Bizarre Ride II the Pharcyde is the debut album by the American hip-hop collective the Pharcyde. It was released on November 24, 1992, through Delicious Vinyl. The album was produced by former group member J-Swift, and features a guest appearance by 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 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 tha Funkee 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. However, on the strength of the second single, "Passin' Me By", the album was certified gold in sales by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on March 28, 1996.
Conception
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 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. Upon leaving, he recommended them a school friend, John "L.A. Jay" Barnes. L.A. Jay helped the group with the production on the final song, "Otha Fish".
Accounts differ on the duration of the recording process, with Slimkid3 saying it took nine months, while Mike Ross says it was six or seven months. The group left a song off the album called "My Man", due to it being unfinished and the label deciding to wrap the album because of inner group conflicts. According to Bootie Brown, the group intended to record four or five other songs for the album. "It wasn't a complete project", says the artist.
Music
Lyrical content
Much of the album's acclaim was due to the eccentric, comedic content provided by the four emcees, who were described as a "pack of class clowns set loose in a studio" by Rolling Stone. with topics including masturbation and murder. On the single "4 Better or 4 Worse", Fatlip dedicates an entire verse to prank calling, in which the rapper spouts insane and psychotic threats while a confused female victim continually threatens to call the police. by artists including James Brown, Donald Byrd, Sly & the Family Stone, the Meters, Quincy Jones, Jimi Hendrix, Roy Ayers and Marvin Gaye. Aside from the samples, Swift also provided piano, bass and rhodes on the album, and fellow producer JMD provided drum arrangements.
Release
Bizarre Ride II the Pharcyde was released on November 24, 1992, through Delicious Vinyl. eventually peaking at number 75.
Singles
Bizarre Ride II the Pharcyde featured four singles, all of which were accompanied by music videos. The group's debut single, "Ya Mama", originally from their 1991 demo, was released by Delicious Vinyl in June 1992, peaking at No. 52 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, and No. 1 on the Hot Rap Singles chart. The song was later featured on the soundtrack to, and in Adam Sandler's 1999 film Big Daddy. The song is now considered a classic hip-hop single. The album's third single, "4 Better or 4 Worse", was released in mid-1993, and featured the stoner song "Pack the Pipe" and the throwback track "Return of the B-Boy" as its B-Side. The single did not reach any Billboard chart. The final single, the SlimKid solo track "Otha Fish", was released in late 1993. The song became the second charting single from the album, though not as highly placed as "Passing Me By", reaching only the Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales chart. In 2012, all four singles were re-released in a limited edition box set.
Critical reception
At the time of its release, Bizarre Ride II the Pharcyde received mostly positive reviews. Entertainment Weekly James Bernard called the album a "freewheeling hip-hop cabaret", commending it for being humorous.
The Source Brett Johnson saw the Pharcyde as a combination of the "off-beat charm" of De La Soul and the "intense enthusiasm and energy" of Leaders of the New School. He commended the instrumentals, which he described as a blend of "soulful pianos and organs" with "head-nodding basslines", as well as the group's vocal performance, but also thought the group might struggle to gain acceptance among the hardcore hip-hop audience. "The question many will have to answer for themselves is whether a trip to the Pharcyde is a step backwards or a leap into the future?", concluded the writer. NME thought the Pharcyde created "their own sonic Utopia, a world that's by turns riotously funny, twisted, mostly right-on and brooding with noir-ish cool". The magazine placed Bizarre Ride II the Pharcyde at number 39 on their 1993 year-end list of best albums, calling it a "cartoon-strip of blunt-smoking antics, sexual innuendo and unashamed political incorrectness, crammed with infectious funky beats". Charles Aaron, in his review for Spin, named Bizarre Ride II the Pharcyde "one of the most musically vivid hip-hop records of the year", but added that "it's hard to hype a group so confused amused about itself". Rolling Stone placed the album on their list of the best recordings on 1993, calling it a "fusion of punchy rhythm and loopy rhyme".
Retrospective
In the years since its release, numerous publications have recognized Bizarre Ride II the Pharcyde as a hip-hop classic. AllMusic's John Bush hailed the album for the "amazing rapping and gifted productions", "easily some of the tightest and most inventive of any hip-hop record of the era", but thought it might be challenging for new listeners due to a lack of catchy elements.
| 2006
| style="text-align:center;"|73
|-
|Best Rap Albums of 1992
| 2006
| style="text-align:center;"|4
|-
|Billboard
|Best Rap Albums of All Time
|2024
| style="text-align:center;"|90
|-
|Ego Trip
|Hip Hop's 25 Greatest Albums by Year 1980–1998
| 1999
| style="text-align:center;"|6
|-
|Paste
|The Greatest Debut Albums of the 1990s
|2023
| style="text-align:center;"|21
|-
|Pitchfork
|Top 100 Favorite Records of the 1990s
|2003
| style="text-align:center;"|80
|-
|Robert Dimery
|1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die
|2005
| style="text-align:center;"|*
|-
|rowspan=2|Rolling Stone
|The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time
|2020
| style="text-align:center;"|482
|-
|Chris Rock's Top 25 Hip-Hop Albums
|2005
| style="text-align:center;"|5
|-
|The Source
|100 Best Rap Albums
|1998
| style="text-align:center;"|*
|}
Legacy
Released at the time when West Coast was dominated by gangsta rap of N.W.A and G-funk sound of Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg, Bizarre Ride II the Pharcyde offered an alternative to these styles, while embracing a jazz-influenced style of East Coast groups like A Tribe Called Quest. Despite its moderate commercial success, the album was hailed as a hip-hop classic by both journalists and listeners. Kanye West named Bizarre Ride II the Pharcyde his favorite album.
Influenced by the changes in their lives brought on by their rising popularity, the Pharcyde's second album, Labcabincalifornia (1995), featured a completely different style. Largely produced by then-unknown J Dilla, it was panned by music critics on release, However, over the years, Labcabincalifornia received critical acclaim, which the author Andrew Barker linked to the increased popularity of J Dilla.
Track listing
All tracks produced by J-Swift, except "Otha Fish", produced by L.A. Jay and SlimKid3. Track listing and production information is taken from the album's liner notes.
Personnel
<small>All information is taken from the album's liner notes.</small>
! Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums
! Top Heatseekers
|-
| 1993
| Bizarre Ride II the Pharcyde
| style="text-align:center;"|75
| style="text-align:center;"|23
| style="text-align:center;"|3
|}
Singles
{| class="wikitable"
|-
!rowspan="2"| Year
!rowspan="2"| Song
!colspan="4"| Chart positions
|-
! Billboard Hot 100
! Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks
! Hot Rap Singles
! Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales
|-
| rowspan="2"|1993
| "Passing Me By"
| style="text-align:center;"|52
| style="text-align:center;"|28
| style="text-align:center;"|1
| style="text-align:center;"|6
|-
| "Otha Fish"
| style="text-align:center;"| —
| style="text-align:center;"| —
| style="text-align:center;"| —
| style="text-align:center;"| 35
|}