Labcabincalifornia (1995)
Classic Status
by Josh B.
Almost all “alternative” hip-hop heads will agree that the first Pharcyde album, Bizarre Ride 2 the Pharcyde is a classic, which I agree with. Dropping in 92 there was nothing like it. Sure there were other groups rocking jazzy beats with positive lyrics but Pharcyde was different. They were able to put out a party record that was crazy, funny, dirty, carefree, and honest. They were young guys growing up in South LA and they wanted to talk about their experiences that did not involve gunplay and G-Funk. You would also be hard pressed to find another group that utilized a Fender Rhodes like them either. I mean besides The Roots who else was? Now you might be asking yourself “Why isn’t he doing Bizarre Ride as a classic status?” well it is because most people already know that is a classic. What a lot of people need to realize is that The Pharcyde has two classic albums not just one, something that a lot of critics seem to not recognize. Which brings me to the 1995 CLASSIC Labcabincalifornia.
The fact that an album as good as Labcabin got made in the first place was amazing in itself for several reasons. It had been three years since the foursome released their gold selling first album, they had been touring non-stop for all three of those years. They had their first taste at how unfair record labels could be, and there was a large bone of contention developing between members Fatlip and Slimkid3. It had been brewing since their first album but had escalated during the years leading up to their sophomore effort.
Instead of trying to duplicate the success of their first album they embraced the fact that they were more mature and represented themselves as such on the new album. They also decided to take more control of their musical direction by parting ways with J-Swift who produced the majority of their first album, and decided to split the production duty between themselves and a pre-Ummah Jay Dee (J Dilla) as well as DJ-M Walk and D.I.T.C. producer Diamond D.
The result is amazing. Considering all of the collaboraters on this album from the different producers to the four emcees, it could have sounded like an uneven jumbled mess. Instead it is one of the most cohesive sounding hip-hop albums of the 90s. Lyrically the members of Pharcyde are more honest then in their debut. They wax philosophical about friendship, love (and everything that comes with it), the consiquences of sleeping with groupies, their definition of success, wack emcees, and just life in general. The productions, heavily lead by Jay Dee, create a laid back vibe for the whole album. The beats are lush and even though upon listen you can tell it is a mid 90’s album it does not sound dated at all. It is just as listenable today as it was when it dropped in 95. You can even hear Dilla’s influence on the other members productions as they use a lot of the same drums and sound modules he used as well.
Overall this is an amazing, introspective and honest album. It will invoke nostalgia to anyone that listens to it. Even if you were not around during this particular era in hip-hop history. I think a lot of the so called "Emo" Hip-Hop heads could learn a thing or five if they would just sit down and listen to this record.
It is hard to pick a favorite track on this album because they are all gold but Tre's singing delivery on "She Said" would wake Mr. Freeze's wife up out of her coma. Fatlip's verse at the end of that song is money in the bank too, which is ironic considering that those guys got along the least and it is only them on that track.
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