Yahoo News Cypress Hill Makes 'Simpsons' Symphony Gag A Reality 28 Years Later
Once again, a joke on “The Simpsons” has come true, this time thanks to the rap group Cypress Hill and the London Symphony Orchestra.
The two musical icons performed together Wednesday night at London’s Royal Albert Hall, a collaboration 28 years in the making.
The 1996 “Simpsons” episode “Homerpalooza” contained a joke in which the rap group assumes they hired the LSO after getting too high, only to end up collaborating with the orchestra on their 1993 No. 1 hit, “Insane In The Brain.”
Although it was meant to be a joke, fans have been clamoring to hear Cypress Hill jam with the LSO ever since, band member B-Real told the BBC.
“It’s been something that we’ve talked about for many years since the Simpsons episode first aired,” he said. “So it’s very special for us. And it’s coming off the heels of our 30th anniversary for our Black Sunday album.”
In another wink to the episode, Cypress Hill invited ’70s rocker Peter Frampton, the musician who actually hired the orchestra in the “Simpsons” bit, to the performance.
“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.”
Although Frampton apparently never replied, other musicians were thrilled with the opportunity. LSO violinist Maxine Kwok told the BBC, “people are beyond excited at the idea of these diverse musicians mixing on the stage.”
She added: “Being a child of the nineties, I remember the episode well.”
Still, the BBC reported that there were some cultural differences during rehearsals: like when orchestra members assumed Cypress Hill’s references to a “glock” meant a glockenspiel, a musical instrument, and not a semi-automatic pistol.
This is just the latest “Simpsons” joke to later play out in real life.
The most famous example, of course, is the 2000 episode that predicts Donald Trump’s presidency. Other predictions that came true include:
A 2015 gag that North Carolina State would play Duke in the NCAA tournament on exactly March 31, which came true earlier this year.
A 1993 episode in which a politician ditches his constituents for warmer temps during a snowstorm, seeming to predict Sen. Ted Cruz’s 2021 Cancun scandal.
A few episodes that may have predicted the 2021 Capitol Riots.
You can read about other examples here.
