The Pharcyde Bizarre Ride II The Pharcyde Instrumentals

Bizarre Ride II The Pharcyde is, simply put, one of the most perfect albums in the history of recorded music regardless of genre. From the lyrical flow of Slimkid3, Bootie Brown, Imani and Fatlip to the cover art by Fuct the project is the embodiment of excellence start to finish. Musically, the foundation of this perfection is the production work of J-Swift. His use of jazz samples, phat beats and live instrumentation had the ultimate effect of “creating their own sonic utopia”, as NME put it. As such it’s more than fitting that Pharcyde’s Bizarre Ride II The Pharcyde be released as an all instrumental outing. Swift’s adventurous use of samples from jazz, R&B, funk, classic rock and more melded with his personal additions of live instrumentation including piano, bass, and Fender Rhodes along with drum arrangements from fellow producer JMD create a lush, jazzy soundscape that works well as a stand alone recording. Though the west coast’s predominant G-Funk sound of the time or the east coast’s conscious kings De La Soul may have sold more records at the time, The Pharcyde and J-Swift’s work on Bizarre Ride has stood the text of time and continues to resonate with fans new and old in a way that few records have or ever will.