| "How I Could Just Kill a Man" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Cypress Hill | ||||
| from the album Cypress Hill | ||||
| Released | June 29, 1991 | |||
| Recorded | 1990 | |||
| Studio | Image Recording (Los Angeles) | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 4:08 | |||
| Label | ||||
| Songwriters | ||||
| Producer | DJ Muggs | |||
| Cypress Hill singles chronology | ||||
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| Music video | ||||
| "How I Could Just Kill a Man" on YouTube | ||||
"How I Could Just Kill a Man" is the debut single by hip hop group Cypress Hill from their eponymous debut album, Cypress Hill, and was their first major hit in 1991. It was released as a double A-side to "The Phuncky Feel One". The song was also in the movie Juice (1992). It was re-released in 1999 with Spanish lyrics and a new video. It is featured as the first track on their greatest hits compilation Greatest Hits from the Bong. It was voted number 79 in About.com's Top 100 Rap Songs.[2]
Towards the end of the song (approximately the 3:48 point) someone is heard saying, "All I wanted was a Pepsi". This quote is taken from the well-known Suicidal Tendencies song, "Institutionalized".
In 2001, Cypress Hill included a sequel to the song on their album Stoned Raiders entitled "Here Is Something You Can't Understand", using the same chorus but with new verses from B-Real, Sen Dog and guest Kurupt.
Lowell Fulson's 1967 hit "Tramp" is sampled for the guitar and bass. The drums are taken from "Midnight Theme" by Manzel. A majority of samples have not yet been found, although some have been discovered in recent years.
The music video features cameos by A Tribe Called Quest's Q-Tip and Tim Dog, as well as Ice Cube, with whom the group would later feud.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "How I Could Just Kill a Man" (The Killer Mix) | 4:08 |
| 2. | "How I Could Just Kill a Man" (clean version) | 4:08 |
| 3. | "How I Could Just Kill a Man" (instrumental) | 4:08 |
| "How I Could Just Kill a Man" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Rage Against the Machine | ||||
| from the album Renegades | ||||
| Released | October 20, 2001 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 4:04 | |||
| Label | ||||
| Songwriters | ||||
| Producers |
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| Rage Against the Machine singles chronology | ||||
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The song was covered by American rock band Rage Against the Machine on their cover album, Renegades, where the song was released as a single. Rage Against the Machine performed the song on their DVD, Live at the Grand Olympic Auditorium, accompanied by Cypress Hill.
| Chart | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Main. | 39[6] |
| US Alt. | 37[6] |
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| United States (RIAA)[7] | Gold | 500,000‡ |
|
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. | ||
Singer Charlotte Sometimes named the first single from her debut album Waves and the Both of Us "How I Can Just Kill a Man" in honor of Cypress Hill, though the songs have no other similarities. The song quickly became a staple on both VH1 and MTV during the summer of 2008 and closed her set on the Vans Warped Tour.
It is also covered by B-star on their album What We Do.
A cover version was released in 1994 by German Hamburger Schule band Cpt. Kirk &. on the album Round About Wyatt, but with the song's title changed to "How He Could Just Kill a Man".
The song appears in the 2004 video game Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas in the radio station Radio Los Santos.
