Off-kilter and humble hip-hop sounds from the left coast.
About The Pharcyde
Artist Biography
With their colorful infusions of jazz and soul, The Pharcyde were an experimental West Coast hip-hop group that offered an alternative to the gangsta rap of the ’90s.
• The Los Angeles natives met in the late ’80s through dancing—their primary interest before hip-hop. Slimkid3 and Imani were part of a group called As Is, while Bootie Brown was a dancer for Fatlip.
• The Pharcyde’s 1992 debut album, Bizarre Ride II the Pharcyde, features their signature single, “Passin' Me By,” which reached No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot Rap Songs chart.
• “Passin' Me By” remains an enduring piece of pop culture. R&B singer Joe sampled the song for the remix to his chart-topping 2000 hit “Stutter.” T.I. references the track on the 2013 Robin Thicke smash “Blurred Lines.” The song has also appeared on the TV series like Atlanta and in films such as Big Daddy.
• The group returned in 1995 with the album Labcabincalifornia. The single “Drop” features a sample from the Beastie Boys classic “The New Style.”
• The Labcabincalifornia single “Runnin’” was featured on 2002’s More Music from 8 Mile album, and it’s been sampled by artists ranging from Mýa to Juice WRLD.
• Following the release of Labcabincalifornia, Fatlip left the group to pursue a solo career. Slimkid3 did likewise after Plain Rap dropped in 2000.
• In the aftermath of a 2008 reunion for the Rock the Bells festival, the group splintered into two factions. Bootie Brown and Imani won the rights to perform as The Pharcyde, while Fatlip and Slimkid3 toured as Bizarre Ride II the Pharcyde.
Hometown
Los Angeles, CA, United States
Genre
Hip-Hop/Rap
Similar to: The Pharcyde
Discover more music and artists similar to The Pharcyde, like A Tribe Called Quest, Souls of Mischief, Pete Rock