The Pharcyde: Bizarre Ride II the Pharcyde (2LP) [CRAFT]

Why you'll love it

This 2LP set gives the album room to breathe across four sides. It went gold on the strength of "Passin' Me By," and Rolling Stone named it one of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.

This edition

• 2LP set
• Obi strip
• Stereo mix
• Pressed in the USA

About the album

Before they were rappers, Imani, Slimkid3 and Bootie Brown were dancers, and you can tell. Along with Fatlip, the four friends met producer J-Swift at an after-school music program in South Central Los Angeles run by teacher Reggie Andrews, and the record they made for Delicious Vinyl moves with a bounce and a sense of humour that stood out a mile in the gangsta rap era.

J-Swift's production is lush and jazzy, built on warm loops that make room for four very different voices. "Passin' Me By" is a wistful, gorgeous tale of crushes that never work out, "Ya Mama" turns the playground insult battle into an art form, "Oh Sh*t" is pure comic chaos, and "Otha Fish" and "Return of the B-Boy" show how sharp the crew could be when they got serious. The skits tie it together like a late-night hangout.

Alongside Freestyle Fellowship and Del tha Funkee Homosapien, it helped open the door for an alternative West Coast scene that led to Hieroglyphics and Jurassic 5. It has also kept several generations of teenagers stocked with fresh comebacks, and their parents have yet to send a thank-you card.

Also at Kops: more The Pharcyde on vinyl · browse Hip Hop / R&B

Tracklist

Listen

On Delicious Vinyl / Craft Recordings (cat# CR00018), a reissue of the 1992 album.