Throwback Thursdays

1995. One of my favorite years in Hip Hop. And I'll go as far as saying it was one my favorite years in life overall. To quote Dickens, "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times; it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness; it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity..." Don't I know it.  You know who else knew it?  The Pharcyde.  By the second album- Labcabincalifornia they collectively displayed a more serious side musically and lyrically.  Many of the tracks were produced by J Dilla (Rest In Peace) and you definitely heard a difference.  While they didn't completely depart from the jokes and playfulness which was evident on their 1992 debut, Bizarre Ride II The Pharcyde, This Bug fell right in step with the growing pains they expressed. Shit, I was going through it my damn self back then. Conceptually- even the videos took a new twist. (Think  Drop and how everything moved backwards while going forward. Trippy.)

Which brings me to Today's Throwback.  Aside from the song itself, which I always liked- the video only  bolstered how I felt about it.  Beginning with Fatlip's verse, the recollections are heartfelt.  He got picked on, jumped and harrassed by Crips.  Slim Kid Tre breaks down the lessons of being self reliant; friends are nice to have around, but there's no guarantee they'll be there when it gets thick.  The final verse from Imani hit me hard back then- especially the last line.  All the while, the video has an almost dreamlike quality.  Which is fitting since there's a scenario of flip-flop slavery at play here.  In a surreal role reversal, everything from the servitude on a plantation to an auction block is present- but not in a way you've ever seen in history.  The Pharcyde play croquet while melanin deficient girls style the hair of their mistresses poolside.  It's an interesting juxtapostion to say the least.  This Bug's favorite line?  "It's 1995. Now that I'm older stress weighs on my shoulders heavy as boulders- but I told ya- Til the day that I die I still- will be a soldier. And that's all I told ya and that's all I showed ya." I still feel him on that one. It's true.  You can't keep Runnin', you just gotta keep keen and cunnin'.