Bizarre Ride II The Pharcyde

Lots of albums take themselves too seriously; this is the first time I’ve heard one not take itself seriously enough. Undeniably fun, don’t get me wrong. But it feels like the musical equivalent of a guy that is easily talented enough to get into the NBA, but instead uses his gifts exclusively to throw suction-cup dildos into increasingly bizarre, high up, and hard to reach places.

This was a weird one. I can definitely see how a high schooler in 1992 would have loved this album. It's absurd, irreverent, immature, and high energy. Musically, I enjoyed this. The group has a DJ but a lot of the drums sure sounded live and originally recorded for this album, but I can't be sure. Overall the beats were a big plus for me. The album is a product of its time, however. We get an entire verse centered around transphobia ala Charlie Daniels's Uneasy Rider '88, and we get jokes about the MC's sexually assaulting women. I'm not going to clutch my pearls and pretend that I never engage in or enjoy edgy humor, but I guess those lines just left me cringing more than laughing. As for importance, this is a debut album released in the golden age of hip hop that has a unique feel, so to me it makes sense to see it on this list. My personal enjoyment: 2.5/5 Did it belong on this list: 4/5

The cover shot of a Fat Albert-ized Pharcyde roller coastering their way into a funhouse makes perfect sense, as the L.A.-based quartet introduced listeners to an uproarious vision of earthy hip-hop informed by P-Funk silliness and an everybody-on-the-mike street-corner atmosphere that highlights the incredible rapping skills of each member. With multiple voices freestyling over hilarious story-songs like "Oh Shit!," "Soul Flower," the dozens contest "Ya Mama," and even a half-serious driving-while-black critique named "Officer," Bizarre Ride II the Pharcyde proved Daisy Age philosophy akin to De La Soul and A Tribe Called Quest wasn't purely an East Coast phenomenon. Skits and interludes with live backing (usually just drums and piano) only enhance the freeform nature of the proceedings, and the group even succeeds when not reliant on humor, as proved by the excellent heartbreak tale "Passin' Me By." The production, by J-Sw!ft and the group, is easily some of the tightest and most inventive of any hip-hop record of the era. Though Bizarre Ride II the Pharcyde could have used a few more musical hooks to draw in listeners before they begin to appreciate the amazing rapping and gifted productions, the lack of compromise reveals far greater rewards down the line.

Not for me. Wannabe beastie boys.

It reminds me of the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. This is some classic early 90s hip-hop/rap. I like the instrumentals in most of these songs. I can definitely appreciate this type of music but would probably never listen to this album again.

One of the cornerstone west-coast hip-hop acts of the 90s, Pharcyde is just one of those bands that you know if you're into hip-hop. They offered a completely different take on the genre with their lighthearted (at times straight-up goofy) lyrics in a time when the genre was already starting to take itself too seriously. I always liked the bands that they inspired more than I did them but the elements that contributed to my love for Jurassic5, Digable Planets, and Blackstar are all here. It's just damn fun. That said, "Officer" stands out in sharp contrast as a track for back then but also RIGHT NOW. It's NOT funny. It's a legit converastion piece about racial profiling and feels very contemporary.

Another really cool album. It's certainly a departure from what was popular in hip-hop at the time. Some aspects of the album sound dated, but overall the production is really good. Lots of fun songs 4/5

Ooof. This is bad. And not bad meaning good but bad meaning bad. Passin Me By was absolutely lightning in a bottle and that along with some ok beats can salvage a 2. Lyrically it's terrible, sophomoric, and misogynistic and I would say it didn't hold up well but I don't think it was much good to begin with.

I like to give Robert Dimery, the author of this list, a little shit from time to time for his album selections. One area he’s done well, however, is with late 80’s/early 90’s hip-hop. No complaints from me as of yet. Bizarre Ride II is a 5 star classic and it’s indisputable, so don’t even bother disputing it like you usually do, you weirdos with bad taste.

An antidote to the typical LA gangster rap of the era (the Pharcyde hail from South Central LA), ‘Bizarre Ride II The Pharcyde’ is gloriously absurd and ridiculous, juvenile but not silly, and a lot of fun. In another rare feat, there’s not a duff beat or groove to be found anywhere and so the album never drags. It stays jazzy and funky, resulting in one of rap/hip-hops greatest hits. Still as good today as it was in 92’.

Plain boring and unimaginative. A lot of the album felt like a terribly bad rip-off of the Bestie Boys.

get the fuck outta here with this shit.

This might be the funniest Hip Hop album of the early 90's which is a big reason why it's also Kanye West's favourite album of all time. It's a bizarre and playful mix of Boom Bap and Jazz Rap that plays a lot with skits as well as some more abstract concepts all the way throughout. The album is very easy to like and it doesn't take much to appreciate the incredible production and rapping on this album. It opens with the short interlude '4 Better or 4 Worse (Interlude)' which gives a little look into the Jazz inspired side of the album. It's purely an instrumental but it's still beautiful to listen to which is why I think that it's an incredible opening. The first real track 'Oh Shit' gets things going with some pretty comedic verses as well as a lovely turntable production that results in an energetic but beautiful Hip Hop song that is fun on one side and sophisticated on the other. It very much feels like what the Beastie Boys always tried to be but better. Maybe it's the fact that I just love a jazzy Hip Hop beat but songs like these are just pure bliss. The 'It's Jiggaboo Time (Skit)' brings in some very interesting Free Jazz elements in the background production which is just perfect for someone who's as much into Avant-Garde and Free Jazz as I am. And even as a short skit the performance is really good and funny. The whole thing could've been mixed a little bit louder and brighter but apart from that it's an incredible skit. The full song of '4 Better or 4 Worse' is not only bringing in some aspects of Jazz but also Experimental and Abstract Hip Hop and a slight morbid Horrorcore performance in the second half which all of it feels like it was a big inspiration to MF DOOM as a lot of both production and rapping has aspects that feel very much like DOOM. But this song is a little treasure of its own with all of the different parts being just incredibly performed and if the chorus wasn't as often repeated and the whole song shortend to like 4 minutes, it would've been the best song of 1992. This way it's just Top 15 but still, masterpiece. 'I'm That Type of Nigga' goes even deeper into the obvious Jazz influences by naming e.g. Thelonius Monk but also because of the production which is again really well made. And even with all that, the song has a very 'basic' feeling to it which I don't mean as "bad basic" more as it's a typical 90's Hip Hop song that could've been made by someone like the Wu-Tang Clan but with the way they did it, it's just perfectly executed. The next skit, 'If I Were President (Skit)', not only gets a little political but also gets them singing a little bit which makes it pretty silly but great and fun to listen to. This is how you do a skit on a Hip Hop album. With 'Soul Flower (Remix)' they take a little inspiration from Disco Rap while still being very much Boom Bap. I do think that the moaning in the beat is a little bit too much and does ruin a good portion of what makes this song but the verses and the rapping are so incredible that this is easily one of the best performed tracks on the album but sadly the chorus and the voices in the beat make it water down to just an "incredible" track. The both very Jazzy and very Turntablism made beat on 'On the DL' is really beautiful to listen to and one of my personal instrumental highlights on the album. On top, the rapping is absolutely incredible with some absolutely stunning performances. It's a great mix of funny lyrics and relaxed sounds that make this another absolute highlight on the album. The short Instrumental 'Pack the Pipe (Interlude)' brings in some very nice and obvious Jazz elements that really make a nice interlude but I would've wanted it to be longer as 20 seconds just isn't enough. It's really good but I'm annoyed by it not being longer. The track 'Officer' isn't on streaming (probably because of sample clearance) which is pretty sad because it's really great. There are some very interesting soundscapes added to the track which does slightly interupt the otherwise incredible track. It's still incredible but without these few weird production choices, it would've been perfect. 'Ya Mama' continues with more funny lyrics that feel very juvenile but that doesn't mean that this makes it worse. In fact, this is great but I find some parts of the performances to be a little less interesting than other parts on the album. Some of it also feels very streched out which also doesn't help it but luckily the production is on point to save at least a bit. Really really good but improvable. The few Trip Hop influences on the beat of 'Passing Me By' give it a really dreamy feel and the added rapping just improves it even more. I don't really have anything negative to say about it: the production, the verses, all is on point. Only the bridge and some deliveries feel a little bit too bare-bones but apart from that it's a beautiful song. 'Otha Fish' keeps some of the Trip Hop elements but also adds some Neo-Soul into the songwriting. I really like the chorus and the sometimes sung vocals but the beat feels a little bit unfitting and not properly mixed. But even with these few things, the overall enjoyment with the deliveries and the chorus is still there and the track ends with me having a very, very positive feeling. It's nearly perfect. The short Sktech of 'Quinton's on the Way (Skit)' that combines a short story with some Vocal Jazz is a really funny sequence. There's a lot of silly moments even in the short time of the song constantly switching the music. I do think that it's a little too long but the energy with the singing is just really, really funny. The Comedy stays with 'Pack the Pipe' wich also brings in some Experimental ideas by having a very stripped down and unusal beat that simply feels weird. There is a certain ethereal uneasiness throughout the track and I am sure that this wasn't intended. It definitely has it's qualities but for some reason it scares the living shit out of me. It's a feeling that I don't want to have on an album like this. In the end the good parts slightly overweigh the scariness which still makes it an "above average" track but I won't be revisiting this one on my own. The final song 'Return of the B-Boy' combines Disco, Synth Funk and even some New Jack Swing to create a really funky and energetic finale that has a very groovy vibe to it. It's definitely a really good closing track but I personally don't like it as much as other tracks on the album. It feels a little too basic and some parts even stale. Good but not great. favourites: 4 Better or 4 Worse, On the DL, I'm That Type of Nigga, Oh Shit, Passing Me By, Otha Fish, Officer least favourites: Pack the Pipe, Ya Mama, Return of the B-Boy Rating: decent 9 https://rateyourmusic.com/~Emil_ph for more ratings, reviews and takes

Love it, Own it, Seen em Live…At least once w Brother too!! Knew most of words to most songs, which was fun and astounding. (Lyrics are wild and not appropriate. I will not be playing this album for carpool. 🤪) My fav so far since I’ve joined the group.

Fatlip from Pharcyde said it best: "Your mama is so big and fat that she can get busy with twenty-two burritos, but times are rough I seen her in the back of Taco Bell with handcuffs". Preach Fatlip. Love these guys, they're clearly having a blast making this album and messin around lyrically on most songs. Passin' Me By is a juggernaut - on of the best hip hip beats of all time. My sister Becky (fortheloveofmusicqb) and I saw Pharcyde in college together at a small club in C Springs -32 Blue. These songs all remind me of those days.

Ha ha ha YES! I never thought this would come up but too fucking right. So many memories, great great memories of late night card games in smoky rooms with cheap spirits. But tell me this. How fat is she?!

In the days when hip-hop was still shaping, a pretty compelling case was made that it should be BOTH hard-hitting and dun as fuck.

Fuck yeah! I knew I had skills for picking winners. Bought this in '92 and couldn't stop playing it...even when other classmates said it was garbage....I was like...you're garbage. Boom...roasted. 5 stars.

Ok

I forgot how funny this record is. There’s a ton of skits but the lyrics are really meant to be offensive and hilarious. Obviously has that jazz rap, boom nap production which is right up my alley. Do I prefer this over Tribe? Probably not. But does it rank as one of the best jazz rap records ever made. Most certainly. Favorite song(s): I’m That Type of Ni**a and Passin’ Me By Least favorite song: Pack the Pipe

This is a cheerful, funny record, reminding me of George Clinton in its emphasis of musical playfulness over formal elegance. The sounds are warm, bouncy, surprisingly unserious in their jazziness. This is the first hip hop album I've heard on this list that has made me smile, and I'm sorry that I never got round to it back in the day. The absence of menace, attempted or delivered, is distinctive: sex and violence are invariably comic. It's often offensive, but seemingly without malice. “Oh shit” makes me wistful for a time when transphobia was a carefree pastime. I'm joking while also being absolutely serious.

This other side of 90s hip hop represented here in triumphant fashion. Few albums are as fun, influential, and raw.

I was going to say this reminds me of the group Gravediggaz, before I realized this Pharcyde album was released a good 4 years earlier. This came from the west coast, though it feels closer to the east coast rap I'm most familiar with. The interplay is pretty awesome, and the beats sound fresh for an album so old. I was reading that the Pharcyde began touring with A Tribe Called Quest and De La Soul after this album was released. I cannot imagine how fucking great that show would have been. This album was a good thing to hear on a sunday morning.

Contains a 4 minute long song of yo mama jokes. Truly the peak of human achievement. As far as 90s hip hop albums go.. yeah, this is definitely a 90s hip hop album. I didn't hear anything that blew me away, but it was fun enough. Essentially an ascended shitpost in musical form. "Yo mama got the wooden legs with real feet" - Shakespeare could never.

Ya Mama's musical taste is so bad she played Dwight Yoakam backwards through a hairdryer and still liked it

So yes, but also no, phobic and raunch.

inital impression: from the same whiny, juvenile cartoon school as Cypress Hill, if not as irritating. second round: when will this end?! I am still waiting for the great unheard hip hop classic from this list

My journey with hip-hop in this adventure has been pretty good so far, but it has helped me to find what I don't like in the genre. I like clever rhymes, but I can't stand when they go into sexual or physical violence. There might be something more interesting to this effort, but I'm not sticking around long enough to find out what it is.

p691. 1992. 1 star Another shit hip-hop/rap album. Wannabe Beastie Boys but without any talent.

This is old rap with a basic beat and someone rapping over it without anything extra really.

Consistent flow, style and raps throughout. Slightly longer album even with a few skits/instrumentals thrown in but the runtime does feel justified. Every song has a unique beat that stays within the same style. Genuinely a great rap album that makes you nostalgic for years gone by and a style of rap that is extinct. 9/10

Loved it.

Super enjoyable. Very much in line with the best of a tribe called quest

I needed this today. Worth the price of admission for "Oh Shit" alone. Fun, highly-skilled hip-hop from when it was fun as hell.

It was really exceptional. The flow, the beats and everything

Passin Me By is what brought it to 5 stars. Classic album, fun album. These songs bring back a lot of memories.

Our lovable LA weirdos hit it out of the park with their debut album.

Classic

Despite the West Coast pedigree, the boom-bap heart is strong with this one. Chock full of tasty beats and lyrical goodness.

Super fun and loved the old beats 5 stars

I wrote a long review but it didn’t save. Love this album, lyrically tight although goofy. The storytelling really shines through and the group bounces well off each other. Production is fun, can definitely hear how/why it influenced future artists. Sounds a little dated beats wise but they more than hold up and provide a good backing for the rap. West coast = best coast

It's probably the most fun jazz-rap album ever made. It helps to take out the few interlude tracks but then the whole thing is smooth like butter. Funny, witty, high energy. It's a banger album.

Oh how fun is that! 90's hiphop at its finest. Cheeky raps, punchy beats, and plenty to say about society and culture.

So good

amazing!

Excellent

rly good!!

Easy 5 stars. Passin Me By and 4 Better Or 4 Worse are 2 of my all-time favourites

One of the best slices of 'Golden Era' hip hop ever recorded

4.5 - I like

I enjoyed this a lot I felt the skits were well integrated into the music of the album. It had a strong musicality to it, and it was funny.

perfection

Pure classic! It’s easy to appreciate how fun the music, but you also have to consider how forward thinking it is. Just a small example, but having a horrorcore verse on a song in 1992 is no small feat! Besides all that, the quality of the songs is great. Great rhymes, performances and production. Wish they were around for longer 🙏

Some of the best killer flows and beats.

5 mutherfucking stars.

Even the Clapton loving nerds that made this list knew this needed to be on it. 5/5

I can't rate this album without thinking about the whole Pharcyde package - the personalities, the quirky music videos, and of course the beats. This album was FUN. It didn't take itself too seriously, it touched on some real human feelings but also took time to make jokes, even at their own expense. Dates really well I think? Ok maybe not many rappers rhyme "nincompoop" nowadays but still, I can listen again and again.

Ya momma has an afro with a chin strap. This is a bloomin' wonderful album. It's happy, it's catchy and I really enjoyed listening to it. Great stuff!

Decent old school hip hop second half is better

Was a lot of fun for painting too.

Ovo je tako jebeno veselo, šareno i zarazno

Awesome, simply awesome.

pharcyde can do no wrong imo

Loved this album, soulflower remix is a peak fun rap song

Otha Fish is a masterpiece that transcends hip hop. There are many other great tracks on this but that song is one of my all time favorites.

Great beats, fun banter and unique flows. Rap album equivalent of listening to a group of young men cracking jokes, trying to one up each other. Apart from all the jokes and improvising, there are a couple of tracks with genuine emotions, exploring personal failures and issues. Sure, some content is extremely juvenile but for the most part the album has an undeniable charm in its infectious anything-goes mentality. And the beats still sounds great!

Love these dudes.

Great jams, old school hip hop

Added to my library. I've heard some Pharcyde songs before, but listening to a whole album really shows the brilliance of this group. Fun, musical, and completely well executed. Love this style of west coast hip hop. Also, I miss album skits let's bring that back.

wow.... love it. Right up my ally. il add them to my artist listening.

BL: An album I've listened to before quite recently. Discovered The Pharcyde properly over the summer and completely fell in love with their lyrical hooks, alongside some very graphic rapping, in terms of verbosity and bizarre artistic choices they definitely shine through as the definitive group from the 90s West Coast scene. AL: Just as I remembered it being, the production is incredibly and is so definitively analogue 90s drum machine & sampler construction, while not as technically proficient as their other work "labcabincalifornia" here it feels incredibly tight and refined which is phenomenal considering it is their first album. The lyrical content suffers from the same pitfalls of all the artists in the scene at the time but overall is nowhere near the worst offender compared with other artists. I absolutely loved this record, will be relistening again and again. FT: "Oh Shit", "4 Better or 4 Worse", "Soul Flower (Remix)", "Passin' Me By", "Return of the B-Boy" 5/5

Love the flow and the groove

A fun and light-hearted album that doesn't take itself too seriously, coming from an era and location where gangsta rap was the dominant Hip-Hop genre. I liked this quite a lot, and thought it was very fun, if a bit juvenile in its humour. The jazz elements of it were great along with all the other instrumentation, the rapping was great, and the songs were groovy and bouncy. The skits were pretty funny, and it seemed that everyone involved just bantered and bounced humour and ideas off of each other in a great way. Probably the most fun 90s rap album I've heard so far. Favourite: Soul Flower - Remix

Very fun

Amaaaaaaazing. Legendary. Wonderful. Seriously awesome.

Pharcyde rode in on a new wave of more intellectual hip hop that was kicked off by the debut of Digable Planets. But they brought along with the little jazz motifs a lighter, funnier, and freakier side. Although it is super creepy, I've always loved the track 4 better or 4 Worse. Great melody and then the absolutely bizarre lyrics. Officer is also their trademark tune and I think the most popular on the album because it's hilarious. Ya Mama is classic Pharcyde bringing in a slew of disses that take us back to the block where this was the pastime. It's a great hip hop album and belongs in the marbled halls with De La, Digable Planets, and Jazzmatazz / Guru who were cranking out these awesome tracks in the early to mid-90's.

Ya Mama got a peg leg with a kickstand! So good, so fun, so enjoyable. Music from a bygone era, so long, long, long ago. Damn, we old.

Not really the kind of music I usually listen to, but it was fun to check it. It's easy to understand why it's part of this list.

Daaaaammmnnn. That shits was BANGIN. make you wanna throw ya hands in the air like ya just don’t care! Say heeeeeeyyyyyy, hoooooooooooo *audience responds* HEEEEEEYYYYYY HOOOOOOOOOOO

It feels wrong to rate this 5 stars as an incredibly white person but God damn this album goes hard

Scrappy but tight. Very little ego or need to prove anything to anyone, seems like they're all being pretty authentically themselves. Otha Fish is max relax, Quinton's on his way is the most feel good hip hop album skit of all time. Passing Me By is one of the all time great hip hop tracks. Pack the pipe got a bit dark but came straight back with Return of the B-Boy. Ya mamma's got a hairy tongue.

Definitely a little immature and silly but I also thought it was tons of fun and the music was genuinely strong

This was so damn good.

Great stumble upon Never heard of them or their songs Similar to De la soul, Tribe and Native Tongues

Great album, never really listened to old school hip hop

I LOVED THIS. Everything from lead vocals to background vocals to lyrics to cut outs to the moments in between songs were all great. I laughed out loud during Yo Mama and a few other times on the record. My favorites were 4 Better or 4 Worse. The phone call on that was great. I also loved Officer. I really loved them all.

I had never heard of this album, what a shame! It's excellent! A very nice discovery for me that will certainly end up entering my favorite hip-hop albums. A flow of thunder, breathtaking beats without being too flashy. I can't wait to listen to it again and read the lyrics more carefully.

Very interesting hip-hop album. I really liked it. No complaints.

Love every minute of it. Amazing samples.

Entertaining album from The Pharcyde - classic status, had certainly expected it on the list.

One of my favorite hip-hop albums. Lines are silly and fun. Tons of enthusiasm and energy. Huge fan of the jazzy instrumentation, tight production, and spontaneous samples. Plenty of catchy bangers, but even the less interesting tracks were made up by their humor. All this makes for a very accessible album, even the skits were melodic and nicely bridged the tracks.

Really cool hip hop album with jazz influences on the demos.

A good time

very cool

I really enjoyed this, had some great beats and was funny and inventive.

Heard it. Loved it.

A bangin bop.

Great. Fun compared to contemporaries but with substantive lyrics. Oh Shit favorite track.

Best album on here so far. Music still holds up in 2021. One of the most underrated rap groups of the genre.

1992 - Hip Hop