A fan-favorite gag from “The Simpsons” is about to leap from the screen into real life, thanks to the iconic hip-hop group Cypress Hill. The west coast rap legends—B-Real, Sen Dog, and DJ Muggs—recently announced plans to perform with the London Symphony Orchestra, a concept that originated from a 1996 episode of “The Simpsons” titled “Homerpalooza.”
In the episode, Cypress Hill forgets about their gig with the orchestra because they got high, a humorous nod to their hit song “Insane in the Membrane.” Josh Weinstein, the former “Simpsons” writer and co-showrunner who came up with the joke, expressed his amazement and joy to TMZ, fully embracing the idea that he predicted the future. “This is insane, and it is the greatest honor,” he said.
Cypress Hill actually voiced their own characters in the episode, a dream come true for Josh, who was a huge fan of the group. He was thrilled when they agreed to participate. The group announced on Wednesday that they will perform their “Black Sunday” album in its entirety with the symphony at London’s iconic Royal Albert Hall, giving full credit to “The Simpsons” for the inspiration.
Josh has kept in touch with Cypress Hill over the years and always hoped that the unlikely collaboration he envisioned for Homer and the gang would come to fruition. Unfortunately, Josh won’t be able to attend the concert in person but plans to watch it via live stream.
The idea of Cypress Hill performing with the London Symphony Orchestra has been a long-standing joke among fans, ever since the “Homerpalooza” episode aired. The episode featured Homer trying to impress his kids by attending the Hullabalooza music festival, a parody of the Lollapalooza festival, and hanging out with rap and rock stars, including Cypress Hill and The Smashing Pumpkins.
The collaboration between Cypress Hill and the London Symphony Orchestra is not just a whimsical nod to a beloved TV show but also a significant cultural event. The performance will feature unique orchestral arrangements of Cypress Hill’s most iconic songs, including “Insane in the Brain” and “I Wanna Get High.” This one-night-only event at the Royal Albert Hall is a milestone for Cypress Hill, who have sold over 20 million albums worldwide and were the first rap group to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
B-Real, one of the lead rappers, expressed his excitement over this “checklist moment,” highlighting the prestige of performing at such a historic venue. “It’s been something that we’ve talked about for many years since the Simpsons episode first aired,” he told the BBC. “So it’s very special for us. And it’s coming off the heels of our 30th anniversary for our Black Sunday album.”
The British connection in the “Homerpalooza” episode goes beyond the London Symphony Orchestra. In the episode, it was actually Peter Frampton, best known for his 1976 album “Frampton Comes Alive,” who was trying to book the orchestra. Cypress Hill laughed when asked if Frampton was on the guest list for the concert. “Yes, actually, we’ve been trying to invite him,” B-Real said. “We’ve never met him before, but we thought it would be a kick to invite the legendary Peter Frampton.” They are still waiting for a reply.
Maxine Kwok, first violin and board vice-chair of the London Symphony Orchestra, shared her excitement about the collaboration. “Being a child of the nineties, I remember the episode well,” she told the BBC, noting that it was a cultural reference and “running joke” for years each time the episode was repeated.
At rehearsals, there have been some cultural differences leading to misunderstandings. For instance, when the word “glock” was used, the LSO took it to mean the percussion instrument glockenspiel, while to Cypress Hill, “glock” will always mean a gun.
This isn’t the first time an event in “The Simpsons” has eerily predicted the future. In a March 2000 episode, Bart is shown a vision of the future where his sister Lisa becomes US president and declares, “We’ve inherited quite a budget crunch from President Trump,” a full 16 years before Donald Trump became president. Other predictions include the attack on Roy Horn by a white tiger, similar to an incident involving Siegfried and Roy, and the US winning their first Winter Olympic Curling gold, as depicted in a 2010 storyline.
Whether the show writers can predict the future or not, for Cypress Hill, tonight’s show feels like destiny. The group has always been experimental, combining hip-hop with rock, metal, punk, reggae, or electronic music. Their new orchestral collaboration is just another example of their out-of-the-box artistry. “We salute The Simpsons because if they had not written that episode, we probably wouldn’t be doing this,” B-Real said.
Source: TMZ, BBC
