The Pharcyde (pronounced /ˈfɑrsaɪd/) is an alternative hip hop group from South Central Los Angeles, where the group's members grew up. The original four members of the group are Imani (Emandu Wilcox), Slimkid3 (Trevant Hardson), Bootie Brown (Romye Robinson) and Fatlip (Derrick Stewart). DJ Mark Luv was the group's first DJ, followed by producer J-Swift and then J Dilla. The group is best known for the hit singles "Drop", "Passin' Me By" and "Runnin'", as well as their first album, Bizarre Ride II the Pharcyde.



Pharcyde group members Slimkid3, Bootie Brown, and Imani met as dancers in the late 1980s and dancing was their main ambition as late as 1990. Around this time, Imani and Slimkid3 were in a group called "As Is" and later a group called the "Play Brothers", whilst Bootie Brown was a backup dancer for Fatlip (Fatlip being the last member to join the group). Bootie Brown recalls that their earlier dancing careers influenced their rapping - "sometimes the way I rap is almost like the way I used to dance". The group met Reggie Andrews, a local high-school music teacher who worked with the Dazz Band and Rick James, and who was a major musical influence on their debut album. The group also met producer J-Swift around this time, as he was Reggie Andrews's "star pupil" according to the book Check the Technique.



The Pharcyde recorded their first demo in 1991, containing the songs "Passin' Me By", "Ya Mama", and "Officer", and hired a manager, Paul Stewart, who had worked for Cypress Hill, De La Soul, and House of Pain. Mike Ross of Delicious Vinyl heard the demo and the group was signed to the label in the summer of 1991 - they were first featured on Brand New Heavies's album Heavy Rhyme Experience, Vol. 1, on the song "Soul Flower", released by Delicious Vinyl in 1992.



The foursome, with producer J-Swift, recorded their first album Bizarre Ride II the Pharcyde, released in September 1992, and was eventually certified gold by the RIAA in 1996. The album was highly acclaimed, and became one of the most praised and influential alternative hip hop albums of the 1990s.



Their second single "Passin' Me By" became a minor Billboard hit, peaking at #52 on the Hot 100. The song was later featured in the hit movie Big Daddy and was also a crossover modern rock hit. The song is now usually considered a golden-era staple and is the group's most well known song. The album featured a couple of guest MCs, Bucwheed (known then as Buckwheat, formerly of the alternative hip-hop group The Wascals) on the tracks "On The DL" and "I'm That Type of Nigga".



Problems between the group and producer J-Swift began during the recording of the debut, with infighting and "personality conflicts". J-Swift started a crack habit, from which he is still trying to recover - a 2007 documentary, 1 More Hit, was made about his attempts to recover from his addiction and to regain his music career.



After the Bizarre Ride album was released, the group began touring with A Tribe Called Quest and De La Soul, culminating with an appearance at the Lollapalooza show in 1994.



In 1994, Pharcyde appeared on the Red Hot Organization's compilation album, Stolen Moments: Red Hot + Cool. The album, meant to raise awareness and funds in support of the AIDS epidemic in relation to the African American community, was heralded as "Album of the Year" by Time Magazine.



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Single: Passin Me By

