Sample Breakdown - Bizarre Ride II the Pharcyde [1992] | The Pharcyde

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Bizarre Ride II the Pharcyde is the debut album by American hip hop collective The Pharcyde, released on November 24, 1992 through the Delicious Vinyl and EastWest labels. The album was produced by former group member J-Swift, and features only one guest appearance, provided by little-known Los Angeles rapper Bucwheed (known then as "Buckwheat" from The Wascals). In the years after its release, Bizarre Ride has been hailed by music critics and alternative hip hop fans, as a classic hip hop album along with Souls of Mischief's 93 'til Infinity,and has appeared in numerous publications' "best albums" lists.

Released during the dominant Gangsta rap era of West Coast hip hop, Bizarre Ride was described as "refreshing" due to its playful, light-hearted humor and lush, jazzy production. Along with albums such as To Whom It May Concern... by Freestyle Fellowship, and I Wish My Brother George Was Here by Del the Funky Homosapien, Bizarre Ride helped establish a new alternative scene on the West Coast, followed by artists such as Hieroglyphics, The Coup and Jurassic 5. Despite its wide critical acclaim, the album produced only moderate sales, peaking at No. 75 on the Billboard 200 album chart in 1993.

[Background]
High school friends "Slimkid3" (Tre Hardson), "Imani" (Emandu Wilcox) and "Bootie Brown" (Romye Robinson) began their career in the entertainment industry as dancers and choreographers under the moniker "Two For Two", making numerous appearances in music videos. Their most notable exposure came with a short stint on the television show In Living Color.While working on the show, the group met their future manager Suave, then a road manager for Candyman and Tone Loc. The trio met Derrick "Fatlip" Stewart and producer John "J-Swift" Martinez at an after-school music program called South Central Unit. The program's teacher, Reggie Andrews, taught the group about essential elements of the music industry, and later oversaw the group's writing and recording sessions.While attending SCU, the group recorded their first demo tape, which included the track "Ya Mama".In 1991, the group signed a deal with Delicious Vinyl Records, following a performance of the track "Ya Mama" at an artist showcase.Soon after, the group made their first notable appearance, with the track "Soul Flower", released on the Heavy Rhyme Experience album by the Brand New Heavies.

[Recording]
The four emcees, along with producer J-Swift, began recording their debut album in 1991 at the Hollywood Sounds studio in California, with Delicious Vinyl Records head Michael Ross overseeing the project as Executive Producer. J-Swift produced 10 songs and five interludes—15 of the album's 16 tracks. Before the completion of the album, Swift had a falling-out with the group over internal problems.

[Production]
Bizarre Ride also featured the acclaimed production work of J-Swift, who provides the album with a lush, jazzy soundscape through use of live instrumentation and sampling. Swift relied on a large number of samples, by artists including James Brown, Donald Byrd, Sly & the Family Stone, The Meters, Quincy Jones, Aside from the samples, Swift also provided piano, bass and rhodes on the album, and fellow producer JMD provided drum arrangements. These upbeat key arrangements and quick-paced drum loops provide much of the backdrop for the rapper's animated lyrical deliveries. Allmusic calls the album's production "easily some of the tightest and most inventive of any hip-hop record of the era."NME magazine stated, "The Pharcyde use jazz samples and phat beats to the ultimate effect: to create their own sonic Utopia.".An online review describes the album's unique musical atmosphere and layered production:

The music on the album is very lush and multi-layered, with a mixture of live instruments, turntable wankery, and samples from jazz, R&B, funk, classic rock and everything in between. Powerful beats pervade, with some of the most kinetic bass lines this side of funkadelic. The Pharcyde forgoes the minimalism that now dominates mainstream rap music, favoring intense rhythmic layering and a strong melodic element instead. Piano lines cascade down dropping bass lines while three or four vocal tracks attack from all sides. The music is jaunty, elaborate and even atmospheric in parts (consider the stoner rap anthem "Pack the Pipe"), all of it drawn tightly together with the band's satirical lyrical outlook.

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