The Brag

The Pharcyde
A Bizarre Ride
By Benjamin Cooper

It’s not always a bad thing when two grown men laugh in your face – if those two men happen to be original West Coast rappers, for example. It’s very difficult to be annoyed at Imani and Bootie Brown, the core members of Californian hip hop legends The Pharcyde, as they giggle away while slagging off my crappy phone – they sound like they’re having so much fun. Once we’re over this hump, however, the complete professionalism of the two veterans kicks in: “We always do things properly, you can rest assured,” Imani insists. “It’s the complete package. That’s just how we do.”

Imani and Brown, known to their nearest and dearest as Emandu Wilcox and Romye Robinson respectively, formed The Pharcyde as a dance group in the late 1980s with Slimkid3 (Trevant Hardson) and Fatlip (Derrick Stewart). After championing producers like J-Swift and then-unknown J Dilla on albums like the Gold-certified Bizarre Ride II The Pharcyde and Labcabincalifornia, the band – now down to Imani and Brown – decided to self-produce 2004’s Humboldt Beginnings. Their sound may have evolved over more than two decades and through lineup changes, but the physicality and irreverence of their lyrics remain intact. Delivering such consistently high grade product for so many years makes Imani justifiably proud. “Quality will always rise to the top,” he says. “It’s never assured and you still have to work for it, and accept the help of others. But we have travelled a lot, and met lots of people along the way, so we’re still strong with our stories. Really though, there’s so many factors that have helped us to be here. It’s a blessing every day we’re on tour.”

The two consider Australia to be a particularly enticing destination. “The great thing about coming to Australia is that now we actually know people out there,” Imani says. “It will be like seeing family members, except ones you really want to see. A lot of times when you’re on tour you don’t know what the place is going to be like. You don’t know what the food is going to taste like, or what parts of the city are good to walk around in… Now we’re fully prepped to find the good restaurants wherever they’ve been hidden. I ain’t talking about the expensive ones necessarily; I mean the classy ones. We try

to be of class and give back the love wherever we can, so coming back to Australia is going to be great – we’ll just be chilling with friends wherever we go. The great thing about Australia is I feel like even if we didn’t know people someone would still look after us and show us a good time. It might not be quartz crystals, but it will still be comfortable and happy. It just seems so much more relaxed down there in Australia, even the traffic, and the sky…”

It’s little wonder that Australia has had such a lasting impact on Imani; Pharcyde were last here in 2009 for the extravagant summer tour of Good Vibrations, which saw them playing alongside luminaries like Fatboy Slim and The Roots. The festival environment presents unique challenges, Imani says. “You got to be smarter; you get the drifters who won’t necessarily know anything about your music, but they’ll still check it out and stay if it’s any good. Making it any good is the tricky part.” Brown interjects: “But then when you get your club shows, it’s completely different again. That kind of [gig] is much more intimate, so we seem to get the die-hard fans coming out in support. We can connect more with the crowd and control everything more, which means a better show for those die-hard fans. That’s important, because we like to think we’re all part of a fraternity. The Pharcyde Fraternity.”

Whether they’re at home or on the road, Imani says the inspiration to create music is constant, so he tries to have basic instruments and recording equipment within reach. “I feel naked if I don’t have the stuff I need to make a beat,” he explains. “It’s not difficult for me to put together the things around me to make [one], so it doesn’t have to be too complex or anything, but it’s better if I have actual gear. The way I see it is that if we really want to be writers, we have got to have the gear and the drive to just do it… Like some kind of Superman, disappearing into a phone booth.” And will the ideas have to come as fast as a speeding bullet? “Well, you never know,” he muses. “Jay-Z might call up and be all like, ‘Hey Fellas, I want to hear your ideas for a beat.’ If I can’t be useful right then, that’s a wasted opportunity.

“I was reminded of that recently when we were in London for a while,” Imani continues. “We were hanging out with Ghostface Killah, killing time at his show and watching his set. He asked me to start turning out some idea for a song he had, just while we were sitting on the couches. It wasn’t a problem at all because it’s how we came up in this game – we can turn it on whenever it needs to happen. We were never meant to be signed, and we know we don’t owe nobody nothing, so we just have fun in this industry while we can. It’s good.”

In spite of the noise they make about having fun and staying positive – and as much as they clearly aren’t beyond poking fun at themselves and their genre – The Pharcyde have achieved their position thanks to a relentless work ethic in the studio and on the road. “The real truth is that you must first do ten thousand hours – then you will be a master of your craft,” Imani sagely advises. “See as much music and MCs as you can, and learn about true quality. Being able to differentiate between ordinary and excellent is very useful, and not everyone can do it.”

“Everything we’ve all been doing is preparing us to enter through the golden gate, and the timing has to be just right. Thankfully we can practice our rapping skills while the gate has been closed, but when the golden gate is open we will have to be ready. It could be a while off though, so we must keep practicing,” Imani says. “And who knows?” Brown chimes in. “By the time [the gate opens], your phone might even be working properly…”

What: Pharcyde’s ‘20 Years Of Dedicated Pharcyde Delivery’ Tour
With: Computer Jay, DJ Vickone
Where: The Beresford
When: Wednesday August 22