View Larger
Rate it!
Avg: 5.0 (119 ratings)
- Date Released: November 15, 2005
- Genre: Hip-Hop/R&B
- Style: Rap
- Label: Delicious Vinyl
Self-deprecating tales of schoolyard rejection and unrequited crushes.
-
We Say...
“I guess a twinkle in her eye is just a twinkle in her eye…” — there are few rap songs that express the kind of child-sized yearning and despair of the Pharcyde’s 1993 hit “Passin’ Me By.” Built on a sweltering Quincy Jones loop, “Passin’ Me By” was a hip-hop anomaly, the then-teenaged Pharcyde spinning self-deprecating tales of schoolyard rejection and unrequited crushes, using words like “rooty-toot” and “nincompoop” and generally peddling themselves as the softest guys in the room. Mike Ross, the head of their label, Delicious Vinyl, perfectly captured their sensibility: “The Pharcyde were trying to dodge the bullets, not shoot them.”
The Pharcyde’s 1992 debut, Bizarre Ride II the Pharcyde, was a revelation, balancing sunny moments like the sappy “Soul Flower,” the slapstick “Oh Shit” and “Ya Mama” and the wistful “Passin’ Me By” with the dark “4 Better or 4 Worse” and the caustic “It’s Jigaboo Time” (check out the rarely seen, natives-gone-wild video here). Bizarre Ride stoked many imaginations — Ross called it Los Angeles’ version of De La Soul’s 3 Feet High and Rising — but the moment for a breezy, carefree rap outfit, even one hailing from South Central Los Angeles, would be brief. Later that year Dr. Dre released The Chronic, and soon Nas, Wu-Tang Clan and the Notorious B.I.G. would recapture the flag for a grimmer, tougher New York. -
They Say...
The cover shot of a Fat Albert-ized Pharcyde roller coasting their way into a funhouse makes perfect sense, as the L.A.-based quartet introduced listeners to an uproarious vision of earthy hip-hop informed by P-Funk silliness and an everybody-on-the-mic street-corner atmosphere that highlights the incredible rapping skills of each member. With multiple voices freestyling over hilarious story-songs like "Oh Shit," "Soul Flower," the dozens contest "Ya Mama," and even a half-serious driving-while-black critique named "Officer," Bizarre Ride II the Pharcyde proved Daisy Age philosophy akin to De La Soul and A Tribe Called Quest wasn't purely an East Coast phenomenon. Skits and interludes with live backing (usually just drums and piano) only enhance the freeform nature of the proceedings, and the group even succeeds when not reliant on humor, as proved by the excellent heartbreak tale "Passing Me By." The production, by J-Sw!ft and the group, is easily some of the tightest and most inventive of any hip-hop record of the era. Though Bizarre Ride II the Pharcyde could have used a few more musical hooks to draw in listeners before they begin to appreciate the amazing rapping and gifted productions, the lack of compromise reveals far greater rewards down the line.
-
You Say...
Write a ReviewI would like to say...
“ The indie iTunes — Hardcore music fans are migrating to eMusic, the iTunes Music Store's cheaper, cooler cousin.”
Rolling Stone
| 01. |
4 Better Or 4 Worse (Interlude) |
0:38 |  |
|
| 02. |  |
Oh Sh*t |
4:31 | |
| 03. | |
It's Jiggaboo Time |
1:28 | |
| 04. | |
4 Better Or 4 Worse |
5:05 | |
| 05. | |
I'm That Type Of Ni**a |
5:18 | |
| 06. | |
If I Were President (Skit) |
1:03 | |
| 07. | |
Soul Flower (Remix) |
4:23 | |
| 08. | |
On The DL |
4:27 | |
| 09. |
Pack The Pipe (Interlude) |
0:21 | |
|
| 10. | |
Officer |
4:00 | |
| 11. | |
Ya Mama |
4:20 | |
| 12. | |
Passin' Me By |
5:03 | |
| 13. | |
Otha Fish |
5:21 | |
| 14. | |
Quinton's On The Way (Skit) |
2:09 | |
| 15. | |
Pack The Pipe |
5:03 | |
| 16. | |
Return Of The B-Boy |
3:33 | |
Find a problem with a track? Please let us know.
16 Total Tracks, 56:43 Total Length
We will send an email to with the tracking ID for this issue.
Before reporting defective tracks, please note that you can re-download all of your tracks without losing credits. Please try to re-download your tracks in case a temporary issue caused your problem. If, after re-downloading your tracks, you are still experiencing issues, report them below.
Note: This form is for reporting defective tracks only.
For all other issues (billing, trouble downloading, etc),
contact Customer Support.
Playlists The Pharcyde appears on these playlists created by eMusic members
Explore music recommended by The Pharcyde fans
Credits
- Cedar Walton - Vocals // Cedar Walton - Vocals // Cedar Walton - Voices // Cedar Walton - Voices // Buckwheat - Rap // The Pharcyde - Vocals (Background) // The Pharcyde - Producer // The Pharcyde - Main Performer // Mark Heimback-Nielsen - Package Design // J-Swift - Bass // J-Swift - Piano // J-Swift - Scratching // J-Swift - Vocals (Background) // J-Swift - Producer // J-Swift - Fender Rhodes // J-Swift - Scraper // L.A. Jae - Producer // James B. Mansfield - Engineer // Joe Primeau - Mixing // Joe Primeau - Mixing Engineer // J. Swift - Bass // J. Swift - Piano // J. Swift - Scratching // J. Swift - Vocals (Background) // J. Swift - Producer // J. Swift - Fender Rhodes // Leslie Cooney - Vocals // Leslie Cooney - Voices // Fatlip - Scratching // JMD - Drums // Brandon Padilla - Vocals (Background) // Greg Padilla - Vocals (Background) // Eric Sarafin - Engineer // Eric Sarafin - Mixing // Eric Sarafin - Mixing Engineer // Slim Kid 3 - Producer // Doug Boehm - Engineer // Al Phillips - Engineer // Jim Ervin - Engineer // Michael C. Ross - Executive Producer // Rahsaan Kelly - Vocals (Background)
Choose from over 4.5 million
music downloadseMusic features legendary and emerging artists in every genre: classic rock to classical,indie to international, soundtracks to spiritual, jazz to country and many more.
MP3 downloads work on any digital media player
With eMusic, you OWN your music without any restrictions. Burn music to a CD, play it on your computer, mobile phone or any digital media player - including iPod®, Zune® and Walkman®.
Songs as low as $0.25
eMusic subscriptions start at just $11.99 a month for 30 downloads - that's less than $0.40 per song! And it gets better from there - our plans go as low as $0.25 per song!
Music Discovery
eMusic is about discovery. We make finding new music fun again with music recommendations from our award-winning team of music experts, member playlists and new music features.
Cancel anytime
With all the great music and site features we're pretty sure you will love eMusic. If not, no problem. You can cancel at any time and keep the music you have downloaded.
© 1992 - 2008 All Media Guide, LLC