Bit late to the party on this thread ā looks like you have to start logging in earlier than Wednesday lunchtime if you want to get your fresh takes inā¦
Not got much to add to the comments on Pharcyde other than I agree with them all and to say @incandenza probably couldnāt have picked anything better to kick this thread off. Itās probably the album I recommend more than any other if someone ever asks me whatās a good introduction to hip-hop. Still play it at least two or three times a year (particularly when it gets sunny), and have done since it came out. Walked around with the tape in my blazer at school until it ruined the front pocket, and would stick it on whenever an opportunity arose. One of about three records ever that I reckon Iād be word perfect on.
Also, greatest live hip-hop band Iāve ever seen.
Only sad point about this album for me is J-Swift. Really wish things had turned out differently for him, as he could have been one of the greats. The rappers are obviously what hit you first on Bizarre Ride, but the beats are genuinely perfect. Has anyone seen that āOne More Hitā documentary on him? I want to watch it, but Iām a little nervous to be honest. Can someone please tell me that it has a happy ending?
On to KRS-One and again, looks like everythingās been covered already. Will always have a place in my heart for Mr Parker, as āCriminal Mindedā was, after Licence to Ill and King of Rock, the first hip-hop album I ever heard, and it properly blew me away. Absolutely agree with all the comments about him subsequently overdoing the āteacherā thing, but over those massive 808 beats, he just sounded imperial. I also still reckon that āMy Philosophyā is one of the greatest performances by an emcee, ever.
My own personal take on him is that it wasnāt so much his didacticism that let him down (although this certainly didnāt help), but more that he couldnāt adapt to the more sophisticated production that took off in the 90s. Quite a bit of the time he sounds slightly off beat (or at least behind it ā Mortal Thought on here is a good example).
His biggest 90s tunes ā Sound Of Da Police; Step Into A World ā all had relatively simple (and bombastic) production, and he could shine a bit more on those. Most of the production on this is fairly direct too. Think this kinda fits in with what @bornin69x and @littlebirds are saying about how this album kind of falls between two eras. (And on the topic of Sound Of Da Police: Dudes. Seriously? Youāre sick of this song? Because of trustafarians?? As far as Iām concerned, the cast of Made In Chelsea could line dance to it and it would still be one of the all-time greats).
Not sure Iād go as far as to call this LP one of the best ever, but it is really great, and certainly the last great KRS record. Listening again today for the first time in ages, it stands up really well. A lot of the deeper cuts Iād forgotten about are great. Prefer the beats on the first half - Premier is nailing down the sound that would inform his mid ā90s golden period (Outta Here is pretty much a āclassic Premier beatā blueprint) ā but the second half has plenty of highlights too, title track especially.
Last thing for any KRS fans who might not have heard this ā one of my favourite ever KRS tunes, and from the same period: