If you haven't, then Cydeways is where to start. The Pharcyde is a seriously overlooked rap quartet that hails from Los Angeles. They have garnered attention with their fresh songs laced with either humorous playful rhymes or comtemplative thoughtfulness. The Pharcyde are a nice break from all of the gangsta rap that appears in the hip-hop industry both now and back in the days when Pharcyde were at their peak. They have a nostalgic old-school feel which they combine with solid beats.

This album is my only exposure so far to The Pharcyde but I am disappointed by the thoroughness of the compilation. I think it is pretty pointless to release a greatest hits album that draws only from two albums. "Cydeways" is close to a replica of The Pharcyde's first album, Bizarre Ride II The Pharcyde, taking more than half of its tracks. Three of those tracks are interludes. Though the interludes are good, most notable being the amusing Quinton's On The Way, if you have to resort to filler like that, then it just shows you're low on hits. Perhaps, The Pharcyde should have waited until they were done with another album before releasing a greatest hits compilation. At first, I thought that Cydeways was released in the nineties, before the release of The Pharcyde's third album Plain Rap. Apparently not. After 3 LPs and 1 EP, The Pharcyde can only draw from two of those LPs for this compilation. What this implies about The Pharcyde's recent work can't be too good. Basically, there is no point in buying this album if you already own their first two albums, though they added in a new bonus track Panty Raid as a little incentive anyway, I guess. So, Cydeways leaves me wondering what I'm missing by not buying Plain Rap (at this time The Pharcyde is only three members strong, having lost Fat Lip), but at the same time I'm hesitant to check it out because apparantly the Pharcyde consider none of the tracks on that album to be worthy of "greatest hits" status.

Let's look a little at the music, however, which is what, after all, makes Cydeways a good album. I've talked a little about what makes them stand out from other rap groups. Now for a quick look at some of the highlights of Cydeways:

Ya Mama: This song is representative of the playful nature of The Pharcyde. It is filled with funny "your mama" jokes. This is one of their biggest hits.

Passing Me By: This song made Pharcyde even more popular back in the day. It had a catchy creative beat that still gets heads bobbing to this day, as evidenced by the success of Joe's song Stutter which sampled this beat and more. The topic of Passing Me By, however was more complex. It is sad -- they rap about failures in romance -- and the chorus is one of the best parts because it captures the mood exactly with the slow tempo and sad horns.

Other good stuff: Oh Sh!t, Otha Fish, Runnin'

Rating: ***1/2

Pharcyde is:
Tre "Slim Kid" Hardson
Romye "Booty Brown" Robinson
Derrick "Fat Lip" Stewart
Imani Wilcox

Track Listing
1. It's Jiggaboo Time
2. Ya Mama
3. Oh Sh!t
4. Quiniton's On The Way
5. Pack The Pipe
6. Return Of The B-Boy
7. 4 Better Or 4 Worse (Interlude)
8. Passing Me By
9. Otha Fish
10. Drop
11. Runnin'
12. Somethin' That Means Somethin'
13. Devil Music
14. She Said (Jay Dee Remix)
15. Panty Raid (Previously Unreleased)

Recommended: Yes