Bizarre Ride II The Pharcyde

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Editorial reviews

Amazon.co.uk Review
Like De La Soul's Three Feet High & Rising, The Pharcyde's 1992 debut came at a time when hip-hop was headed in one direction and the group were going somewhere else entirely. A crew of spunky b-boys armed with a self-abating sense of humour, The Pharcyde made an album that was fresh and profoundly honest. "Ya Mama" is a clever array of mother jokes set to cartoonish beats; "On the DL" has each MC unguardedly making self-denigrating confessions (like Fat Lip admitting to masturbating--previously a hip-hop no-no); and "Passin' Me By" is an ode to hopeless crushes on unattainable women. The group's playfulness was also infused with smarts, too, most visibly on "Officer". Recorded around the time of the Rodney King verdict, the song was an indictment of racial profiling--shrouded, of course, in a comic tale that parodied Public Enemy's "Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos". With animated beats from J-Swift (the West Coast version of Prince Paul) and four distinct rhyming styles, particularly Slim Kid Tre's melodiousness and Fat Lip's nerdiness, this album captures an innocence rarely seen in the music's posturing ways. It is something that this album captures forever. --Joseph Patel

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Description
When the Pharcyde burst onto the scene in the summer of '92with its brilliantly disconnected grab bag BIZARRE RIDE II THE PHARCYDE, it seemed at first an innocuously enjoyable, goofy if somewhat lightweight disc. However, it would swiftlybecome clear that there were deeper waters stirring within the Pharcyde's rhymes and rhythms, and that the group's style was unlike that of those who came before.
The main distinction came in the Pharcyde's subject matters, which run the gamut from the usual sexual conquests all the way to rejection and masturbation. The group's lyrics are often reflective and vulnerable, bordering on self-deprecating at times. While many rappers who came before poked fun at themselves asa gimmick, the Pharcyde relates its rebuffs with confident candor as on its hit single "Passin' Me By", where one by one each member of the foursome recounts a story of a woman hedidn't get. Furthermore, though the samples used on the album are pretty much from the usual well (jazz and James Brown), there's something skewed about their interpretations. Oneparticularly revealing track is a throwaway half-skit/half-song "Quinton's on His Way", a juke-joint improv that's sincere and straight out of a Roaring '20s backroom.

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Customer reviews

review by: date: 2008-04-22 rating:
timeless
like other reviews on here this is the best album i own !
have not stopped listening to it for the last 10 yrs , its in my car , my house , my mp3player ,i advise anyone who has any clue about hip hop to buy this !
*****

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review by: date: 2007-07-13 rating:
10 years to contemplate this....
Ok, I take this kind of thing very seriously and I didn't want to jump to any rash conclusions so I have mulled this over for 10 years.

This is the best Hip Hop album ever written.

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review by: DJ Max-Ray date: 2004-12-10 rating:
Excellent debut from the quirky westsiders!
A bizarre ride it is indeed. What a debut! From the men that proved west coast does'nt have to mean gangster. This album pleases on so many levels. The production is tight, the rap styles were and still are fresh, and the beats get better and better. At times sentimental, at times thought provoking, but always funny, this album is a very rare thing indeed- a truly feel good rap album, from a time when rap was'nt 'supposed' to be funny. The album peaks a little over halfway and continues to thrill throughout the entire second half. It really kicks off with the hilarious 'Ya Mama', mellows out with 'Passing me By' and 'Otha Fish', and goes just about horizontal with 'Pack the Pipe'. The album's second half embarrasses the first half (which is'nt bad itself) just because it is so damn good! I have loved this album since its release. It really does get better and fresher with every play. If you have'nt already...jump on and enjoy the ride!

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review by: date: 2004-11-06 rating:
Perfect!!!
This album is one of the best albums ever! This album has a hidden depth of sweetness, On first listens its a cool fresh kinda HipHop with each MC holding their own brilliantly, after a while This album had me putting it on Repeat for hours, it dominated all my tapes on my walkman...(yes WALKMAN!!) I would now give a list of the tightest tracks on the album, but each track is way too beautifully crafted to pick just a few. The Rhymes are Slick, Fresh, Funny and you'll always find a verse that'll make you smile. I have played this album to death but its Sooooo Damn Fresh i could never get bored.

Beautifully Perfect


review by: date: 2003-04-28 rating:
Real dope!
'Bizarre Ride' is truly one of the dopest hip-hop albums ever! If you like De La Soul then you'll love this - real phunky-fresh beats which sound as new as when they were released over ten years ago (makes me feel my age - I was seventeen back then!).

This is west-coast rap with a real different flava. You'll also dig it if you are down with A Tribe Called Quest or the Jungle Brothers.

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