B-Real

B-Real
Background information
Birth name	Louis Freese
Also known as	Dr. Greenthumb
Born	(1970-06-02) June 2, 1970[1] Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Origin	South Gate, California
Genres	Hip hop
Instruments	Vocals
Years active	1988–present[2]
Labels	Columbia Ruffhouse Duckdown Records Goliath
Associated acts	Cypress Hill, Psycho Realm, Kush, Prophets of Rage

Louis Freese (born June 2, 1970), better known by his stage name B-Real, is an American rapper and actor. He is best known for being the lead rapper in the hip hop group Cypress Hill.

Early life and career

Born in L.A. 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 at the age of five. He later ended up in the small town of Bell, California. Before dropping out of Bell High School, he befriended future Cypress Hill members Sen Dog and Mellow Man Ace (who forwent staying with the group to go solo).

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 made their influential debut that year. B-Real would use fictional stories telling of life-threatening experiences as material for the group's self-titled debut album, and subsequent releases.

Cypress Hill's trademark sound - an eccentric combination of B-Real's exaggeratedly high-pitched nasal vocals and DJ Muggs's distinctive beats - led to the trio becoming the first Latin rap group to have Platinum and multi-Platinum albums. They remain the best-selling Latin rap group to date.^[3] Speaking in March 2010 to noted UK urban writer Pete Lewis, Deputy Editor of the award-winning Blues & Soul, 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 labelled as just one THING. Because back in the day, when you were labelled '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 lotta these other Latino rappers to come through."^[4]

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 for the short-lived Serial Rhyme Killas, which released one 12" single in 2002.^[5] The group recorded a full-length debut album, entitled Deluxe Rapture, but it was never released. B-Real formed a rap metal group, Kush, with Deftones guitarist Stephen Carpenter and Fear Factory members Christian Olde Wolbers and Raymond Herrera.^[6][7] According to B-Real, Kush is more aggressive than other bands in the genre.^[7] He was also previously a member of the group The Psycho Realm,^[8] and in 2007 announced that he would collaborate with Sick Jacken once again on a new album.^[2] He revealed in an interview that he plans on recording a "V.S." album of Cypress member DJ Muggs. In 1998, he appeared as a newborn baby singer for The Rugrats Movie, reported as a minor role.^[9]

His live streaming site, Breal.tv features live interactive programming over the Internet. He is the host of the "Dr. Greenthumb Show", "The Smoke Box" and "Meditation".

As of 2016 he has joined a new group called Prophets of Rage along with Chuck D and former members of Rage Against the Machine.

Production work

In addition to his career as an MC, B-Real has worked as a music producer for six years, with clients ranging from Proof of D12 to the WWE.^[2] 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'.^[2] B-Real personally produced three tracks on his solo album Smoke N Mirrors, "Don't Ya Dare Laugh", "Fire" and "Dr. Hyphenstein", looking to outside producers for the other tracks. B-Real and his production crew will be working alongside DJ Muggs and others on the upcoming Cypress Hill album.^[10]

Solo projects

B-Real has released three mixtapes as a solo artist: Gunslinger, Gunslinger Vol. II and Gunslinger Vol. III.^[11] He released his first solo album, entitled Smoke N Mirrors and has teamed up with Snoop Dogg in a single called "Vato" for Snoop Dogg's album Tha Blue Carpet Treatment.

Personal life

B Real was married to his long time girlfriend on August 8, 2008 in Los Angeles, California. They have one daughter together (born in 2010) and currently reside in Orange County, CA. He also has an adult son, from a previous relationship.

Discography

B-Real in 2006

Solo

• 2009: Smoke N Mirrors

Cypress Hill

• 1991: Cypress Hill
• 1993: Black Sunday
• 1995: III: Temples of Boom
• 1998: IV
• 2000: Skull & Bones
• 2001: Stoned Raiders
• 2004: Till Death Do Us Part
• 2010: Rise Up

Mixtapes

• 2005: The Gunslinger
• 2006: The Gunslinger Part II: Fist Full of Dollars
• 2007: The Gunslinger Part III: For a Few Dollars More
• 2010: The Harvest Vol. 1: The Mixtape
• 2014: The Medication
• 2015: The Prescription (as Dr. Greenthumb)

EPs

• 2014: Prohibition (with Berner)
• 2015: Prohibition Part 2 (with Berner)

Serial Killers

• 2013: Serial Killers Vol. 1
• 2015: The Murder Show

Collaboration Albums

• 2016: Prohibition Part 3 (with Berner)

Guest appearances

References

External links

• Official Website
• B-Real at the Internet Movie Database