"How I Could Just Kill a Man" is the debut single by 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 ...

from their

eponymous An eponym is a person, a place, or a thing after whom or which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. The adjectives which are derived from the word eponym include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''. Usage of the word The term ''epon ...

debut album, ''

'', and was their first major hit in 1991. It was released as a double A-side to " The Phuncky Feel One" and the music video featured cameos by

A Tribe Called Quest A Tribe Called Quest was an American hip hop group formed in Queens, New York City, in 1985,Q-Tip

's Q-Tip and

Tim Dog Timothy Blair (January 3, 1967 – February 14, 2013),Margaret Eby"Rapper Tim Dog slapped with arrest warrant on suspicion of faking own death,"''New York Daily News'', May 22, 2013. better known by his stage name Tim Dog, was an American rapper ...

, as well as

Ice Cube An ice cube is a small piece of ice, which is typically rectangular as viewed from above and trapezoidal as viewed from the side. Ice cubes are products of mechanical refrigeration and are usually produced to cool beverages. They may be produc ...

, with whom the group would later feud. The song was also in the movie ''

Juice Juice is a drink made from the extraction or Cold-pressed juice, pressing of the natural liquid contained in fruit and vegetables. It can also refer to liquids that are flavored with concentrate or other biological food sources, such as meat ...

'' (1992). It was re-released in 1999 with Spanish lyrics and a new video. It is featured as the first track on their

greatest hits A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be crea ...

compilation '' Greatest Hits from the Bong''. It was voted number 79 in

About.com Dotdash Meredith (formerly About.com) is an American digital media company based in New York City. The company publishes online articles and videos about various subjects across categories including health, home, food, finance, tech, beauty, ...

's Top 100 Rap Songs.Top 100 Rap Songs
/ref> Towards the end of the song (approximately the 3:48 point) someone is heard saying, "All I wanted was a

Pepsi Pepsi is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by PepsiCo. Originally created and developed in 1893 by Caleb Bradham and introduced as Brad's Drink, it was renamed as Pepsi-Cola in 1898, and then shortened to Pepsi in 1961. History Pepsi was ...

". This quote is taken from the well-known

Suicidal Tendencies Suicidal Tendencies is an American crossover thrash band formed in 1980 in Venice in Los Angeles, California by vocalist Mike Muir. Muir is the only remaining original member of the band. Along with D.R.I., Corrosion of Conformity, and Stormtr ...

song, " Institutionalized". In 2001, Cypress Hill included a sequel to the song on their album '' Stoned Raiders'' entitled "Here Is Something You Can't Understand", using the same chorus but with new verses from

B-Real 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, along with Sen Dog. He has also been a part of the rap metal band ...

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 guest

Kurupt Ricardo Emmanuel Brown (born November 23, 1972), better known by his stage name Kurupt, is an American rapper and record producer who aided gangsta rap's rise via 1990s verses helping set lasting trends. He is one half of the rap duo Tha Dogg Po ...

Track listing

* NOTE: "The Killer Mix" is the uncensored album version of the song.

Chart positions

Covers

Rage Against the Machine version

The song was covered by American

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band

Rage Against the Machine Rage Against the Machine (often abbreviated as RATM or shortened to simply Rage) is an American rock band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1991, the group consists of vocalist Zack de la Rocha, bassist and backing vocalist Tim Commerfor ...

on their cover album, '' Renegades'', where the song was released as a single. Rage Against the Machine performed the song on their DVD, ''

Live at the Grand Olympic Auditorium ''Live at the Grand Olympic Auditorium'' is the second live album by the American rock band Rage Against the Machine, released on November 25, 2003, by Epic Records. It is a recording of two shows Rage played at the Grand Olympic Auditorium in th ...

'', accompanied by Cypress Hill.

Track listing

# "How I Could Just Kill a Man" – 4:04

Chart positions

Certifications

Other versions

Singer Charlotte Sometimes named the first single from her debut album '' Waves and the Both of Us'' "How I Can Just Kill a Man" in honor of Cypress Hill, though the songs have no other similarities. The song quickly became a staple on both VH1 and

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

during the summer of 2008 and closed her set on the

Vans Warped Tour The Warped Tour was a traveling rock tour that toured the United States plus three or four stops in Canada annually each summer from 1995 until 2019. It was the largest traveling music festival in the United States and the longest-running touring ...

. It is also covered by B-star on their album ''What We Do''. A cover version was released in 1994 by German ''

Hamburger Schule The ''Hamburger Schule'' (German for 'Hamburg School') is a music movement current in Germany during the 1980s and early 1990s. With some active bands and artists it is still present. It took up traditions of Neue Deutsche Welle and combined them w ...

'' band Cpt. Kirk &. on the album ''Round About Wyatt'', but with the song's title changed to "How He Could Just Kill a Man". The song appears in the 2004 video game '' Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas'' in the radio station ''

Radio Los Santos ''Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas'' is an open world, open-world, Action-adventure game, action-adventure video game developed by Rockstar North and published by Rockstar Games. First released on 16 October 2004 for the PlayStation 2, ''San Andreas'' ...

''.

References

{{authority control 1991 debut singles Cypress Hill songs Rage Against the Machine songs 1991 songs Columbia Records singles Song recordings produced by DJ Muggs Song recordings produced by Rick Rubin Song recordings produced by Brendan O'Brien (record producer) Epic Records singles Hardcore hip hop songs Songs written by DJ Muggs Songs written by B-Real Songs written by Sen Dog