Track Listing

1. 4 Better Or 4 Worse - The Pharcyde
2. Oh Shit - J. Swift, The Pharcyde
3. It's Jiggaboo Time - The Pharcyde
4. 4 Better Or 4 Worse - J. Swift, The Pharcyde
5. I'm That Type Of Nigga - J. Swift, The Pharcyde
6. If I Were President - The Pharcyde
7. Soul Flower - J. Swift, The Pharcyde
8. On The DL - J. Swift, The Pharcyde
9. Pack The Pipe - The Pharcyde
10. Officer - J. Swift, The Pharcyde
11. Ya Mama - J. Swift, The Pharcyde
12. Passing Me By - J. Swift, The Pharcyde
13. Otha Fish - D.J. L.A. Jay, Slim Kid Tre, The Pharcyde
14. Quinton's On The Way - The Pharcyde
15. Pack The Pipe - The Pharcyde
16. Return Of The B-Boy - J. Swift, The Pharcyde

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #4848 in Music
• Released on: 1998-03-23
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: Explicit Lyrics
• Running time: 57 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
Like De La Soul's Three Feet High & Rising, The Pharcyde's 1992 debut came at a time when hip-hop was headed in one direction and the group were going somewhere else entirely. A crew of spunky b-boys armed with a self-abating sense of humour, The Pharcyde made an album that was fresh and profoundly honest. "Ya Mama" is a clever array of mother jokes set to cartoonish beats; "On the DL" has each MC unguardedly making self-denigrating confessions (like Fat Lip admitting to masturbating--previously a hip-hop no-no); and "Passin' Me By" is an ode to hopeless crushes on unattainable women. The group's playfulness was also infused with smarts, too, most visibly on "Officer". Recorded around the time of the Rodney King verdict, the song was an indictment of racial profiling--shrouded, of course, in a comic tale that parodied Public Enemy's "Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos". With animated beats from J-Swift (the West Coast version of Prince Paul) and four distinct rhyming styles, particularly Slim Kid Tre's melodiousness and Fat Lip's nerdiness, this album captures an innocence rarely seen in the music's posturing ways. It is something that this album captures forever. --Joseph Patel

CD Description
When the Pharcyde burst onto the scene in the summer of '92with its brilliantly disconnected grab bag BIZARRE RIDE II THE PHARCYDE, it seemed at first an innocuously enjoyable, goofy if somewhat lightweight disc. However, it would swiftlybecome clear that there were deeper waters stirring within the Pharcyde's rhymes and rhythms, and that the group's style was unlike that of those who came before.
The main distinction came in the Pharcyde's subject matters, which run the gamut from the usual sexual conquests all the way to rejection and masturbation. The group's lyrics are often reflective and vulnerable, bordering on self-deprecating at times. While many rappers who came before poked fun at themselves asa gimmick, the Pharcyde relates its rebuffs with confident candor as on its hit single "Passin' Me By", where one by one each member of the foursome recounts a story of a woman hedidn't get. Furthermore, though the samples used on the album are pretty much from the usual well (jazz and James Brown), there's something skewed about their interpretations. Oneparticularly revealing track is a throwaway half-skit/half-song "Quinton's on His Way", a juke-joint improv that's sincere and straight out of a Roaring '20s backroom.

Customer Reviews

the best godamn hip-hop ever made!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
'bizzarre ride to the pharcyde' has got to be an essential for any hip-hop listener. it is sure the fresheest album i have ever heard in the world of hip-hop. i can describe these guys in two words , 'genuine genius'. they do not boast the 'gangsta' image, or do not reflect the gentrification of the movement, they are pure and in it for the music. even down to the inlay cover, everything is perfect, it shows a wacky journey of leaness on a rollercoaster taking you to all different hights of fun and feeling!! the beats range from fast and kinda dancy old-school funk, to more relaxing vibes which show the heavy jazz influence in the music. and the MCing, the rhymes are all like poetry and the speed could sometimes be drum n' bass, exept always presenting something new and never repetitive. so crack on this album, it wont let you down!

Simply a master piece
This album is a must have for any true hip hop fan. Please go out and buy it now to be taught the real sound of the hip hop music. Still fresh sounding today. "Ya Mama" is a classic

Excellent debut from the quirky westsiders!
A bizarre ride it is indeed. What a debut! From the men that proved west coast does'nt have to mean gangster. This album pleases on so many levels. The production is tight, the rap styles were and still are fresh, and the beats get better and better. At times sentimental, at times thought provoking, but always funny, this album is a very rare thing indeed- a truly feel good rap album, from a time when rap was'nt 'supposed' to be funny. The album peaks a little over halfway and continues to thrill throughout the entire second half. It really kicks off with the hilarious 'Ya Mama', mellows out with 'Passing me By' and 'Otha Fish', and goes just about horizontal with 'Pack the Pipe'. The album's second half embarrasses the first half (which is'nt bad itself) just because it is so damn good! I have loved this album since its release. It really does get better and fresher with every play. If you have'nt already...jump on and enjoy the ride!