Gothic Theatre
Pharcyde
You’ve got so many groups talking about ‘the real’. Keep it real is about keeping it original and not trying to have some gimmick or follow some gangster trend. Keep it true to yourself and how you want to come off. People will accept that because it is real! MCs/producers Tre Slimkid Hardson, Derrick Fatlip Stewart, Imani Wilcox, and Romye Booty Brown Robinson formed an influential alternative-rap quartet from South Central Los Angeles, the Pharcyde. Hardson, Wilcox, and Robinson were all dancer and choreographers who met on the L.A. underground club circuit in the late ‘80s, worked together for a while, and served a stint as dancers on In Living Color. Stewart, meanwhile, performed at local clubs and eventually hooked up with the others in 1990. Under the tutelage of Reggie Andrews, a local high-school music teacher, the griop learned about the music industry and the process of recording an album. They landed a deal with Delicious Vinyl in 1991, and a year later released their eccentric debut album, Bizarre Ride II the Pharcyde, which went gold. After support slots for De La Soul and A Tribe Quest as well as a successful spot on Lollapalooza’s second stage in 1994, the group released its second album, Labcabincalifornia, which was calmer than their first but no less warped. After a five-year break, which saw little action except for the debut of Fatlip as a solo rapper (his single What’s up Fatlip became an underground hit), the Pharcyde returned in late 2000 with their third album, Plain Rap.
