“Drop” – The Pharcyde

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Recommended: The history of rap music

The Pharcyde is an alternative rap quartet from South Central Los Angeles founded by MCs/producers: Tre "Slimkid" Hardson, Derrick "Fatlip" Stewart, Emandu “Imani” Wilcox, and Romye "Booty Brown" Robinson (AllMusic). In the late 1980s, Hardson, Robinson, and Wilcox worked together as dancers and choreographers in the Los Angeles underground club circuit (AllMusic). Stewart joined the group in 1990 and under the guidance of a high school music teacher they gained knowledge of the recording process and the music industry (AllMusic). The Pharcyde “maintained a willfully weird vision” with their music in contrast to a large number of West Coast rappers in this time period that focused primarily on the “gangsta’ rap” image (The Pharcyde). In 1991, the group signed a record deal with Delicious Vinyl and released their debut album Bizarre Ride II the Pharcyde (AllMusic). They released their second album, LabCabInCalifornia in 1994 and although it did not reach gold status as their first album had, the single “Drop” produced an innovative music video.
The song opens with the line, “mmm… drop!” a sound sample from “The New Style” by the Beastie Boys (The Daily Beast). Similar to the Beastie Boys in performance technique, The Pharcyde has the uncommon ability to blend self-deprecating humor and intelligence with their music (AllMusic). In addition to being a major influence on thier sound, The Pharcyde followed the Beastie Boys’ lead when they picked a the director for their music video. Spike Jonze is best known as the director of the feature films Being John Malkovich (1999), Where the Wild Things Are (2009), and Her (2013) (IMDb). However, he has also had a prolific career directing music videos for a multitude of artists including (but...

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...s: “Sitting, Waiting, Wishing” by Jack Johnson, “The Scientist” by Coldplay, and “Me, Myself, and I” by Beyoncé. If imitation is in fact the highest form of flattery, then The Pharcyde should be very proud of their contribution to the music industry and the history of the music video.

Works Cited

"Bio | The Pharcyde - 20 Years of Hip Hop." The Pharcyde 20 Years of Hip Hop. N.p.,
n.d. Web. 18 Feb. 2014.
Huey, Steve. "The Pharcyde." AllMusic. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Feb. 2014.
"The Pharcyde - Drop." YouTube. YouTube, 28 May 2007. Web. 17 Feb. 2014.
"Revisiting Pharcyde's 'Drop' Backwards Music Video." PetaPixel RSS. N.p., n.d. Web.
18 Feb. 2014.
"Spike Jonze." IMDb. IMDb.com, n.d. Web. 18 Feb. 2014.
Stern, Marlow. "Spike Jonze’s 13 Best Music Videos: Beastie Boys, Kanye West, Fatboy Slim, and More." The Daily Beast. Newsweek/Daily Beast, n.d. Web. 18 Feb. 2014.

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