Let me be real: when I first heard of this project, my initial thought was, “oh good god, this is like some throwback-packers wet dream but haven’t we pillaged the depths of the golden era catalog enough already?” Sure, I love the Pharcyde and Tribe but the idea of mashing up the former’s lyrics over beats inspired by the latter just seemed too nostalgia-sizzled. It’d be like bringing back Cross Colours gear or something.
But then I listened to the whole thing and even I couldn’t resist. This is great. And not simply because it is a nostalgia trip but because it’s done really really well. It’d be one thing if remixer Amerigo Gazaway simply put Pharcyde acapella verses atop old Tribe instrumentals. Instead, Gazaway put considerable thought and production work into crafting tracks that are clearly nodding to the Tribe originals but aren’t direct instrumentals. His tracks breath and fit far more organically with the Pharcyde lyrics. The version of “Runnin” sounds perfect over the interpolation of “Electric Relaxation” but then, midway through, shifts into a flip on “Get a Hold.” Again: perfect.
And hell, that’s probably not even the best remix on here; that’s probably “Otha Otha Fish” which is such a tour de force that I don’t even want to talk about it. Just listen:
Not everything necessarily works this well. For whatever reason, “It Ain’t Nothing Like” felt like a poor fit but to be honest, I never loved the original Pharcyde song so maybe I’m biased there. But overall? Thoroughly fun and enjoyable experience. Get with it.
chatter