Search - Pharcyde :: Plain Rap

An average album from one of the best

Brandon | Idaho | 02/10/2003

(3 out of 5 stars)

"The Pharcyde is my favorite hip-hop group probably of all time, but I still am not going to give this album 5 stars. There is no way that you can be a true hip-hop fan and listen to "Plain Rap" and tell me that this is the best or even one of the best albums of all time. The true peak of creativity for the Pharcyde rests in either "Bizarre Ride" or "LabCabinCalifornia", and in no way does this album exhibit the mood or direction that makes the pharcyde unique. I give this album 3 stars simply for Imani, Brown, and Tre's attempt to progress without the presence of Fatlip, but otherwise it would be quite mediocre. I have even read interviews by imani and booty brown themselves talking about how they liked making "Plain Rap", but it wasn't at all the direction they wanted to take. It seems to me like there must have been some outside influence (i.e., label pressure, creative struggles in between members) that made this album as dissapointing as it was. In don't blame them, there are few hip-hop pioneers from the late 80's and early 90's that have been able to produce a solid album within the final years of their career. It seems like GOOD hip-hop in the 90's used immaturity and rawness to it's advantage."

Solid return

Brandon | 01/13/2001

(4 out of 5 stars)

"After giving the world _Bizarre Ride II_ (a bonafide classic) and the mellow soul of _Labcabincalifornia_ (SHOULD be a classic) the third album comes out of nowhere, unfortunately sans the clever and always humble Fatlip. Thank god, there's next to nothing worth listening to in the scene today, because of "alt.metal" and endless puffy clones there's no innovation or life like there was in the scene back in the early 90s. Even the strong lads I normally count on, Wu Tang and Busta, on their latest discs basically mailed it in, but all you have to do is spark one and listen to "Network" to know what the score is - Pharcyde 3, rest of 'em 0. "Rush" is also very tight. Its even mellower and more soulful than _Labcabincalifornia_ so it may take you a few spins to appreciate the subtleties and align with the new perspective. The basic message has unchanged from day one : "Crews get together put some love back in the Network.""

A triumphant return

Paul Rice | Seattle, WA USA | 12/12/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"After Volume 1, I really was worried. Would they ever rediscover the genius and beauty they had in Labcabincalifornia? Never fear. They have. This is the slowest tempo Pharcyde album ever, and arguably the best. A couple songs are very R&B, with vocal harmonies which soar. I've always hated Bone because of their gangster influences, but the Pharcyde really reasserts their vocal ability here, as well as their lyrical prowess. Even without FatLip, if you dig Pharcyde, or even if you just dig HipHop, this is a cd you cannot afford to miss."