"They're clownin' on me 'cause of my language. I have to tell 'em straight up, it's called Spanglish." - "Latin Lingo" (1991)

Formed in 1986 by Louis "B-Real" Freese, Lawrence "DJ Muggs" Muggerud and Senen "Sen Dog" Reyes, Cypress Hill emerged from the predominantly Mexican-American community of South Gate, California to become Latino hip hop's first true superstar outfit. Despite being the first Latino rap group to go platinum, Cypress Hill is best known for helping marijuana go mainstream and introducing rock audiences to hip hop.

Filled with blunted rhymes and murky beats, the trio's 1991 self-titled debut showed life on the streets through a funhouse mirror. Hits like How I Could Just Kill a Man, Hand on the Pump and Latin Lingo bridged the gap between the hardcore gangsta rap of NWA and the jazzy vibes of A Tribe Called Quest. Cypress Hill's distinctive sound – B-Real's nasal flow, Sen Dog's call-and-response choruses and especially DJ Muggs' production – would go on to influence acts as diverse as Dr. Dre, Psycho Realm and La Sinfonía.

"The Hill" released three more studio albums in the '90s – Black Sunday, Cypress Hill III: Temples of Boom and IV – which spawned stoner anthems like Insane In The Membrane, I Wanna Get High and Dr. Greenthumb. In 1999, the group rewarded its loyal Latin American fan base by dropping Grandes Exitos en Español, a compilation of their greatest hits in Spanish. Over the last decade, Cypress Hill has experimented with rock and reggae on songs like (Rock) Superstar, Trouble and Ganja Bus without sacrificing its Latin flavor. Latin Thugs, a horn-drenched track featuring Tego Calderón is one of Cypress Hill's most popular joints.

When asked if Cypress Hill gets the credit it deserves for its contributions to hip hop, B-Real replies: "I think in some regards we do, but in other regards we're definitely looked over on a lot of shit. I don't really care what [critics] think, for me it's what the fans think and feel. That's what matters to me."

Mellow Man Ace was the first hip hop artist to score a hit in Spanglish. His 1989 hit single Mentirosa, a Santana-sampling club jam, had millions singing "Right now you're just a liar, a straight mentirosa, today you tell me something, y mañana otra cosa."

Mellow Man, real name Ulpiano Sergio Reyes, was born in Havana, Cuba and moved to the U.S. in the early 1970s with his family. After a few years on the East Coast, the Reyes family finally settled in the predominantly Mexican-American neighborhood of South Gate, California on the outskirts of Los Angeles. In high school, "Ulpianito" teamed up with Lawrence Muggerud (DJ Muggs), Louis Freese (B-Real) and his older brother Senen Reyes (Sen Dog) to start the rap group DVX (Devastating Vocal Excellence).

But after a few years, his crew's notorious pot smoking and related recreational activities posed a problem for Mellow Man, who had become a born-again Christian. According to the rapper, he "couldn't have one foot in the church and one in the club."

The move to a solo career proved to be more than a moral victory for the caramel-colored, bilingual rapper: his 1989 debut Escape From Havana was a huge commercial success and likely inspired a short-lived boom in Latino rap which catapulted the thuggish ruggish Kid Frost and "Rico Suave" Gerardo to the limelight. A less notable sophomore album followed and Mellow Man was soon dropped from major label Capitol. Meanwhile, his former outfit, DVX, was on its way to becoming the 90's sensation Cypress Hill.

A decade later, Mellow Man has regrouped with older brother Sen Dog to form The Reyes Brothers and in 2006 the pair released Ghetto Therapy – a collection of street joints that combines the lyrical content of Cypress Hill with Mellow Man's rounded corners.