He is one mad dog and, in a few weeks, everyone in the suburbs will hear his noise.

After spending nearly 20 years with the likes of Cypress Hill, The Reyes Brothers, Kottonmouth Kings, and SX-10, Sen Dog is finally flying solo with Suburban Noize Records.

On September 30th, his album, Diary of a Mad Dog, will hit the streets, yet fans will still see the same Sen Dog they have come to know and love — a man who has fun while keeping it real.

“This album is about doing whatever felt fun to me,” he said. “I tried to put some realism in it without making it dreary or sad. It’s fun yet real — whatever I liked jamming to.”

Born in Havana as Senen Reyes, the Cuban rapper is one of the original members of Cypress Hill and the older brother of Mellow Man Ace, who was also an original member of Cypress Hill before releasing his own album in 1989.

While his brother went solo early, Sen Dog used his experiences with his brother and Cypress Hill to build a solid foundation for his individual project.

“I had the luxury of working with two all-pro cats and watch them do their thing,” he said of B-Real and DJ Muggs. “With Muggs, he ran it a certain way. The tracks were already laid by the time I was in studio. But B-Real wanted me there as he made the track.”

The different styles provided Sen Dog an understanding of what style worked best for him — understanding the business while emphasizing fun.

“The Reyes Brothers was a tough project,” he said of his stint with his younger brother. “Mellow Man Ace was a different writer. He already had his stuff written.

“But there was less business and more fun on my solo project. I was able to take charge this time.”

It helped that Cypress Hill was in a down-time, as well.

“I was doing nothing anyway,” Sen Dog said. “We were in a transformation point as a group, changing management and getting released from Sony. I think it’s the right time.”

With the release from Sony and only a few touring gigs under the Cypress Hill moniker, Sen Dog was able to focus on Diary of a Mad Dog, which will be released under the Suburban Noize Records label.

“Suburban Noize is like the perfect situation,” he said of his new label, which was formed in 1995 by Kottonmouth Kings and includes acts such as Jada Pinkett Smith (and her band, Wicked Wisdom), hip-hop group X-Clan, and punk-rock band D.I.

An alternate label to larger, corporate music groups, the independent Suburban Noize Records was a natural choice for Sen Dog, and not because he was once affiliated with the company’s founders. With Suburban Noize Records, Sen Dog had the opportunity to work on his solo project without an executive in a corner office crafting his art.

Specifically, working with an independent label gave him an outlet to rap about real issues in his life without being too dark or personal. He was able to stay true to his vision of hip-hop — music that was fun yet message-oriented.

“I went through a divorce and life had overtones of mad drama going on,” he said. “But the album is more about how anyone’s life could be if it was upside down.”

Perhaps Sen Dog’s vision of hip-hop could be attributed to his early days with Cypress Hill, when the genre was in a different state of mind.

“Hip-hop is not message-oriented anymore,” he griped. “There was a lot of message to it. You don’t see that anymore. Now you see a lot of ‘me, me, me’ and ‘how cool I got it.’”

While hip-hop may have developed into a self-centered culture, Sen Dog believes that the likes of B-Real, Mellow Man Ace, and himself have influenced the genre like no other.

“We’ve been able to transcend hip-hop and create a whole new culture,” the Cuban rapper proclaimed. “We had the liberty of saying what we wanted. We were pioneers and activists in saying what we want and expressing our rebelliousness.”

Activism, rebelliousness, and solo projects aside, Sen Dog is rather humble about his legacy.

“I just want people to know that when I got on the stage, I gave it 110%. I was out there having fun with the crowd.”

Indeed, with Diary of a Mad Dog, Senen Reyes is anything but angry — he is just having fun sharing his story with you.