Cypress Hill and the London Symphony Orchestra have given fans a second single ahead of the June release of their collaborative live album. ‘I Ain’t Goin’ Out Like That (Live at the Royal Albert Hall)’ was released on Friday, 11 April, and is the first single to be taken from ‘Black Sunday’.
The one-off concert was held on July 10 last year, and was the final show of Cypress Hill’s We Legalised It tour, and was their only UK show in 2024. Their tour took them to 24 cities, and concluded at the prestigious Royal Albert Hall, where they played their seminal album, ‘Black Sunday’ in full, as well as tracks such as ‘Cuban Necktie’, and the previously released single, ‘Illusions’.
The rap-classical fusion was led by conductor, musician, and producer Troy Miller. Miller has a diverse background that spans genres, starting out his career touring with the late Roy Ayers before becoming part of Amy Winehouse’s band. More recently, he has worked with Rag’n’Bone Man, and with Diana Ross on her Grammy-nominated album ‘THANK YOU’. Reflecting on the undertaking, Miller said “We made something truly unique and mesmerising. What a sublime collaboration.”
A concert film of the show was screened in US cinemas between 30 March and 2 April, which earned positive reviews, with one Rotten Tomatoes fan reviewer saying “What an absolute treat! Two genres of music together in an historic hall.” Music videos for both singles feature footage from the performances too, and fan footage can be found on YouTube.
Speaking during press for the concert film, one half of Cypress Hill’s rap duo, B-Real, gave his own reflections on the project. “It’s a trip to see that hip hop can be done in this form—and at a venue as prestigious as the Royal Albert Hall,” said the 54-year-old. “It was truly an honour and a privilege, and now that experience can be shared.”
Despite ‘Black Sunday’ spending two weeks atop the US charts and going platinum in the UK, Cypress Hill never broke into the UK Top 10 singles chart (though they did have 13 Top 40 hits). Despite this lack of chart-topping in the UK, the Royal Albert Hall show proves they have a keen underground following, willing to watch them take on this genre-blending challenge.
The concert/collaboration has its roots in a throwaway gag from a 1996 episode of the Simpsons, Homerpalooza. In the episode, the band are booked to play with the LSO, and after a back-and-forth social media exchange in 2019, the two parties agreed to make it a reality. “We salute The Simpsons,” said B-Real. “If they had not written that episode, we probably wouldn’t be doing this.”
The LSO has a history of collaboration on projects outside of classical music, such as their work with Frank Zappa in 1983, or 2021’s ‘Promises’, which saw them work with Floating Points and Pharoah Sanders, and was consistently ranked among the best albums of 2021. Still, their work with Cypress Hill may just be their most bizarre project, and the fruits of that partnership will be available for all to hear when the album is released on 6 June.
