Insane in the Brain

"Insane in the Brain"
Single by Cypress Hill
from the album Black Sunday
Released	June 22, 1993
Format	CD, 12"
Recorded	1993
Genre	Hip hop, rap rock
Length	3:32
Label	Ruffhouse, Columbia Records
Writer(s)	B-Real
Producer	Cypress Hill
Certification	Gold (RIAA)
Cypress Hill singles chronology
"Hand on the Pump" (1992) "Insane in the Brain" (1993) "When the Shit Goes Down" (1993)

"Insane in the Brain" is a hit single by the American hip hop group Cypress Hill. It was released in 1993 and in addition to hitting number 1 on the US rap chart, the song also was a surprise crossover hit, reaching #19 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1993. It was highly successful in other countries. The song was released on the group's Black Sunday album.

The popular lyric "Insane in the membrane" is sometimes confused for the title.

Origins and structure

According to B-Real, the song was actually a diss song aimed at Chubb Rock. The group felt Chubb had ridiculed their style on his 1992 album I Gotta Get Mine Yo.

The song is built around many samples: a repeating sample of a horse from Mel and Tim's "Good Guys Only Win in the Movies;" a drum break from organist George Semper's cover version of Lee Dorsey's "Get Out of My Life, Woman;" a sample of James Brown grunting from the opening of his song "Say It Loud - I'm Black and I'm Proud;" a sample of the line "insane in the brain" from Cypress Hill's own song "Hole in the Head;" the opening keyboard from Sly & the Family Stone's "Life" and a sample of the line "I think I'm going crazy" from The Youngbloods's "All Over the World (La La)," which concludes the track. In 2008, it was ranked number 34 on VH1's 100 Greatest Songs of Hip Hop.

A video for the track was filmed at San Francisco's DNA Lounge.

In 1999 Jason Nevins released several remixes of the track under the name "Jason Nevins vs. Cypress Hill." The song was featured in the 2005 film Fun with Dick and Jane.

Track listings

UK CD single

1. "Insane in the Brain" (Radio Edit) - 3:32
2. "Stoned is the Way of the Walk" - 2:46
3. "Something for the Blunted" - 1:15
4. "Insane in the Brain" (Extended Version) - 4:56

1999 remix CD1

1. "Insane in the Brain" (Jason Master Blaster Edit) - 4:06
2. "Insane in the Brain" (Jason Master Blaster Club Mix) - 5:02
3. "Insane in the Brain" (Da Funky Chunky Mix) - 6:36

1999 remix CD2

1. "Insane in the Brain" (Nevins' Asylum Edit) - 3:40
2. "Insane in the Brain" (Nevins' Asylum Club Mix) - 6:06
3. "Insane in the Brain" (The Funky French B-Boy Remix) - 5:40

Reception

• It reached #85 on VH1's 100 Greatest Songs of the 90s.^{[citation needed]}
• It reached #34 on VH1's 100 Greatest Hip-Hop Songs.^{[citation needed]}

Charts

End of year chart (1993)	Position
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	65

External links

• "Insane in the Brain" at Discogs (list of releases)
• AllMusic entry