About The Pharcyde
The Pharcyde is an American hip hop group, formed in 1989, from South Central Los Angeles. The original four members of the group are Imani , Slimkid3 , Bootie Brown , and Fatlip . DJ Mark Luv was the group's first disc jockey , followed by producer J-Swift.
The group's debut album Bizarre Ride II the Pharcyde , featuring the hit single "Passin' Me By", was highly acclaimed and has gone on to be cited as one of the greatest albums in alternative hip-hop. In 1995 the group released second studio album Labcabincalifornia to further commercial success, featuring crossover hit singles "Drop" and "Runnin'". Labcabincalifornia received mixed critical reception upon its initial release, but has since achieved retrospective critical acclaim.
The group began to unravel in the late 1990s with the departures of Fatlip and Slimkid3. The remaining members of the group released the follow up albums Plain Rap and Humboldt Beginnings , however the group never again regained its former commercial or critical success. In 2008 all four members of the group temporarily reunited for performances at that year's Rock the Bells festival. Since the 2008 reunion, legal disputes over The Pharcyde name has led to various combinations of the four members touring under various names including "The Pharcyde" and "Far Side ", however the four members have yet to reunite again.
Pharcyde group members Slimkid3, Bootie Brown, and Imani met as dancers in the late 1980s. Dancing was their main ambition as late as 1990. Around this time, Imani and Slimkid3 were in a group called "As Is" and later a group called the "Play Brothers", while Bootie Brown was a backup dancer for Fatlip ). Bootie Brown recalls that their earlier dancing careers influenced their rapping – "sometimes the way I rap is almost like the way I used to dance". The group met Reggie Andrews, a local high-school music teacher who worked with the Dazz Band and Rick James, and who was a major musical influence on their debut album. The group also met producer J-Swift around this time at SCU , as he was Reggie Andrews's "star pupil" according to the book Check the Technique. Before group settled on the name "The Pharcyde", they were almost called "The Rappers" and "True Jiggaboo", the second of which served as inspiration for their interlude "Jiggaboo Time".
The Pharcyde recorded their first demo in 1991, which contained the songs "Passin' Me By", "Ya Mama", and "Officer", and hired a manager, Paul Stewart, who had worked for Cypress Hill, De La Soul, and House of Pain. Mike Ross of Delicious Vinyl heard the demo and the group was signed to the label in the summer of 1991. They were first featured on Brand New Heavies's album Heavy Rhyme Experience, Vol. 1, on the song "Soul Flower", released by Delicious Vinyl in 1992.
The group, along with producer J-Swift, recorded their first album Bizarre Ride II the Pharcyde, which was released in November 1992. The album was certified Gold by the RIAA in 1996. The album was highly acclaimed, and became one of the most praised and influential alternative hip hop albums of the 1990s.
Their second single "Passin' Me By" became a minor Billboard hit, peaking at No. 52 on the Hot 100. The song was later featured in the hit movie Big Daddy and was also a crossover modern rock hit. The song is now usually considered a golden-era staple and is the group's most well-known song. The album featured a couple of guest MCs, including Bucwheed on the tracks "On The DL" and "I'm That Type of Nigga".
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