Review: The Pharcyde at Freo.Social

The Pharcyde at Freo.Social
w/ Mali Jo$e, Charlie Bucket, Royce & S-MAN
Wednesday, February 21, 2023

Last Wednesday, alternative hip-hop pioneers The Pharcyde brought their 30th anniversary tour (that started in 2022) celebrating their classic debut album Bizarre Ride II the Pharcyde to Freo.Social, and the WA hip-hop heads turned up to represent. The group’s breakup in ’95, after only two albums, was one of rap’s greatest tragedies. So touring with Fatlip for the first time since then was a special event, and the Californian crew proved they still know how to rock the joint!

Formed in 1989, the group was comprised of Tre ‘Slimkid3’ Hardson, Derrick ‘Fatlip’ Stewart, Imani Wilcox and Romye ‘Bootie Brown’ Robinson. All but Fatlip were dancers in the L.A. underground scene of the late 80s and even danced on the legendary comedy sketch show In Living Colour (featuring a young Jim Carrey and Damon Wayans). The L.A. natives shot to fame following the release of their debut and found themselves touring the world with like-minded acts A Tribe Called Quest and De La Soul.

These groups ushered in a new sound for the '90s, in a time where gangsta rap dominated the airwaves. The new genre was clumsily coined ‘conscious rap’ to differentiate it, as it combined clever, dextrous wordplay with humour and social commentary. The Pharcyde’s debut featured smooth, sample-flipping beats and upbeat, jazzy grooves, silly skits and four diverse and talented MCs. It was a truly influential West Coast hip-hop classic, which Kanye West once declared his all-time favourite album.

The Pharcyde fire blazed bright, but their success as a group was short-lived. Following the release of their second album in 1995, Labcabincalifornia, problems emerged within the group, resulting in Fatlip leaving. Their follow-up record may not have been as big as their debut at the time, but it has since become legendary, partly due to the production by the late, great J Dilla. The MPC maestro was a young, budding talent at the time, and the classic track Runnin’ was Dilla’s first big single and helped establish him as a talent.

After the break-up, Bootie Brown and Imani continued on with the name to less success, and Fatlip went on to a successful solo career (including the awesome What’s Up Fatlip? and famously featured on The Chemical Brothers track The Salmon Dance). But now the group have reconciled, with a full reunion on Fatlip’s 2022 album Torpor and the track My Bad. Sadly, Bootie Brown chose not to join them on this tour, but for many, this was the closest they’d ever get to seeing the original group.

Rising local star Mali Jo$e had a great opportunity in support and impressed many of the early crowd with his smooth flow and soulful laidback vibes. More of a young, modern style of rap, he was a well-suited choice for support. Mali’s tracks often feature other rappers, and he brought some of his local Freo crew to the stage to join him, with the posse bringing a real live energy. He ended his set with some acknowledgments: “Always was, always will be. Free Palestine. Long live hip-hop.” Amen.

Following Mali, to take us up to the main event, was the perfect entrée: three of WA’s most iconic hip-hop DJs, Charlie Bucket, Royce & S-MAN aka “3 tha hard way", going back to back to back and mixing up an absolute classic selection of tunes. Taking turns behind the decks, the trio of Perth veterans really got the energy and anticipation popping with an A+ mix of '90s jams.

The trifecta of decknicians dropped some golden-era nuggets, including Definition by Black Star and Sound of da Police by KRS-One, Mobb Deep’s stone-cold classic Shook Ones Pt. II, the jazzy grooves of Digable Planets’ Rebirth of Slick (Cool Like Dat), and the timeless Souls of Mischief’s 93 ‘til Infinity.

The atmosphere was set, and pretty soon The Pharcyde’s tour DJ E-Swift from Tha Alkaholiks took the stage, working the crowd to fever pitch with a few more classics, including 93 ‘til Infinity yet again and Cypress Hill’s How I Could Just Kill a Man.

Then finally, it was time for The Pharcyde, and they burst onto the stage with their classic diss track, Ya Mama. “Your mama got a glass eye with a fish in it.”

They jumped to their sophomore album for some Bullshit, and then when they said “Do me a favour and drop!” everyone knew what time it was, as they launched into Drop!, one of their finest tracks, notably featuring the familiar Beastie Boys’ Ad-Rock sample and the famous backwards video directed by Spike Jonze.

The trio had great presence and moves on stage, a youthful energy and dynamic working together with solid harmonies, effortless cool, and impressive bars.

For the funky Soul Flower (Remix), they gave a shout out to Bootie Brown and let his verse play on a backing track. The crowd was getting into it, and the boys seemed to be enjoying themselves too, appreciating the energy. Sporting a trucker’s cap, shoulder-length hair, and a grin, Fatlip called out, “It's lit in here tonight!”

They brought up the green lights for Pack the Pipe and got down to it with Oh Shit—working the crowd and getting people involved—at one point requesting a singalong from “not just the pretty bitches, but the ugly ones too,” proving they still hadn’t lost their cheeky, juvenile sense of humour.

They dedicated the next one to Reggie Andrews, a mentor for them in LA and a local high school music teacher who taught J-Swift, the producer of their debut. Their signature tune, Passin’ Me By, sounded great, and they gave more props to Bootie by playing his opening verse a cappella. The crowd was lapping it up, but after She Said, it was time to wrap things up and they left the stage.

But we knew pretty soon they’d be back to drop one notable omission. Fatlip explained the story about how in ‘95 they were working on a new album and went to New York to try and work with Trugoy (RIP) from De La Soul. He was too busy, but he gave them a tape of this young kid producer. “On the tape was written JD… You know what that stood for!” They finished things off in style with the timeless Runnin’ featuring that unmistakable Dilla beat and gentle acoustic guitar loop, which caused the crowd to go wild.

It's great to have The Pharcyde back after all these years. They seem to be enjoying themselves and are as tight as ever, showing why they are regarded as such an important group in the history of hip-hop, making you nostalgic for the days when rappers really knew how to rap. Maybe if we’re lucky, they’ll make some new music and come back soon, and possibly even convince Bootie to join them this time.

ALFRED GORMAN

Photos by Linda Dunjey