"Soul Flower," The Pharcyde (1992)

Overlooked. Indomitable party jam from 1992. Now is the time of year to try it on.  

Pharcyde a west coast branch of the De La Soul/A Tribe Called Quest school of Native Tongue golden age hiphop. That's my golden age, anyway, Run-D.M.C. to Pharcyde, 1984ish to 1992ish. I've always felt like The Chronic in '92 changed everything, not for the better. It set the blinged out gangster stage that ended in the violent deaths of Biggie and Tupac Shakur. I kept up with and liked the G-funk singles but something felt lost in the imperial chart busting warlord melodrama of the hiphop world after '92. But much bigger authorities than I consider, by contrast, the whole 1990s the real golden age of hip hop, and the second half even better than the first half. 

I'm not ready to draw that conclusion yet but admit one reason I can't is because I wasn't listening to as much hiphop after 1992. Why? I got married. Playing blustering raps about "niggas" and "bitches" when hanging out with the wife didn't work. I tried a few times on car trips. The Wu-Tang Clan was too much cursing. 

So I'm still learning about a huge explosion in local underground hip hop after the Chronic that goes way beyond what I knew. Just in Seattle. Vitamin D. Tribal Productions. 14 Fathoms Deep. Do The Math (1996). I'm sure the herb helps but the laidback grooves, the warped late night soul classics vibe, the cut-up funk of the serious hiphop DJ head, works for me. I dig, as we used to say. 

Anyway, back to the topic at hand, bumped into Bizarre Ride II the Pharcyde again recently. It is Daisy Age hiphop gold and not to be missed by fans of the genre. Pharcyde keep that funky group music making thang going; Sly and George Clinton proud godfathers. And there's more than "Soul Flower" on the album: "Officer," "Ya Mama," "Passing Me By," "I'm That Type of Nigga" (which I usually don't go for, as I've already established, but they are so funny and on the nose). 

Here's a version with The Brand New Heavies featuring The Pharcyde from the same year, '92, but maybe came out before Bizarre Ride II the Pharcyde: