The Music Tank

In the early to mid 90's, a group out of California changed up the rap game. This group was The Pharcyde. From their breakout hit "Passin' Me By" (1992's Bizarre Ride II the Pharcyde) to "Drop" (1995's Labcabincalifornia), they established themselves in the left field of hip-hop. This crew of breakdancers heavily relied on on sung-out raps (that's right, way before Nelly), jazzy loops and absolute chemistry that transpired through the songs. The group consisting of Imani, Bootie Brown, Fat Lip & Slim Kid Tre went on to collaborate, on their second album, with a young producer out of Detroit, namely Jay Dee aka J Dilla.

A few records were released afterwards (Plain Rap) and several b-sides were released but so seemed the heydays of the group were behind them. In the late 90's, Fat Lip left the group to focus on solo projects and a few months afterwards, Slim Kid left the ship as well, leaving Imani & Bootie Brown loners of The Pharcyde. They went on the release 2004's "Humboldt Beginnings" which was poorly received by fans.

Now a reunion is in full effect as the group is scheduled to play at this summer's Rock the Bells festival in NYC. Fader magazine had the chance to hook up with all four members of the group for a session of Q&A. You can check out the interview over here and be sure to look for Fader's new issue online.