment to Cypress Hill. This album has no feature ...
(1997)''
Mixtapes
* ''The Gunslinger'' (2005)
* ''
The Gunslinger Part II: Fist Full of Dollars'' (2006)
* ''The Gunslinger Part III: For a Few Dollars More'' (2007)
* ''The Harvest Vol. 1: The Mixtape'' (2010)
* ''The Medication'' (2014)
* ''The Prescription'' (as Dr. Greenthumb) (2015)
With Berner
* ''Prohibition'' (2014)
* ''Prohibition Part 2'' (2015)
* ''Prohibition Part 3'' (2016)
* ''Los Meros'' (2020)
Serial Killers
* ''Serial Killers Vol. 1'' (2013)
* ''The Murder Show'' (2015)
* ''Day of the Dead'' (2018)
* ''Summer of Sam'' (2020)
References
External links
*
*
*
Stoned Assassins (paintball team) official page*
{{Authority control
1970 births
American musicians of Cuban descent
American male actors of Mexican descent
American entertainers of Cuban descent
American rappers of Mexican descent
American male rappers
Rap metal musicians
Rap rock musicians
Nu metal singers
People from South Gate, California
Rappers from California
West Coast hip hop musicians
Cypress Hill members
Chicano rap
Bloods
Living people
Prophets of Rage members
American cannabis activists
Hardcore hip hop artists
21st-century American rappers
Serial Killers (musical group) members
Hispanic and Latino American rappers
Rappers from Los Angeles