The Pharcyde
Subterania
Rating: ***

It was their swansong. Apparently. This gig at Subterania, one of the last dates of LA rap group the Pharcyde's 1999 European tour, may well be one of the last ever. Word has it that the Pharcyde will record one more album with label Delicious Vinyl, before leaving it to merge with another band.

The two original members of the loose-limbed, sharp-witted, whimsical group - Imani Wilcox and Romye Robinson, aka Bootie Brown - did not let on, as they glided and spun around the stage, Imani whipping up the sell-out crowd with the familiar vocal calling cards "When I say Phar, you say Cyde", "When I say Keep on you say Rockin' it." But they could not disguise the absence of Tre Hardson aka SlimKid3, who left the group three months ago.

The Pharcyde's distinctive rap style, combines world-weary, boisterous machismo with outlandish, comic book humour, and emotional honesty. With founder member Derrick "Fatlip" Stewart already having left in 1998, now two layers of the "four way kaleidoscopic vocal maze" that characterised 1992's Bizarre Ride to the Pharcyde and 1995's Labcabincalifornia, have been stripped away.

The vocal chemistry of Imani and Bootie Brown was still potent last night, their timing perfect, their verbal sound effects like instant post-production. But right from the start of the set, which opened with Hey You, Tre's absence was notable as they improvised across his candid, ingenious rhymes "Coming up in this shit sometimes I'm alienated, underrated suckas hate it that I made it as a misfit. But if the shoe fits, I'mma wear it like a glass slipper/Hike to the big dipper ..."

Imani got the issue out of the way after that. "The Pharcyde is like a ship. It started out with four captains guiding it through to its destiny. Then it had three. One of those captains had to bail out sooner than expected. I used to know a kid named imKid."

Bootie accompanies with the sounds of functioning electronic signals. "... And then we met a guy called Mike D," intones Imani, introducing a new dancer who blazes onto the stage, loose, elastic limbs locking and popping like an electric charge was going through him. He spun on impossible axes like a human gyroscope. Bootie Brown danced for three, as he does. Slip-sliding around the stage, ducking and spinning, swivelling and gliding, jumping up and landing in another man's shadow. It's like he's doing cat's cradle with his hands and feet, joining the dots in a giant picture book.

They engaged with the younger element of the crowd by instantly calling for joints, inciting chants of the mantra "marijuana", and rolling out the THC-drenched rhymes like Pack the Pipe "The pipe, the pipe, let's pack the pipe. I love gettin high, I'm a get high till I die" and the mischievous "Please don't pull me over, Mr Officer".

The surge of energy in the crowd at the lilting, mid-tempo sound of Passin me By, the tale of unrequited lust/love, and the irresistable vocal hook of Runnin, with its Spanish guitar loop confirmed their status as timeless hip-hop classics. The Pharcyde are at a crossroads. They seem to want to grow up, but the popularity of their raucous early hits won't let them.

A track from a new EP asked "What do you know about pain?" They apologised to the ladies in the house for any offence caused by the lewd, crude humour of Ya Mama, "It's from way back in 1993," they pointed out. But the fact is, it rocked. Whatever the Pharcyde do next, last night showed they have the energy and versatility to pull it off. And at least one major record label was at Subterania last night, sizing up the spoils.

Fan sites:
The best" (and unofficial) site
The Official Site