The Pharcyde Album: “Sold My Soul”

Tight as hell, The Pharcyde one of the best hip hop groups period no question, fell apart after their second LP Labcabincalifornia. I thought they would just be another one of the hip hop greats that fell off mid 90s and left us to think about what could have been (KMD, Digable Planets) Finally though something fresh, this 2 cd set has tons of remixes from both Bizarre Ride II and Labcabincalifornia, and a couple new tracks. Everything on here is solid especially the remixes of "She Said", " Runnin'", and "Drop". Its great to here some fresh Pharcyde, they're one of the greats, pick this up and just nod your head to some of the greats. While you're at it grab Bizarre Ride II and Labcabincalifornia.

In 1992, the Pharcyde created one the best hip-hop albums in history, "Bizarre Ride II the Pharcyde." The lyrics were vibrant and clever, the beats were energetic and colorful, and -- believe it or don't -- the skits were actually worth hearing. Inexplicably, they followed it up in 1996 with the gloomy "Labcabincalifornia," which threw out the sense of humor that made up the foundation of their 1993 classic, replacing it with limp beats, amateurish singing and underdeveloped message raps. It's been downhill ever since for the Pharcyde. I don't know why they started taking themselves so goddamn seriously, but the premature death of Pharcyde's sense of humor should be considered one of hip-hop's greatest losses.

Finally, here is a Pharcyde album that captures the pure whacked-out joy of that first Pharcyde album. By no coincidence, it's an album that compiles alternate versions of the songs on "Bizarre Ride II the Pharcyde." One standout is "Soul Flower (Brand New Heavies Version)," which actually improves on the album version by featuring the tremendous Brand New Heavies band and some inspired, fervent rapping. Another is "Ya Mama (Remix)," which pulls off the astounding feat of making "Ya Mama" even funnier through farcially melodramatic singing. And there are also a few fun songs that never appeared on their previous albums: "Pork" and "Pandemonium" are both vintage Pharcyde.

Unfortunately, the proceedings are often weighed down by ho-hum versions of the "Labcabincalifornia" singles -- they aren't terrible, I admit, but their lack of energy certainly provides a contrast. But with two discs of material here, you can easily winnow it down to a gangbuster one-disc deal. All in all, this is a must-have for fans of "Bizarre Ride II the Pharcyde."

Mybackground is that I'm a white dude from Louisiana that's been listening to hip-hop since I was 16 in '86. Mycousin was a DJ and even though I was young, I fell in love with music and been a junkie for good music. One of my favorite groups of all time is the Pharcyde. I think both of there first 2 cd's were absolute classics. Add this one to the list. It's 2012 and I don't know how this got passed me all these years. But I ran across it and all I can say it's amazing. I didn't know what to expect, but what I heard so was so great to me and I don't write reviews. I read some though so I decided to write this. My first ever just because if I could just have 1 person, like a die hard Pharcyde fan or just a lover of hip-hop to read this and check it out then it was worth my time. I'm so glad I found this. I could always throw in Bizarre Ride or Labcabin, but this will be in heavy rotation for years to come for sure. The beats are amazing. This is an absolute gem of an album. Do yourself a favor and don't sleep.

When I first heard, "Pharcyde remixes", I thought, "Okay... this is going to suck at best". Boy was I wrong. This disc includes so many songs RE-RECORDED (some of the guys came back and redid the vocals), this is a MUST for any true Pharcyde fan. My favorite so far, Otha Fish LA Jay mix. You must pick up this album.

I just bought this album. For starters, I'm just a fan of the days of Bizarre Ride 2 the pharcyde. I don't much care for Labcabin. This is one of my favorite cds. You have to hear She Said [Mike Caren Remix], and Runnin' [Rae & Christian Remix]. There are alotta other dope tracks too. It's too bad the Pharcyde didn't last longer, b/c they're my favorite group and they coulda been legends in EVERY household, not just real b-boy's households...