 |  | A new chapter in The Pharcyde |  |
Now only down to Imani Wilcox and Booty Brown (Fatlip was booted after the Labcabincalifornia Tour and Tre Hardson left after Plain Rap in 2000), The Pharcyde dropped their 4th album, "Humboldt Beginnings". The group seems have slowly re-vamped their style, gone are the sounds of Bizarre Ride and Labcab, and in are the continuations of Plain Rap -but even less then before- the duo has seemed to trade in their jazz influenced sounds for funky synthesizers. And even to some degree the concept of the songs has digressed, the first 8 songs have nothing to do with anything except herb (weed). I guess you could say two-thirds of the album is devoted to smoking, with the ups and downs. Looking past the commons, the duo has some enjoyable records; "Knew U" seems to be a long lost Labcab' cut from yester year, "Illusions" has a nice funky vibe to it, not to mention the idea behind the track -the illusions of the music game, fans, luxury, and all people alike. "Mixedgreens" has a nice soulful chorus not to mention a nice beat to improve an allready great sounding song. "Right B4" has more of a mellow R&B sound to it, making it a definant chill record. "Clouds" is one of my favorite cuts, an instrumental track with a nicely voiced woman constantly singing (mostly just harmonizing) and a nice trumpet to accompany it. On more of a synthesizer/funk trip is the song "The Bomb", which is about nothing other than smoking herb. "Choices" is about you being an individual and you deciding your own choices. "Dedications" reminds me of some young DJ Quik funky sounds, if you like Quik then, then you should enjoy this track. The only real downfalls of this album is its transition sounds, I mean any Pharcyde fan out there wants to hear more Bizarre Ride but thats long gone, adaption to the new sounds is the hardest part to be honest, you almost want to not like it because you have "Drop" (R.I.P. Dilla) stuck in your head. Overall this album is most suited for the herb enjoying, funky sound liking fans. Don't expect another Bizarre Ride, Labcabincalifornia or Plain Rap, this is another chapter in the Pharcyde's hopefully promising future. And dont expect any reunion anytime soon either, the memebers still like each other but 'Lip is solo and so is Tre, and its better off leaving it while it was good then coming back just to go down again on the same things over 10 years ago, and yes its been a while!
Overall- 3.75/5
Lyrics- 7.5/10
Beats- 7.5/10
Substance- 7/10
March 22, 2006and whats not is not, I love the songs that I love like knew you and Right b4 to name certains, what Im saying is the songs that are good but it if you are a true Pharcyde fan but if you are trying to get into them dont start with this they have matured with time so you will 2 if you take it from Bizzarre Ryde until Now.
December 8, 2005Imani, SpaceboyboogieX, Schmooche and Brown have evolved into a new flavor since the days of previous albums like Runnin' and Passing Me By, and remixing songs like Sublime's version of "Summer Time." Times have changed and The Pharcyde has adapted to the higher standards of craving for ill new sounds and techniques. Humboldt Beginnings covers a stratosphere of hip-hop singing styles, accompanied by drum & bass, jazzy-o-phonic revelations to reggae mixes backed by an expansion of their familiar lyricism. From life lessons established in "The Art of Sharing" to a focus on "higher living" in tracks such as "Mixed Greens" and "The Bomb." Humboldt Beginnings has a consistent uplifting feel through 22-plus tracks of electric head rotation.
Chad Inman
Synthesis.net
November 3, 2005 | | A solid release from The Pharcyde | |
This is a pretty solid CD from the group The Pharcyde. If you are expecting another "Bizarre Ride II the Pharcyde" you might be a little disappointed because the group has grown much since that 1992 debut. There is no high pitched rapper and the rhymes don't quite have that comedic edge as their early work. The album definitely has a West Coast feel to it production wise artists like Mystic, Heiroglyphics, Dj Quik, Digital Underground and Planet Asia came to mind. Speaking of Heiro, Opio is featured on an interlude not listed in the CD credits. Songs that I enjoyed include "Illusions," "Right B4," and "The Bomb." Pharcyde gets their reggae on a little bit with the song "Mixed Greens." Smoking weed is a common theme on the album. I enjoyed the album and the CD packaging is quite unique similar to Estheros "Wikked Lil Girls," the CD comes in a soft light blue jacket verses the standard jewel case.
Dorrie from Thabiz
July 19, 2005i dig "Knew U" but this Album feels like the Pharcyde are trying to go after the Neptunes/Outkast territory&while it's cool for novelty in areas it doesn't work for most of the Album.I dig there Older stuff. a few things here&there are cool but beyond that this Album ain't happening.
March 21, 2005More reviews at Amazon.com ...
