THE PHARCYDE. Fucking awesome group. I remember when I was a little schooly diddy bop wop (no really, Im italian AF) ANYWAYS...Pharcyde was there, bro. One of my day one musical dunns. Well, ok, thats not completely true. I first discovered Wu-Tang, Notorious BIG, Nas....then ESPECIALLY the Jigga man Mr. Sean Carter, Jay-Z himself....and then Common and The Roots AND THEN SHIT LIKE THE PHARCYDE. Speaking of day ones; my best bro Albert - shouts to him because he's who truly put me on to the 'cyde. Well, him and some skater punks from 'round the way that were down with this alternative type ish. You gotta realize...back in those days (ok, so my "those days" are different from the actual "those days" from when The Pharcyde actually, you know, RELEASED their shit...). Anyways, this is like 0-2, 0-3. I'm a young buck discovering rap music for the actual first-time; not some "in the background" six-degrees-of-Wu-Tang-via-my-cousin, Kevin Bacon type shit....ANYWAYS....Pharcyde is the shit.
So it's been a few years since I've listened to Pharcyde. Like, you know, REALLY listened to Pharcyde. And I'm, well...I'm in a weird place right now. And unlike my moms; who likes to escape to those fantasy Hallmark movies when she's feeling down-and-out / 3-and-2 / strike-out type situation (I STILL LOVE YOU MOM LETS COOK SOME POPCORN AND WATCH 'THE GOOD WITCH'S CHARM' TOMORROW)...well let's just say the best personal coping mechanism for me is some brain chemical modification and a heavy dose of upbeat music. So I somehow stumbled upon Pharcyde, and here we are.
I decided to listen to 'Bizarre Ride' first, because: all the critics jerk-off to it. Plus, they throw 'Labcabincalifornia' in the garbage before they even waste a single Kleenex. And that shit ain't cool with me. BUT...I am open to trying to listen to it again. Maybe a few years of life experience and music-listening maturity will change my opinion on the album. And that opinion is, basically, that....well, 'Labcabincalifornia' is superior to 'Bizarre Ride'. Yes. I'm completely serious. 'Labcabincalifornia', the album that completely dropped the proverbial ball both critically and financially; has stood the test of time better than the very album that launched The Pharcyde into the (15 minute) pop-music stratosphere in the early 90's.
I decided to listen to 'Bizarre Ride' first, because: all the critics jerk-off to it. Plus, they throw 'Labcabincalifornia' in the garbage before they even waste a single Kleenex. And that shit ain't cool with me. BUT...I am open to trying to listen to it again. Maybe a few years of life experience and music-listening maturity will change my opinion on the album. And that opinion is, basically, that....well, 'Labcabincalifornia' is superior to 'Bizarre Ride'. Yes. I'm completely serious. 'Labcabincalifornia', the album that completely dropped the proverbial ball both critically and financially; has stood the test of time better than the very album that launched The Pharcyde into the (15 minute) pop-music stratosphere in the early 90's.
Dilla. Yes, THAT Dilla. NO....not a dill pickle (though a dilly with some hot sauce sounds pretty damn good rn, DRUNK HUNGER IS SETTING IN 100% MY DUDES...AND MAYBE ONE OR TWO DUDETTES AT BEST....lets be reeeeal....). J.Dilla is (almost) solely responsible for the production on 'Labcabincalifornia'. In my early rap-music listening (and actual) adolescence, Dilla would play a (somewhat) pivotal role in my rap-music-listening preferences. I didn't even know it at the time, to be completely honest. Albums like Common's 'Like Water For Chocolate' and A Tribe Called Quest's 'Beats, Rhymes, and Life'. 'Labcabincalifornia', of course, played a large influence in my early rap-music upbringing. I can remember, 100%, my old dinosaur 30GB iPod, the 2nd Generation one, that was the size of a cigarette pack and as heavy as a brick (RIP *lighter flame emoji*). Nah, it wasn't THAT bad. And damn, do I miss those days. ANYWAYS. I went mad-crazy on the internet music piracy tip back then (i'm since reformed....) and among the thousands of albums I downloaded onto that ancient piece of my personal music and life history....was 'Labcabincalifornia'.
Oh man. 'Splattatorium' is playing. Got DAMN. I love this song. Such a personal track for me. Anytime I was feeling the blues, 'Splattatorium' was there to soothe my woes. That piano drop. Those drums. It's not even a "real" rap song. Like most Pharcyde tracks, 'Splattatorum' doesn't follow the traditional formula. It's basically 2 minutes and 45 seconds of Booty Brown babbling over and over about the things he (and, in turn, we) wants out of life. And wishing he had another buddha sack. Isn't that what every day eventually turns into, at least for the fresh-faced, young hip-hoppers out there? Weed and aspirations. I was so young. So fucking young.
There's really no contest. It's obvious that both Pharcyde albums 'Bizarre Ride' and 'Labcabincalifornia' are classics. It's undisputed now. 'Labcabincalifornia' has stood the test of time. But 'Bizarre' is (almost) always rated above 'Labcabincalifornia' and, well, it's a total shame. 'Labcabincalifornia' obviously has SO much more soul. The group was dealing with a SHIT ton of struggles with the new-found famedom of 'Bizarre Ride' and it's success. Their record label, Delicious Vinyl, was pressuring Pharcyde to produce another album, and soon. Luckily, their success had created new connections within the industry, including much-respected musical peer, Q-Tip, from the Queens,. NY group A Tribe Called Quest.
The Pharcyde were basically a West-Coast ATCQ (no disrespect to Hieroglyphics or Souls of Mischief...the almighty dunns outta East Oakland were obviously a West Coast Wu-Tang based on size and ATCQ based in image and scope....). Tip saw the similarities in The Pharcyde, and wanted to help the group square-up for album #2 and avoid the infamous sophomore slump. Tribe had done it just a few years earlier with 'Low End Theory' (and then straight SKYROCKETED with 'Midnight Marauders', obvs...) and wanted to make-sure that their Los Angeles peers found the same success. At this time, around the end of 9-3, 9-4...Q-Tip had started fucking with this fool from Detroit with the MPC hotness known as James Dewitt Yancey...aka J.Dilla. Or Dilla. Or Jay Dee. What the fuck EVEER. This fool had the 808 hotness and nobody fucking knew about it yet. Well, Q-Tip did. And he was getting this motherfucker exposure all OVER the got damn rap-music map. And The Pharcyde were in a perfect positron to reap the musical benefits of their newfound (musical...and far superior) peer.
'Labcabincalifornia' contains only seven Dilla-produced tracks on a twenty-track album; but they form the backbone of 'Labcabincalfornia'. Every singe one of the seven J.Dilla-produced joints is a heavy hitter. Tracks like 'Y?', album-opener 'Bullshit', Beastie Boys-sampling 'Drop', and the already-mentioned 'Splattatorium'. Group members Bootie Brown (who would go-on to produce the majority of the group's future, non-Fatlip era music...) and SlimKid3 produce a majority of the rest of 'Labcabin's tracks (as well as a cat named M-Walk who I'm WAY too drunk and hungry to research rn.
Look. 'Labcabincalifornia' is just as good as 'Bizarre Ryde To The Pharcyde'. Let's be REALZ. Maybe it's not. But it is with me, got dammit. Ranking-wise, I'm gonna go with 'Labcabin' being #1. But it's because I have countless personal memories with that album. And you can't get touch someone any stronger than with a personal memory. And 'Labcabincalifornia' is nothing but positives. I listen to the album when I'm feeling great. I listen to the album when I'm feeling down. It's musical Campbell's Chicken Soup For The Soul. And that's fine with me. 'Bizarre ride' is amazing in it's own right, too. What's REALLY sad is that we only can debate between two albums....and that's because Phatrcyde fell (the fuuuuck) off after 'Labcabincalifornia'. Yes, The Pharcyde regrouped, disbanded, regrouped again....several times since that infamous second album (they're "performing" at BottleRock this weekend HOLLA!!! Nah I won't be there...). And they released several other *offical* and nonofficial projects since that mid-90's peak. But The Pharcyde will never be what it once was. Musical group careers are truly like a blooming flower. It blooms, but once it withers and dies....there's just no coming back from that. Fatlip aside, I heard the rest of the group is doing great. Maybe Fatlip is, too. Who knows the actual truth. What I DO know to be true - The Pharcyde released two albums that were (FREAKING) amazing. So let's just enjoy that special space in time from the (very) late 80's to the mid 90's, when Pharcyde Manor was a place, The Pharcyde was a (relevant) group, and everything was right in the hip-hop world. A golden-era indeed. Pass me another brew, and keep the boom bap backpack slaps, ah-comin',
This is Ego Bloggin'. I'm Casper Ashbury. And let's talk about hip-hop. All of it. And shoes And clothes. And a shitload of other stuff. I'm still (kinda) drunk. This is my first post on the (soon-to-be) spiffy new webspace of mine. KNOW YOUR WORTH MY DUDE /Drake voice
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