The Michigan Daily - Wda44, 44 . - Thursday, February 29, 1996 - 5B Pharcyde's latest album a step away from group's'Bizarre' past By Kimberly Howltt Daily Arts Writer The Pharcyde, a group of charis- atic MCs with a sense of humor, ave been proving that their serious skills on the mic extend far beyond the studio. Slimkid 3, Fatlip, Imani and Romey (Bootie Brown) definitely know how to rock it live. Plus, these dudes can dance. The Pharcyde's first album, "Bizarre Ride II the Pharcyde," which won the respect of the hip-hop world and be- yond, sounded like a bunch of rowdy ds with cartoon-like personas, rhym- i. g hilarious stories over twisted beats. They had rhymes that everyone could relate to, and hype beats that everyone couldn't help but bob their heads to. The Pharcyde seemed to virtually ex- plode onto the scene. They were slap- happy funsters, loopy pranksters, and most importantly they didn't take them- selves too seriously.. Three years later the Pharcyde re- Iased their second album, "Labcabincalifornia." This time, the hyper kids had matured. They let us know that they survived the hassles of the recording industry, and they are coming back wiser. The Pharcyde used to reside at the infamous Pharcyde Manor, theirformer house and studio. However, things got rowdy, and they decided to move to a calm, secluded new studio/house, the Labcabin', in upper-middle-class Los *liz, Calif. The transition between en- vironments is reflected in the music on, their latest album. When asked if that was the plan - new studio, new sound - Imani said, "There wasnoplan." His partnerRomey agreed, "Yeah there was no plan, that's just how it went down, you can't plan things like that." Even when there is a plan, plans tend change. According to the band, Wabcabincalifornia" was originally supposed to be called "Revelations." Romey explained, "Special Ed got the title first ...We were gonna do Revela- tions, we were gonna say different things. It was a whole different con- cept. (But) ... it wasn't like that, (and) we just decided to call it 'Labcabincalifornia." When Romey heard that Vibe maga- zine compared this album musically to *rly Sly Stone and mid-career Stevie my own band together actually. I don't know, it's not like no particular one person I would like to work with," he explained. "Yeah, it's easy to say you wanna work with somebody, but it takes a lot of practice and stuff. It takes a lot of time. People just wanna hook shit up, and think it's gonna automatically work, but it's not like that all the time." There's been talk of the Pharcyde hooking up with the Hieroglyphics crew. Romey said, "Yeah, you always talk about it a lot, as far as being with your people, you always talk about doing stuff together, but the timing is kinda hard, you know what I'm sayin'. Like being out on tour and everything and everybody's got different schedules, so it's kinda hard to do that kinda stuff." Imani and Romey agree that being on tour can get kind of tiring. But the Pharcyde maintain their sense of hu- mor. At the L.A. show, Fatlip even performed the entire set in nothing but a Speedo and a down vest. They also agree that one ofthe dopest things about being on tour is that it's like a nationwide record shop hunt. Even though Imani admitted, "I haven't bought any old records in a while. But I'm about to go make a purchase of the Fugees album and the Goodie Mob, 'cause they got some fat shit." The Pharcyde released an incredibly innovative video for their second single "Drop." Directed by music-video wiz- ard Spike Jonze, "Drop" breaks the tired mold of the typical hip-hop house party video. "It was cool (working with Spike Jonze)," Romey explained, "because he knew what he wanted to do, you know what I'm sayin'. There wasn't a lot of time wasted. He was like 'yo, you guys gotta do this,' boom boom boom, you know what I'm sayin'." The Pharcyde filmed the entire video while performing their actions backwards. The final footage is actu- ally played backward so that the band looks like they are moving forward while their surroundings are moving in reverse. The band even learned to say their lyrics backwards, so when the tape was played backwards their mouths looked right. "We had a linguist for about three or four days, so yeah, we had to kinda learn everything backwards with the rhythm," Romey explained. But don't let all this innovation make you too dependent on the Pharcyde for fresh hip-hop. Even with all their suc- cess and support, the band claims that they are only going to put out three albums. "Yeah, we're gonna put out some more music before the last album. But we're really gonna concentrate on mak- ing three albums," Imani explained. "We might make four, but I'm saying we're not gonna be making a gang of albums. We're not gonna have like 10 Pharcyde albums. You might get five. Maybe." All hope is not lost, however. The Pharcyde started out as professional breakdancers, and it's in their blood to keep performing. What's next for the band? "We're gonna just elevate. Keep building, creating and keep elevating You never know'what'll happen in the future," Imani laughed. "I just know politics sucks." No, the Pharcyde members are not really attached at their heads. They just thought it would make a cool photo. Clockwise from left are: Sllmkid 3, Fatlip, Bootle Brown and Imani. ~M ISO BORDEN FOOD CORPORATION CHEESE, ITALIAN FOOD AND SIGNATURE FLAVOR DIVISIONS Borden, Inc., a worldwide producer of foods, non-foods consumer products, and packaging and industrial products, is in the process of creating growing economic value by building brand strength. With investments of more than $1.3 billion for our growth and a clear strategy which builds on our strengths, we have tomorrow in focus. Borden Food Corporation's Cheese, Italian Food and Signature Flavor division are currently seeking creative and analytical MBA candidates to participate in our summer marketing internship program. Each of our interns will manage marketing projects in one of our business units including cheeses, Cracker Jack, ReaL-emon, Soups & Bouillon, Dairy and Pasta & Classico Sauces. Interns will participate in either managing existing brands or supporting the development of new products; analyzing and developing strategic marketing plans; forecasting sales, inventory plans and competition; developing, implementing and monitoring advertising plans;- and brand implementation which includes financial, production, sales planning, marketing research and packaging review. Qualified candidates must be first year students working toward an MBA. preferably with an emphasis in Marketing; demonstrated leadership and team participation skills; excellent analytical and problem solving skills; superior verbal and written communication skills; and a well developed sense of urgency. We will be on campus interviewing for our summer marketing internship on Monday, March 18th, please sign up for an interview at the Career Planning & Placement Office. I GOT1U BE GOOD Borden Employment Services, 180 E. Broad Street, Columbus, OH 43215 Phone (614) 225-4080 Fax (614) 225-7263 Equal Opportunity Employer M/F/D/V Wonder, he paused in amazement. "Damn, that's kinda cool," he said. "I never heard that before, that's my first time ever hearing that. That's pretty deep, pretty damn deep." Hip-hop in 1995 saw tons ofcollabo- rative projects. Almost every album had at least one track with old homeys dropping a couple of rhymes and show- ing theirsupport for one another. (Some- times it made you wonder if it was because there's a slew of MCs who can't stand on their own.) The Pharcyde's first album, "Bizarre Ride i the Pharcyde," included an ap- pearance from beat-master L.A. Jay. He was responsible for the slow, me- lodically eloquent remix of Otha Fish. When asked if they plan on working with L.A. Jay for remixes on this album Imani explained,"Aww maybe. He ain't always around, so we don't know. He has a project going on, him and Tre, they was working with Brian Austin Green." Even without the help of L.A. Jay, the Pharcyde have produced a second album that is musically moody, with echoing guitars, trippy chimes, and strong, hip-hop bass beats. And unlike many of their contemporaries' attempts at collaboration, "Labcabin"' is strictly the Pharcyde. In the future, however, Romey said he would like to work with people outside of hip-hop. "I want to piece 3 JOBS IN ADVERTISING are now available at r Eichrgan &aIJ NOW HIRING FOR SPRING/SUMMER AND FALL/WINTER TERMS * SELL ADVERTISING TO LOCAL AND REGIONAL BUSINESSES * MANAGE YOUR OWN ACCOUNT TERRITORY * MEET AND COMMUNICATE WITH BUSINESS OWNERS * CREATE AD COPY AND LAYOUT * WORK FOR AN EXCITING STUDENT-RUN NEWSPAPER " EARN COMMISSION-BASED PAY (INTERNSHIP CREDIT POSSIBLE) n' 1 A S .M .-f -11- L - v u- * r-i r"r-i U n r -r- i, i r iT-AF/-T A rV -M . -.--- W m. ,i.-0- I