Reviews (page 7 of 9)
Solid album. It's like listening to an episode of In Living Color. Thoroughly enjoyable.
Decent hip-hop album, I really like the jazzy intro that sets the stage. I enjoyed the playful nature of the record, while still providing that powerful commentary that most rap/hip-hop is known for. The jazz backing gives it a huge bonus - the smoothness of the backing music seems to boost the smoothness of the entire album. Fave tracks: Oh shit, 4 Better Or 4 Worse, Otha Fish
Pretty good hip-hip album. I enjoyed the use of jazz/funk samples. I did find the record scratching got to be a bit repetitive by the end of it, would have just preferred that to be omitted entirely. Fav Tracks: Oh Shit, Passin' Me By
Didn't know the group beforehand, but within one minute I knew exactly what type of album it was is gonna be, and within half an hour I knew I liked it a lot (and even recognised bits and pieces). It's not completely distinct from other alternative hip-hop acts I've heard and liked; it's funny, goofy, groovy and hooky like your De La Souls, your Tribe Called Quests, but... I think moreso, on all counts? Just a really fun time, lyrically and musically, and it kept me entertained long past the point in rap albums where I usually lose interest.
p691. 1992. 1 star Another shit hip-hop/rap album. Wannabe Beastie Boys but without any talent.
A classic hip hop feel, but with some questionable lyrical content mid-way through. Overall, an easy and enjoyable listen.
Mmh ok
Fun take on psych rap
American HipHop. Not hoping my way.
Didn’t finish the album and I enjoyed some of what I heard. Difficult to rate but as I probably would never revisit I’m going to give it a low 2*
Not bad as far as the genre goes. Sounded a bit like ICP.
Love deze!
Prima
Jazz-influenced beats and rather silly lyrics make this a refreshing departure from the darker hip hop prevalent at the time. A fun listen.
A bit torn on this one, has some of the better wordplay and bars I’ve heard from a hip-hop LP in a while but the vibe just felt off due to some stale, repetitive subject matter. Reminded me of a less wholesome Tribe Called Quest
Funny and vibey
Good irreverent rap, feels like youthful inspiration. It's nice to hear something that doesn't take itself too seriously.
hl: "I'm That Type of Nigga", "Soul Flower", "Passin' Me By", "Otha Fish" As far as West Coast rap goes, well I prefer this to Straight Outta Compton 3.5 August 29, 2023
Well this is certainly early 90s hip-hop. A healthy mix of flow with a cup of profanity and a splash of suggestive behavior. Didn’t do enough to distinguish itself from the rest of the era for me.
I got a letter the other day from the dmv the other day, I opened and read it, it said THEY WERE SUCKAS. I laughed out loud. Such a fun album, you can tell they had a blast making it. Oh Shit is hilarious too and the line in Ya Mama at the end where he says “your mom was an extra in the Simpsons” was hilarious.
C+ 4 Better Or 4 Worse* 3 Oh Shit 2 It's Jiggaboo Time (Skit)* 3 4 Better Or 4 Worse 3 I'm That Type of Nigga 3 If I Were President (Skit)* 3 Soul Flower (Remix) 4 On the DL 3 Pack the Pipe (Interlude)* 3 Officer 2 Ya Mama 3 Passin' Me By 3 Otha Fish 2 Quinton's on the Way (Skit) 3 Pack the Pipe 2 Return of the B-Boy 3 I knew this album from either Conor Clapton or Liad telling me to listen to it years ago. Can't remember which one. I liked it more this time, but it still was pretty average. Definitely better than the competition though.
A pretty fun classic hip-hop record that unfortunately doesn’t really push itself or come across too memorably
Bought this on release and loved it but aged badly.
Fun, high energy, classic hip hop. Musically, the beats are tight and the samples are perfectly placed. Lyrically though, this album is all over the place. One moment, they're not taking themselves seriously enough. The next, the group is introspective, politically aware, and vulnerable. The next, they're transphobic, womanizing, and glorifying violence. It might have been 5 stars for me if not for that.
First hip hop album I’ve listened all the way through. Great for working and focusing and was a great experience 8/10
Enjoyable listen. NWA meets Beastie Boys
Some interesting musical motifs, but a bit juvenile for me 2/5
Hell yeah this is great. Infinitely cool flow.
Every beat seemed exactly the same, just a constant rap over the same drum pattern. Yes, the old bit of levity and the odd hook but mainly just a tedious reboot of the last song.
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
no my type
Not something I would usually listen to but I enjoyed it. From an era when hip hop was fun, songs had a tune and were not about shooting and killing.
sounding a bit like young black teenagers met the fresh prince of bel air
Enjoyed the playfulness of this album. Nice jazz vibes throughout
I dunno, it's fun, but none of it is sticking with me particularly, and I usually love this kind of thing. Officer isn't on Spotify, did Chuck D make em take it down? Enjoyable enough. Passin me By and Otha Fish are grooves.
I really enjoyed and Passing me By is a ckassic
Pretty good. I liked it
I didn't realize Gary Larson could rap as well
Well - I didn't hate it. Expect when they had vocals. Then I hated it.
esta padre, osea yo creo que con otro mood hasta hubiera guardado una canción pero justo creo que hoy no estaba en el mood para este mood.
Good in places. Some meh towards the end.
It was good, but longer than i needed
Hipppyhoppy
Instrumentals are really pretty great, I can't lie about that. Having been born in 1995, I was not really old enough to enjoy '90s hip-hop at its peak, so this genre isn't one I visit too often. Lyrics still catch me off guard sometimes. This is a higher 3 than Snoop Dogg's Doggstyle (wow this project is giving me SO MANY hip-hop albums this week), but I can't give it a 4.
Really good album
Classicly fun hip hop with many recognizable bangers.
Great, and the skits were at least musical.
it was fine but i’ll never reach for it again
BIG FUN
fajne!
a solid rhythm section, and generally pretty agreeable rapping, even if it's very dated and saturated in black urban culture. I'm not huge into hip hop, but I can get down with this. some of the timbres and textures work really well, and help to elevate it past just being everyday hip hop. 3.5/5
Not really for me
Classic 90s hip hop
Do you have a child's mind. Boy do I have an album for you!
cool beats but a bit extreme lyrically for me
Fun and funky hip-hop, as has been noted in other reviews the lyrical content is of the age and somewhat dubious but there are fresh beats and cool melodies too
I quite enjoyed this- it felt retro and earlier than 1992 to me. It's fun to listen to but no more than that.
ok 6.5/10
Nice classic 90's hip-hop. Passin' Me By I knew but the rest were unfamiliar.
Love the flow and the groove
I really liked this, it’s fun to listen to and musically it’s the exact kind of hip hop that I like. However, a lot of the lyrics are juvenile and outdated, which is less to my taste.
Je tapote du pied et regarde ma montre
ça m'est pas désagréable mais j'en garderai pas non plus des souvenirs vivifiants
This was okay. Not up there with the other rap albums that were coming out at the time though.
This was kind of fun at points but mostly just annoying
Some of the lines on here are great but this album is long and unfocused. I don't think I'll be listening again.
Quite interesting rap album from early nineties. Full of funky beats and flow, with, at times, really funny lyrics and verses. Rather positive album, it was flowing nicely both in the background and when focusing on the songs. Easy listen, but definitely won't be coming back to this position.
Nice hip hop stuff with positive vibes. Felt a bit messy stylistically in places but fun.
I quite enjoyed the humour on this, along with the samples. That was a decent jazz vibe to some of the tracks. I found it hard to locate any reference points. This sounds like a unique album. Unfortunately it's also far too long. Plus some of the lyrics haven't aged well.
Yeah ummmm I didn't make it past the first song Too much cursing lol
Uhm, no. I guess it's cool cause 90s rap? But I'm not real big on the vulgarity.
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
Neato
Your mama got snake skin teeth Your mama wears coat hangers for earrings, dude she looks like Your mama was making sex threats to Ricky Bell and shit Your mama jacked the Kool-aid man for a sip, nigga Your mama was walking down on Sunset with a 99 cent sign on her back (You're a sellout) Your mama's a sellout nigga your mama Nigga your mama did a pop tune nigga Your mama's glasses are so thick she look into a map And see people wavin' at her Your mother got an Ouija board on her back Sidney with EQ and everything what he be sayin' His mother be hooked, fishin' with a hook and reel at the frozen food section Tre's mama got Playdough teeth Your mother be eatin' Daytons like Now and Laters and shit Your mama's an extra on the Simpsons and shit Your mama's so fat you can't even see her legs It just looks like she's just gliding across the floor I mean really, those rhymes are tight. 4/5
Can't fault anyone for having as much fun as these guys are! And plenty of bangers and top notch samples too. 3 party hats out of 5. 🎉🎉🎉
Textarnir eru ekki allir mjög merkilegir, en ég er að fíla þessi beat og heildargrúvið allt saman. Barasta ljómandi skemmtilegt.
I’m a bigger fan of Labcabincalifornia but this is still great.
bopped my head
Very fun
Amazing album - great production and instrumentation. A big fan of the skits that occur periodically too. Extremely memorable.
2.5
Amaaaaaaazing. Legendary. Wonderful. Seriously awesome.
A bit better than I thought it would be!
Haha heerlijk album, hele enge tekst af en toe.
Goed album, erg van genoten. Passin Me By is een klassiekertje!
Old school rustige rap, niet bijzonder goed maar gewoon lekker
Really fun jazz rap record with wild vocal deliveries. I really liked this one.
Oh shit!
Heard it before?: No Enjoy it?: It’s decent but not my kind of thing Favourite song: Track 8 - On the DL
Good in spots, not particularly good in others. An unenthusiastic 3.
Original style, some new ideas, some formula
Rap duro. Malardo, puro ruido.
really like this super fun very 90s all here for it
Nä tack
Before today, I had never heard of the Pharcyde. They are a rap/hip hop group from the west coast of the US. The various members of this group all have excellent flow to their vocal delivery, and the beats and music achieved on this record were amazing. This is classic hip hop for sure! Some of the themes sung about on this record were hilarious, like in the song "Oh Shit" when the singer realizes he is being hit on by a transvestite. It reminded me a lot of "Funky Cold Medina" by Tone-Loc. As I've said before, I don't know what the obsession with dumb fucking skits is in hip hop/rap groups, but they can be found on this record too. I hate them, and find that they distract from the flow of the rest of the album. Overall, a surprisingly awesome listen today. I will definately listen again!! Favorite songs: Oh Shit, Return of the B-Boy, Officer, Ya Mama, I'm That Type of Ni**a, Soul Flower (Remix), On the DL, Pack the Pipe Least favorite songs: all of the dumb skits (4 Better or 4 Worse Interlude, It's Jiggaboo Time, If I Were President, Pack the Pipe Interlude, Quinton's On the Way), 4 Better or 4 Worse, Otha Fish 4/5
This is the type of album that will require multiple listens for me to fully appreciate, but the quality of the group is so crystal clear. Score another point for 90s hip hop. Favorite track: Passin' Me By
Jeg er i virkeligheden nok mere til hiphop-singler end hele albums!
Soul Flower Remix! A favorite!!
2023/03/22
Never heard this before but its a deep soulful fun rap album. The cuts/samples are lush soft and deep.. Its kinda a west coast rival to 3 Feet High and rising.
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.
It certainly was a "Bizarre Ride" in the Pharcyde's debut. Apparently not the first bizarre ride they had been on though? Mixed in with some quality hip hop were some peculiar choices both in songs and skits. "4 Better or 4 Worse" felt like a skit mixed with a song, and to very odd effect. "Quinton's on the Way" was another outlandish skit. I guess we are supposed to be on an unconventional odyssey, though. What is the origin of skit interludes on hip hop albums anyway? It's an intriguing part of the subculture that is really only part of hip hop and R&B as far as I know. At the end of the journey, the Pharcyde produced some good work, but I would definitely rank them below their contemporaries like De La Soul, Tribe Called Quest, and others. Their weirdness and lewdness mixed with a flow and funk that probably inspired some strange departures from the alternative hip hop core in the years to come.
Enjoyed this. Except that weird serial murder-y one while I was walking alone in the woods no thank you.
I wish there were some otha songs like Otha Fish.
Loved the jazz rap but kinda fell off in the middle
Once the beat got going it was hard to stop.
More fun than Public Enemy or NWA. I love the roots it planted for Jurassic 5 and Gorillaz.
Did not finish the album beginning was meh
Nothing special…
This wasn't a completely miserable 90s hip hop experience which puts it above about 50% of the other such albums I've gotten so far. I can't think of a song I thought stood out (maybe I'm that type of nigga) but I mildly enjoyed listening to the whole thing for the most part.
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.
Brand new to me, was pleasantly surprised
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
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.
It feels wrong to rate this 5 stars as an incredibly white person but God damn this album goes hard
Excited to have finally listened to this album, iconic and enjoyable.
Like the piano and acoustic drum kit. Totally recognize some tracks. Has moments that I can groove with, but just isn't speaking to me.
Jazzy beats with light-hearted and often (sometimes too often) goofy lyrics. “Passin’ Me By” and “Ya Mama” are standout tracks. The interludes are automatic skips.
The track Officer is missing on Spotify.
I'm not a big fan of rap and hip hop, but I quite enjoyed this album. It was funky and fun, some songs more than others but overall it was good.
Known album,.classic
That was a waste of time.
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.
As someone who really doesn't like rap music, I found this album very listenable - in large part to the jazzy accompaniment, I'm sure. The skits were a bit annoying, but still I listened to the entire album - quite a feat for a rap record.
Sometimes you hear an album that makes you feel it's like something you like but you just don't vibe with it, this is one of those for me. It reminded me of a parody NWA album, why wouldn't I just listen to NWA and enjoy myself.
Not bad, but not great
8/10 pretty cool
Definitely a little immature and silly but I also thought it was tons of fun and the music was genuinely strong
Really fun and playful hip-hop. The beats are jazzy and funky too. Just an enjoyable listen all around.
Thought this was an abstract hip-hop album from the bizarre production alone - and although that’s a good way to summarise the album, it’d be doing this classic a disservice. this album is hard as FUCK, and how! the beats, the bass, the delivery, the rhymes - everything ranges from generational at best to good at worst, and you can guess that everyone involved in this project were at their peak. if I were to listen to one song on this album alone, though, that would be ya mama. I don’t think any ‘your mom’ jokes have anything on this song - the worst line from this song would smash the best ‘your mom’ joke straight out of the water.
Vibrant, fun, high energy. The flows and beats on this thing are constantly interesting and fun. Favorite tracks: "Pack The Pipe", "Passin' Me By", "Oh Shit"
Ik kende het niet, het begon leuk, vrolijke jaren '90 hip-hop, niet te serieus enzo. Lekkere beats, diverse instrumenten, al met al een positieve vibe. Maar al na een paar nummers merk je dat de nieuwigheid er van af is en is het vooral veel van hetzelfde. Leuk en verrassend genoeg in eerste instantie voor 3 sterren, maar niet meer dan dat. Jammer, want ik dacht aan het begin dat dit 4 sterren potentie had.
Really not good. Pretty generic and uninspiring.
Iconic early 90's hip hop with great beats and a smooth jazzy sound.
Different. Better than grand Master flash? Maybe
Love the beats but not in love with the lyrics
I liked this one quite a bit. Lyrics are not the best, very over sexualized and kinda cringey. Looking past those though it has good beats and flow
Weird, wacky, wonderful fun. A very enjoyable album. Substance-wise, there isn’t too too much there to latch onto, but enough for me to give it an above average rating. 4/5
8/10
High 3 but Passin Me By gets it to a 4. Crazy to think we haven’t had any Tribe yet…..
good so far. like rnb rap i think doron used to cite this album so points for nostalgia
I had not heard of this group or heard any of their music before, and I enjoyed it. Although the lyrics can be quite juvenile at times, it's different in that there's real wit behind of a lot of it. The album sounds like they are genuinely having a lot of fun and that's catchy. The beats and rhythms are great, and the emcees nail it with their phrasing and timing. Some standout harmonies, too -- I liked what I heard driving 'Soul Flower (Remix)' for example. Once again, grateful to this project for introducing me to so many albums, artists, and styles I doubt I'd ever come across on my own, including this record. Nicely done.
Pretty bad 2
Very cool
Classic
Was planning to give this 3 stars with a note to say 3.5/5 but, on further listening on the drive to work this morning, it's a funky 4/5.
4/5
This was so damn good.
so fun
Kunnia kolmosta. Ei oteta itteensä liian vakavasti tässä näin. Hupsuttelua.
Passin' Me By had my toe tapping
Much better than expected! 3/5
This thing is pretty fun. Rambunctious while still somehow being casual and laidback. Love the humor and the silly personal stories from the different emcees. 7/10
Not my type of music, was trying to give it a good go, but had to skip some. Saved tracks: If I Were A President, Soul Flower, Passin’ Me By
loved. saw a lot of influence other artists/songs have had from this album... super cool
This is just a ridiculously fun album. I like that it doesn’t take itself seriously. Still can’t believe there’s a song that’s just Yo Momma jokes. It’s a bit of a product of its time, especially with the instrumentation, but there’s a good amount of qualities that still hold up today. It is, in fact, a pretty bizarre ride! Faves: Soul Flower, Passin’ Me By, Otha Fish
Lord of bits that have been sampled in future songs and undoubtedly influential. But wow we’ve come a long way in lyrics…
J'ai vraiment aimé la musique, je me suis retrouvée à danser presque tout le long, j'aime le flow des chanteurs. Mais la misogynie et la violence (harcèlement) de certaines paroles le rendent plus difficile à avaler et font que ça vieillit moins bien.
i can see why this is influincial but not for me first song was great tho
It was alright, but I don’t really like it when albums try to be comedic, since I feel like they usually fail.
Great stumble upon Never heard of them or their songs Similar to De la soul, Tribe and Native Tongues
Rerating
Massa o hiphopzao
For rap....it wasn't bad....
Interesting rap album that doesn’t take itself too seriously, great beats and flow but nonsense lyrics, this would have been a huge hit with high school kids at the time.
Jazzy and funky, but a bit too aggro for my taste
Suprisingly good, albeit pretty childish at times. The flow and the beats are super satisfying, and a lot of the songs do stick in your head. Only issue, as mentioned, is the lyrics can be so vulgar they're hard to ignore at times, but otherwise very good.
Most of the time I prefer hip hop like this album, with simple beats and good flows. But when I stopped to listen to some of the lyrics, they were.... weird? I did like the whole song dedicated to "your mama" jokes though
okay rap sound. Not my favorite genre.
All bad.
Tämä oli parempi kuin odotin ja aika söpö. Tämmöinen vanha hiphopmikälie on niin kilttiä. Hokevat shit sitä ja shit tätä ja kuulostaa samalta kuin kiroileva taapero. Ihanat. Muutaman biisin jälkeen kuitenkin hieman kyllästyin, kyllä tätä varmaan kuuntelisi enemmänkin, jos ois kavereiden kaa tai rantakahvilassa tai jossain muussa letkeässä paikassa.
Tää ei kyl erityisemmin sytyttänyt. Kävi äkkiä tylsäksi 2/5
Tää on yksi absurdeimmista levyistä, mitä on. Minusta biitit ja rapparien flow on ihan rap-historian eliittiä, mutta sitten nää kaverit vetää ala-asteläppää :D Kuitenkin tuo kepeä ja letkeä jazz-tunnelma on sinänsä huikea ja harmittaa, kun rapissä on ollut sellaista niin vähän ysärin alun jälkeen. Esim. Kanyen ekoilla levyillä on toki pieniä viitteitä siitä. Tietty ymmärrettävää, että totisemmassa ja yhteiskunnallisemmassa meiningissä on ollut paljon enemmän tarkoitusta ja syvyyttä. Noh, joku nostalgiakersa minussa antaisi tälle melkein 5/5, mutta pitää noiden lyriikoiden takia nykyään se yksi tähti sakottaa.
Eh ei ihan tää kolmikymppinen puoliläppä-räbä ihan iske. 2/5
This is light-hearted and funny 90s hip hop. Not my genre (to be honest, the funniness is as much "not me" as the hip hop, I often don't relate to "humorous" lyrics) , but it's easy to hear that the production was richer and lusher than earlier 90s hip hop and this would have been a precursor to some of my favorite hip hop sounds. I like the layering of samples, the different voices, the jazzy vibes. That said, I probably won't be listening to this again, the language is crude and the humor doesn't speak to me.
I’ve said it many times before, but I’ve always felt my least knowledgable genres are hip-hop and jazz. I’ve never come across Pharcyde before, so am excited to hear them for the first time today. Songs I already knew: none Favourites: Soul Flower (Remix), Passin’ Me By This was a pleasant surprise for me as I wasn’t sure quite what to expect. The music is kind of funk/soul with Pharcyde rapping over it, and it works well. I often got the feeling that it was a bunch of friends all having fun together which ended up with songs being made, and that often shines through. Whereas a lot of hip-hop tends to focus in on money and women as lyrical themes (and don’t get me wrong, Pharcyde does this too at times), there are also songs like Ya Mama and the interlude Quinton’s On The Way which shows they don’t take themselves too seriously. Overall, a pretty good album.
I had no idea what I was expecting going into this and based on the album cover I didn't have high expectations. As someone who doesn't listen to hiphop, I thought it was great.
6/10. piola las canciones, si hubiesen sido mas chistosas (q claramente era la intencão) le tiraba un 7.
Nuce
Very odd and very funny. Talks about all sorts of nonsense that mainstream hip hop didn't (and still doesn't). Very enjoyable, if pretty lyrically dense.
“Got more rhymes than 7-11’s got Slurpees. If Magic got AIDS, then yo I got the herpes.” (Awkward pause) This album is WACKY in such a good way.
I can't deny that I like a lot of the backing instrumentals in this album, but the lyrics for the most part were truly terrible! I can get why people like this but it's not for me
Funky misogyny...funkogyny?
Great album, never really listened to old school hip hop
Not my style, but a solid record after all.
Sort of goofy at times but wicked sounds overall
It was a bizarre ride. I liked it but it also was sillly innwqys thatbdo not hold up and can be grating. Glad to hear it but it is not a classic.
not great yo momma an extra on the simpsons
Silly, but kinda fun I guess? Living in the fresh Prince of belair land. A bunch of mates got together and made some silly tunes and words, kudos to you. Some tracks particularly silly and I liked that, everything's ok! But not ok enough that I feel the need to listen again
Like De La Soul but not as good
Love how these guys sound like they are having lots of fun. Great samples and cool melodic stuff in the rapping
Really enjoyed listening to this. The lyrics are hilarious and I loved all the jazz samples. Not sure if I’ll listen again but really fun record
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.
74/100: I saw one review of this album that said The Pharcyde was clearly a talented group but perhaps didn't take themselves seriously enough on this album. I tried to ignore this review and approach this album with a fresh and untainted mindset; however, either independently of this review or because of it, I found myself thinking the same thing. With that being said, I think my view is slightly more nuanced than the original reviewer. While I agree that The Pharcyde's laid back attitude definitely doesn't do this well-produced and impressive album any favors, I think there's a place for jokes in music, even rap music. Not every rap album has to be about the same hard tropes. I think this album essentially full of "your mom" and penis jokes was actually really refreshing due to it's novelty. Despite that, though, there's a reason it's novel. It gets a little old after a while. I don't typically listen to music to laugh nor do I think most people, hence why there's not much demand for albums like this (and therefore not a large supply of them, econ lesson for you all). Overall, I enjoyed this album, but did not really vibe with it by the end.
I like some Pharcyde but this didn't hit the spot
It was a really good album. Didn't quite live up to expectations, but really good nonetheless. Might be a 4/5 album, but I'll have to reassess my feelings in the future. 3.5/5
MOR American Hip-hop
Classic old school hip hop. It’s amazing how many other rappers have borrowed ideas from this album
Trip Hop is a genry that got old pretty quickly and most of it was kind of just forgotten by everybody, except for the real masterpieces that struck out like that first album by Tricky. Like Portishead and Massive Attack there's a certain sexiness to Tricky's music that contrasts with the dark, sometimes industrial beats that goes with it. It's like you're neevr sure if you're on the verge of getting some sexy time or just about to die in a horrible manner. Maybe it's both.
Another nice discovery in the world of hip-hop. The album is quite long, but doesn't get annoying or boring. That's worth a 4 stars to me!
I dont really know hiphop so each album in the 1001 is almost a discovery for me. This one was really good. I would like to enjoy it in a car roadtrip or during a bbq.
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.
Great album loved the jazz samples and back beats.
Aggressive, jazzy, chaotic, kinda funny all at the same time. Pretty interesting contrast.
Interesting storylines, good beat
Pretty neat. Humorous lyrics and thumping beats.
Passed me by.
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dope as hell 4 stars
Good stuff
Listnened Before? N Good album. Perfect alternative style to the gangsta rap of the era. I enjoyed it... although the themes were pretty juvenile at times it was better than murder and drugs 24-7. Added to Library? N Songs added to playlist: Passin' me by
I like the sound, the phrasing, the quirky bars, but the content could be updated a bit. I guess that's the price of listening to early 90s hip-hop. Yo mamma et.al. was a thing.
I really enjoyed the deep bass, good humour and playfulness of this
as much as I do not like rap, this one is ok
This is so weird and at times very silly. And it doesn't help that I'm not that much into hip-hop. I have to admit that it grew a lot on me because at first I wanted to completely disregard it (especially after the unnecessary gore parts of 4 Better Or 4 Worse). There are two tracks that I really enjoyed - in big part due to exceptional instrumentals: On the DL, Passin' me By - and I'll definitely be coming back to those. Ya Mama gave me a chuckle too. All in all I guess this must have been interesting back in the day but for someone completely outside of the genre it's just a weird record with annoying lyrics and at times great instrumentals. 2.5/5
From the minute I put this album on, I was having a good time. It was early 90s hip hop with a strong funky beat and some heavy jazz influences
3.5
Really liked this. It was really playful and I just enjoyed the whole thing. 4/5
Pretty good! Comedy rap can age badly, and there are a couple of tracks that do not stack up, but it’s not all jokes, and there are some great beats here. And of course, “Passin’ Me By” is an all-timer. B
FINALLY a hiphop album. Great energy and dynamics between all the members, very lush and groovy backing tracks, I'm a sucker for this jazz rap stuff. Really good flows, very varied. I like how fun and goofy it is too, it really sounds like they're having fun in the studio and just goofing around with each other. Some of the skits can be a lil annoying but I'm never one for skits
Interesting, some good catchy bits, might need to listen again to pick up on the story
I might've liked this in highschool, but even though the beats were really good in places, the humour got tiresome
Not a rap fan
Never heard of They Pharcyde before. Two tracks in I knew this album wasn't for me. Shortly after that, I knew that I didn't have to finish listening to this album in order to give a complete review. Nope. Please give me my time back.
Very interesting hip-hop album. I really liked it. No complaints.
Nope, not for me.
Alright but didn't take itself seriously enough, which is odd. The beats and sound was great, not to mention most of the songs, but too many tunes were ruined by the insistence on burp noises and your mum jokes. A bit of a shame really, because it could've been fantastic. A decent record
Look -- I don't really know how to judge if this album is good, but I didn't enjoy it
This is a nice respite from the rap of the era. The lyrics are comical and humorous. The sampling is slick and varied. Somehow I am just not in the mood for it this morning.
Dæma skal ei plötu eftir umslaginu. Það á sannarlega við hér. Ég bjóst við einhverju aaaaaaaaaaaaaallt öðru þegar ég horfði á myndina. En svo var þetta bara nokkuð skemmtileg plata, early 90s hip hop/rapp/drum'n'bass. Já já. Hefði alveg dansað í drasl við þetta í gamla daga.
It's entertaining enough but I keep feeling I'm missing what made these early 90s rap albums transcendent.
This is fine... I like that it doesn't take itself too seriously, but it does feel a bit lightweight. I don't see what makes this stand out as particularly memorable, if it was the first of its kind (which surely it wasn't in 1992?) then maybe you could class it as innovative, but I don't think it particularly stands out. Beginning of the album sounds like the kind of rap that a GTA character would make. The guy's got a good flow though, shame he didn't make more interesting music. 2/5.
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?!
Hip hop. Coñazo.
It was just ok Maybe a 3/5 or a 2/5
Enjoyable, bouncey, some of it familiar. Often stupid and funny. Good samples, good beats, they were all clearly having a good time. It's just a sorta feel good hip hop album.
If I had to describe what I thought Rap would've sounded like in the early 90's, this is pretty much how it would sound. Immature, crude and jazzy, that doesn't take itself too seriously, it could get a whole lot worse than this album. Enjoyable enough, in a weird half-satisfied type of way.
I liked the beats more
Loved the beats and the flow but playing it in the office was a bit of an issue.
Very jazzy! Solid beats.
Prefs: Oh Shit, I'm That Type of Nigga, Soul Flower, Officer, Ya Mama, Otha Fish, Pack The Pipe, Return of the B-Boy Moins pref: 4 Better or 4 Worse
Quite a fun album. Much better than most of the formative rap that has been included so far. Solid 4/5
Never heard them before - liked it
This shit slaps
Good hip hop album
Product from it's time, it's fun tho
Alright early 90s rap album. I can see the appeal and how in the 90s these guys were influential and talented. I found some of their songs to be a bit annoying which can happen with 90s rap songs when they’re repetitive. The beats were solid and lyrically it was ok. I don’t think I’ll revisit this one much but it was ok. 6.3/10
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.
Fun but the skits just drag the rating down
Solid
I guess if it's your genre preference, it might be good... but definitely the worst of the albums I have listened to thus far.
I love the music - it's really funky old school rap. And the rap is pretty good as well. However - a personal pet peeve of mine is albums that have actual filler on them - comedy tracks, tongue in cheek tracks, and the worst offenders of them all - SKITS and INTERLUDES. I'm never going to relisten to these stupid things - so they are literally a waste of time. And SKITS and INTERLUDES seem to have found a home on pretty much all rap albums. Just stop it. Outside of this - I like this album - it's pretty good.
A fun album
This album can't really be taken seriously. The lyrics are comical at times, and overall it's just a fun album. Instrumentals and beats were solid.
Generic.
Love every minute of it. Amazing samples.
Likely to be one of the funniest albums on the list, The Pharcyde evoke an earlier era of hip hop where a posse of rappers swap verses and lines. What is also striking is the guys are not interested in braggadocio and fronting as so many rappers are - The Pharcyde play up to a goofy, outside image and rap about whatever they want. The production is excellent throughout and there are some great and off beat beats and samples. Overall a superb and entertaining effort.
It was fine, as far as hip hop goes, just not something that I enjoy very much. I liked the Oh Shit song. 2 stars.
Liked it.
Lyrically ehh. The music behind the lyrics is ok. Pretty basic, very background music sort of jazz vibe. I don't think it holds up to a lot of the rap that came after in the 90s/00s. I prefer Arrested Developments release in the same year which holds up much better.
I'm there is some very humorous and interesting raps on this generally decent sounding recording. Musically it's just not interesting enough to grab my attention enough for me to put the effort into finding out, unlike a group like A Tribe Called Quest. 3 🌟
Entertaining album from The Pharcyde - classic status, had certainly expected it on the list.
Good instrumentals, but rapping too shouty.
Funny and melodic raps!
The Pharcyde make their mark upon hip-hop with this aptly titled album, taking strange twists and turns through subjects and soundscapes that serve as a calm before the storm that would soon infiltrate the genre for the next couple of years. Favorites: Oh Shit, It's Jiggaboo Time, 4 Better or 4 Worse, Soul Flower, Officer, Ya Mama, Passin' Me By, Otha Fish, Return of the B-Boy.
At last something other than unlistenable sludge
Upon first listen, the music nor the performances feel as adventurous as it could be. Overall good rap album with hints of jazz, clearly something very inspiring for other artists. Will re-listen to it as the songs seemed too homogeneous the first time around.
Not for us
Pretty excellent beats and lyrics, killer golden age of hip-hop record.
classic chill vibes
I liked this a lot. It’s quintessential 90s hip-hop.
can't believe there was a yo mama joke there
J’ai bien aimé ça. C’est un peu come du Tribe Called Quest, mais avec beaucoup d’énergie et peut-être un peu moins de concision.
Un album incontournable du Hip Hop des années 90. La pièce Passin' Me By est la plus remarquable de cet album. On la retrouve dans beaucoup de playlists de cette époque. J'aime beaucoup la production avec la construction des beats à partir de pièces jazz. On est quelque part entre Cypress Hill, A Tribe Called Quest et De La Soul. Le côté festif de cet album est très contagieux. J'aime beaucoup.
The beats get a 5, everything else, a 3. Sounds like a bunch of people got high and yelled whatever into the mic. Not a bad premise but it’s goofy as hell.
I just couldn't get into this album or artist. The beats were good but the lyrics and themes are dated and hard to understand.
Not crazy about it.
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.
Plain boring and unimaginative. A lot of the album felt like a terribly bad rip-off of the Bestie Boys.
Trailblazing sure, especially in respect to the fact the band side stepped gangsta rap to continue the daisy age vibe of De La Soul. Great fun raps with a nice array off beats. I had never listened to this before in full but had one of their later albums which I would blast while working in '95. I have to admit I struggled a little with this album as it got a bit messy - lots of ideas not all of them winners
For some reason the song officer isn’t on spotify so I’ll just skip it… The album opens with an interlude it isn’t great but sets the feel for the music that is about to happen. Then it’s oh shit, I like the way that this one builds up in the rhythm until the start rapping two rappers trade parts both I think are alright but it sounds like they’re trying too hard. It’s jiggaboo time is a dumb skit but it’s alright. 4 better or 4 worse is okay for the most part instead of the eating brains verse also i’am starting to think the beats that this group use are sometimes too in your face and it feels like a competition between the rappers and the instrumental. I’m that type of n**** has literally got the issue that I just said about the last song, but it’s still good the rapping is probably the most aggressive so far If I were president is also a dumb skit but it’s not alright. Soul flower feels a little dumb, but hey the rapping and the beat is kinda solid. It gets ever so slightly slower with On the DL I really like this beat for the song and the rapping is class but I’am starting to realise that they’re not that good at making a chorus usually just repeating the songs name again and again. Why so many Interludes dam you pack the pipe. < officer used to be here> I don’t think this group like my mum by the sound of ya mama, I think it’s trying to be comical which I like because I only really hear humour in music with 90’s hip hop stuff. The songs decent though. The sampled beats in passin’ me by have a great vintage crackle sound to them which works well for effect the rest is much the same of what’s came before in terms of pros and cons. Others fish is one of my favourites on the album not one bit aggressive and good beats. Some of the rapping is even a bit like he’s trying to sing! Quinton’s on the way is a dumb skit and just a dumb long skit. We’ve reached the penultimate track Pack the pipe it’s alright it has a bit of a “smoky” and “muffled” sounding beat, the lyrics are still sharp but the baby voices no, just no. The album ends with return of the B-boy it’s alright, a party to end the album. Yeah this is a 3 for sure I liked it a little but the tracklist is too long ( even with officer redacted from records) and the higher pitch rapper is horrible to listen to sometimes.
Good 90s hip hop. Nice to listen to a fun and funny rap group that contrasted the gangsta rap at the time, that is still really solid
Best Song: Passin' Me By. The most technically impressive rapping performance, that also manages to tell an interesting story and has a nice musical hook. This song feels very "of an era", but in a good way. Close second for "Otha Fish". Worst Song: 4 Better Or 4 Worse. The "deranged phone call" character from the latter half of the song seemed like it was somehow actually going to work, but it overstayed its welcome into a weird, sexually aggressive territory that kind of undid whatever cool there was. I did like his slow, stilted delivery though. Overall: A good album that sometimes feels dated, but still holds up to a modern listening. A lot of Hip Hop ends up aging poorly, so I was happy that for the most part the age of the album doesn't get in the way of enjoying it. I liked the chill backing instrumentals, but the real star is Pharcyde's ability to consistently flip and mix up his flow.
One of the more solid early 90s hip hop records with a mix of tribe called quest production and vocals that don't take themselves too seriously. Favorites: "Oh Shit", "Passin' Me By", "Otha Fish"
Definitely dated, but still wild and warped to perfectly convey their style
Classic. Goofier overall than labcabincalifornia
Just weird.
Ya Mama's musical taste is so bad she played Dwight Yoakam backwards through a hairdryer and still liked it
I can immediately see why this album is viewed with the reverence that it is. The jazz inflected occasionally hazy beats form the backdrop for energetic and innovative bars. The insults on this album are some of the best I’ve heard. This album oscillates between dated new school beats and beats that predict trip hop and jazz influenced hip hop. This album suffers from its own indulgence in parts, and ultimately ends up bloated. Some strategic cutting would have yielded a perfect album.
The album was fun. The beats were old school hip hop and the lyrics were funny and made me laugh. The album is about an hour long, but I did not skip any songs. It is not quite a 4 but I will round up.
Это Витя, это Витя, это Витя и Максим!
Cool drums Just 90-s, classic hip-hop; not sound of present; but great rare sound Prostite Za moy russkiy
Sometimes there are cool jazz beats here. Great skits. hip hop don't stop
Bad streak here.
Fun. I skipped over this at the time. I enjoyed it this time. Will I listen again? I'm not sure.
This is a crazy fun little album...way out of my listening range back in 1992, but thoroughly enjoyed it...just goofy and fun.
Fun, funny and funky. I've had a few gangsta rap albums recently, which I find totally toxic. This was a breath of fresh air by way of comparison. Enjoyable, if not super memorable. I wish the skits were gone. Passin' Me By is a highlight.
Quite a ride as advertised. The jazz and funk grooves are exceptional, the humour self deprecating and otherwise, but the misogyny has not so worn well. You could easily carbon date this to the early 90s.
Fun, light-hearted, good rhythms and "Ya Mama". Great stuff.