we go round and round

*pic jacked from somewhere, i forget.

(review originally published here)

The Pharcyde’s Labcabincalifornia contains all the elements needed for a successful Hip Hop follow-up; signs of maturity, musical evolution and cohesiveness, put together in a dope-sounding package. This album found the foursome of Imani, Bootie Brown, Fatlip and Slim Kid Tre in a more mellowed-out and introspective mood than their first record, Bizarre Ride II The Pharcyde. The MC’s understand what is needed to make a classic album as a group, and their honesty shines through in the albums aforementioned themes. The music matches their mindsets, as they utilize tight, low-end boom-bap provided by Diamond D, a young but nonetheless stellar Jay Dee and themselves.

The usage of only two outside producers to help them carve out the musical backdrop for the record helps The Pharcyde keep a consistent sound and mood throughout, with the sparing skits and interludes, including the soul-ed out ‘It’s All Good!’, acting as intermissions and transitions in between songs.

The first track, ‘Bullshit,’ is a perfect introduction for what is to come, with its jazzy, bassy beat and smooth get-up-off-that-bullshit chorus matched by lighthearted but not lightweight rhymes. The lyrics do get topic-specific on tracks like the “Passin’ Me By” re-visitation, ‘She Said’ (for real, they even sample the Bizarre Ride track), the self-reflective and bittersweet questioning of ‘Y?’ and ‘The E.N.D.,’ and one of the most heartfelt and emotive tracks on the record, “Moment In Time.” Not everything is as introspective though, as tracks like ‘Pharcyde’ and ‘Drop’ are just brilliantly simple, fun Hip Hop songs that will have your system bumping and neck snapping before the first listen is done.

One of the most stand-out tracks though, the kind you would play for non-believers, is ‘Runnin’.’ The piano-sample driven beat gets matched with a smooth-as-butter chorus, persevering rhymes and, the ice-cream sundae cherry, a sax break. Even their mini-marijuana ode ‘Splattitorium’ doesn’t miss a step, giving the beat plenty of room to breathe and create the perfect atmosphere for a midnight session.

In retrospect, this album has aged excellently over time, maybe even seeming better because of all the nostalgia us hip hop fans like to attach to past eras. It’s also of high importance because it boasts Jay Dee production that until then had only been limited to the Ummah realm on major releases, and because it’s the last album that the original MC line-up of the group would produce. Although there may be a track that doesn’t seem to fit, ‘The Hustle,’ or an interlude that seems off, ‘All Live,’ Labcabincalifornia is a perfect West Coast alternative for the reigning Death Row Gangsta empire of the time, while still keeping the beats smoking and the rhymes funky, a Cali classic.

A

Here’s some B-Sides and one of my personal favorites off the album:

Why (Jay Dee remix)
Drop (Beatminerz remix)
Moment In Time