B-Real

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

B-Real <tr style="text-align: center;"><td colspan="3">Image:B-real.jpg </td></tr>
Background information <tr><td>Birth name</td><td colspan="2">Louis Freese</td></tr><tr><td>Also known as</td><td colspan="2">B-Real</td></tr><tr><td>Born</td><td colspan="2">June 2 1970</td></tr><tr><td>Origin</td><td colspan="2">South Gate, California</td></tr><tr><td>Genre(s)</td><td colspan="2">Latin Hip hop</td></tr><tr><td>Instrument(s)</td><td colspan="2">Rapping, Conga</td></tr><tr><td>Years active</td><td colspan="2">1989 – present</td></tr><tr><td style="padding-right: 1em;">Label(s)</td><td colspan="2">Columbia / Ruffhouse</td></tr><tr><td textalign="top" style="padding-right: 1em;">Associated acts</td><td colspan="2">Cypress Hill, Psycho Realm, House of Pain, Dr. Dre</td></tr><tr><td>Website</td><td colspan="2">www.brealonline.com</td></tr>

Louis Freese (born June 2, 1970), known by stage name B-Real, is a Latin rapper of Cuban and Mexican heritage. He is best known for being the lead rapper in hip hop group Cypress Hill, who debuted with their self-titled album Cypress Hill in 1991.

1 Life and career
2 Solo projects
3 Trivia
4 Discography
- 4.1 Solo
- 4.2 With Cypress Hill
5 External links

[edit] Life and career

Born to a Mexican father and an Afro-Cuban mother, B-Real moved with his sister and mother out of his father's home to South Gate before ending up in South Central Los Angeles. Before dropping out of Bell High School, he befriended future Cypress Hill members Sen Dog and Mellow Man Ace (who forewent staying with the group to go solo). Sen Dog, who was affiliated with the Bloods gang set known as "Neighborhood Family" [or South Swan Bloods], would later introduce B-Real into the set. B-Real became a drug dealer and gangbanger during his Blood affiliation. His lifestyle led to being shot in the lung by a .22 pistol in 1988. The shooting and subsequent hospitalization caused Sen Dog to rethink his priorities and take up a job as a department store security guard.

After being introduced to DJ Muggs by Julio G the KDAY Mixmaster, B-Real and Sen gained interest in Muggs' concept of an album based on experiences from Cypress Ave in South Gate. Thus, Cypress Hill was born. The group was signed with Ruffhouse/Columbia records in 1991, and made their influential debut in 1992. B-Real would use his life-threatening experiences as material for the group's self-titled debut album, and subsequent releases.

B-Real's exaggeratedly high-pitched nasal vocals in combination with DJ Muggs' distinctive beats led to Cypress Hill becoming the first Latin rap group to have Platinum and Multi-Platinum albums. They remain the best selling Latin rap artists to date.

Aside from Cypress Hill, B-Real has been involved in several other musical projects. In 2002, he teamed up with Mellow Man Ace and Son Doobie 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. In 1995 he joined another Latin rap group called The Psycho Realm.

[edit] Solo projects

B-Real has released two mixtapes as a solo artist "Gunslinger" and "Gunslinger Vol. II". He is currently working on his first solo album, entitled Smoke In Mirrors.

B-Real has also collaborated with many other artists, including Kottonmouth Kings, KRS One, House Of Pain, Kid Frost, Psycho Realm, Ice Cube, Snoop Dogg, Coolio, Busta Rhymes, Method Man, Deftones, LL Cool J, Everlast, Warren G, Outkast, Dilated Peoples, The Alchemist, Tha Dogg Pound, DJ Quik, Wu-Tang Clan, Dr. Dre, Eminem, Subliminal Orphans, Chino XL, Nas, D12, The Transplants and La Coka Nostra.