Labcabincalifornia evokes summer days and a less cynical time in hip hop. That shouldn't be surprising since The Pharcyde come from LA and dropped this album in 1995.History sees this album as a disappointing second effort. Throughout it you can hear the group trying to come to terms with their initial success, with all the implications it had for them, taking them from virtual homelessness to relative wealth. Songs like 'Bullshit', 'Groupie Therapy', 'Somethin That Means Somethin' and 'Devil Music' all deal with those issues.
"Every time I step to the microphone I put my soul on 2-inch reels that I don't even own" - 'Devil Music'The thing that strikes me is that album doesn't have a huge range, it maintains the same feel throughout. I guess this is partly why it didn't do very well, there aren't any songs that really stand out from the rest, musically or content-wise. The three singles, 'Runnin', 'Drop' and 'She Said' along with 'Somethin That Means Somethin' are all very good songs but don't quite take it to another level. However, it's not a bad zone to be in and the album is strong.
J.Dilla produced most of the album and gives it a consistent feel. The beats are tight, plenty of jazzy keys and easy to listen to. You're not really allowed to say anything bad about Dilla but this album doesn't give me anything bad to say. He's amazing.
Labcabincalifornia is a fun album. It doesn't start explosively or reach the heights of their first album but it rewards effort.
(Whenever I hear 'Drop' I want to walk along the street like they do in the video.)
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