Pop Break Live: Dank Daze of Summer Tour – Cypress Hill, Atmosphere, Lupe Fiasco & Pharcyde at The Stone Pony Summer Stage in Asbury Park, NJ on Sunday August 17, 2025
Words: Kenny Pete | Photos: Kim Wessels
Cypress Hill brought their Dank Daze of Summer Tour to the Stone Pony Summerstage & not even a rain delay could stop the smoke on that late August night. As hip hop vets with over thirty years of experience throwing these kind of parties, Cypress Hill knew what they were doing when they stacked this show with heavy hitters like the Los Angeles classic & criminally under-rated The Pharcyde, one of the best lyrical rappers walking in Lupe Fiasco, & independent legends Atmosphere, whose set was unfortunately cut short by the rain delay.
The sky was getting dark as Atmosphere took the stage & inclement weather is always the worst enemy of an outdoor concert. Undaunted, Slug asked the crowd if we we’re all OKAY as they put their hands up to the sky and heard the bright melodic tones that kicked off the set with a statement needed to be said out loud in 2025 “It Will Be OKAY.” The peace signs went up as Slug demanded we make some noise for our friends as “The Loser Wins” and the crowd was there for all of it.
After three decades of rocking shows, Slug’s crowd-work is second to none and knows exactly how to command an audience while taking a classic storytelling approach to the art of hip hop. “Rock will always beat scissors so I need you to put your fist in the air” said Slug as the drums of “Shoulda Known” blasted over the speakers as Ant & Hebl held it down on the beats & scratches.
The set took a spooky turn with “Lucy” & “God Loves Ugly” played back to back as the darkness was amplified by the impending rain. The opening piano of “Puppets” fades in as Slug asks “What did Rakim Say?….Make em Clap to this” to get the crowd back up as the set was building back up on our sonic journey, when a voice came over the speakers letting everyone know that the show was being put “On Pause” while a brief storm came through and unfortunately cut a brilliant set early.
Once the storm clouds had cleared, it was time for another group of clouds to roll in, this time going up from the crowd as DJ Lord (also of Prophets of Rage) warmed everyone up with a five-minute flex of true turntablism skills, blending hip hop samples and scratches seamlessly with a blend of 1950’s classic Mr Sandman & ending with the timeless Metallica jam “Enter Sandman” to bring the crowd to a fever pitch. The trio of musicians walked on stage and Eric Bobo took his place behind the percussion setup. As the opening strands of the first track off of Black Sunday hit the speakers, lead mc B-Real along with Sen Dog asked the crowd a very silly question: “Do You Want to Get High?”
As the crowd roared & the smokestacks went up, the cultivators of culture set off the cannabis medley with “I Want to Get High > Dr Greenthumb > Stoned is the Way of The Walk > Hits From the Bong.” With B-Real & Sen Dog bobbing & weaving through the classics & Bobo adding life with his hand percussion skills, it was DJ Lord who was the star of the show weaving the original tracks with other classic anthems like Rick James’ “I Love You Mary Jane” & Dr Dre’s “The Next Episode” in-between the razor sharp delivery that can only come from master craftsmen.
While most of the show focused on material from Cypress Hill’s first self-titled album and Black Sunday (whose recent anniversary was celebrated at Red Rocks Amphitheater in Morrison CO as the album was performed from front to back with a full symphony, in that classic Simpsons joke come to life), it was songs like “Lowrider,” “Latin Lingo” (B-Real jumped on percussion as Sen Dog took lead), “Tequila Sunrise,” and “Hand on the Clock” (a remix of Hand on the Pump played earlier in the set) that really showed off another side of what Cypress Hill can do without leaning on the typical tropes of what an outsider thinks a show like this is all about. At one point B-Real addressed the crowd and said “For some of you, this is going to be the 1st time you hear this song. For you long time fans, you are gonna say “Oohh They Flipped It!” I was in the latter category as DJ Lord hit a beat I never heard before & B Real launched into ‘Illusions,” the sole track from the Temple of Boom album played this evening.
It was time for the drum break & break Bobo & DJ Lord did while the vocalists could catch their collective breath. The drummer / DJ combo worked the crowd through some fun grooves, then battled back & forth with a call & response that is usually reserved for blues guitar, yet it was played by a DJ and a drummer. As B-Real & Sen Dog made it back to stage, the level of energy was built that much higher. As a screeching Toni Iommi guitar solo from a very dark place comes over the system, B-Real exclaimed “Cypress Hill has been around for 34 years…. And we ain’t going out like that” as they smashed into the song of the same name.
With the energy at an all time high, it was time to get crazy & the crowd knew exactly how to do so as “Insane in the Brain” squealed through the system & people were jumping around with their hands in the air like it was 1992. That was parlayed into more classic hip hop crowd work by hyping “this side over here is the livest in the building,” “nah man THIS SIDE over here is the livest in the building” that segued into a classic break from Black Sheep “The Choice is Yours” which was used to build into the 1st single the group ever released, gangster rap anthem “How I Could Just Kill A Man.”
At this point, we’ve reached encore time & B-Real takes this time to get serious with all of us. “Even though they aren’t playing music currently, they were then and still are one of the strongest forces in all of music. This band made the soundtrack to a revolution & we are gonna do one of their songs right now,” as they launched into the Rage Against The Machine classic “Bombtrack,” which was a staple in the live set of the aforementioned Prophets of Rage.
Staying in that mode, the spooky climbing chimes behind thick orchestral strings and a bombastic beat meant it was time for more questions, “So Ya wanna be a Rock Superstar / live large / big house / fly cars?” a warning of the trappings of fast money as well as the feeling of pride for working hard to build something different while staying true to yourself. Pretty inspiring life lesson to learn from a 30+ year old rap act considered to be just as valid as most classic rock bands these days.
The final song of the night? Another cover. This one may have been written by someone else, but was produced by Cypress Hill’s original DJ Muggs & is the best way to close out a hip hop show of this caliber. This show is a party & right before it’s over, you have to get down, you have to get down, so get out ya seat & Jump Around. Yes. The House of Pain classic blew up the crowd again for one last time and they left it all on the stage that day, like they have been for a very long time now.
Cypress Hill is a cultural institution showing the modern generation how it’s done at the highest level, literally.
