The Pharcyde rose to Hip Hop infamy in the 1990s with perhaps two of the best back-to-back album drops in history — 1992’s Bizarre Ride II the Pharcyde and 1995’s Labcabincalifornia. On Wednesday (February 2), 2 Chainz floated over the Pharcyde’s Bizarre Ride hit “Passin’ Me By” during an episode of L.A. Leakers as he freestyled over the inimitable beat.
Of course, it didn’t take long for the three of the original members of the group to stumble across the homage. Shortly after the clip started making the rounds, Slimkid3, Fatlip and Imani — who’ve officially reunited as The Far Side (formerly of the Pharcyde) — shared an Instagram post with the caption, “Let’s get ‘em @2chainz x @power_106 x @bigboy thank you. killed it @2chainz.”
In an interview with HipHopDX, Slimkid3 expressed his enthusiasm, saying, “It’s so awesome to see 2 Chainz rocking over ‘Passing Me By,’ making it even more classic! I was a fan of his show, Most Expensivest. I loved that show! I enjoyed watching the insane things people pay for. Big up 2 Chainz.”
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Using a drum kit, guitar, turntable, pen (which he tapped on the desk) and an upright bass that was bigger than the length of his entire body, he expertly recreated the iconic cut. The Roots’ drummer Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson was blown away by the kid’s musical acumen and wrote in the comment section, “You wrestling with that upright made me almost give up the ghost. I wish I could like this 100 times Miles. Keep up the good work. Stay this way forever: always be curious, always have fun—-I wanna be you whe—-if I grow up!”
5-Year-Old Prodigy Recreates J Dilla-Produced ‘Runnin’ & Gains Respect From Pharcyde, Questlove + More
Alchemist, J. Period, Pharcyde, DJ Rhettmatic, Public Enemy’s DJ Lord, Mark Ronson, Statik Selektah and J Dilla’s official Instagram account also flooded the post with love.
“I was surprised when he did our song, ‘Runnin,” Slimkid3 told DX at the time. “I wasn’t sure at first if he was doing our song until I heard him sing the chorus. And then he sang the words, ‘It’s 1995!’ And I was completely sold! I was already impressed, but him doing our song and all the harmonies was the icing on the cake.”
The Far Side (formerly of the Pharcyde) is expected to hit the road in April. A special edition producer album cassette tape was released on January 22, but only 500 were made. Check them out below and keep scrolling for the tour announcement.
