Malicious Vinyl

Imani and Romye say they'll shop for another indie to put out their next album--including stuff that didn't make it onto Plain Rap and stuff they deliberately held back. "I didn't try to make no nasty album, [but] I didn't want to give them the super shit," Romye says with a smile, referring to songs the duo has cut with De La Soul, Pharoahe Monch, and others. They've also been recording with the Bay Area's Souls of Mischief for their collaborative Allmighty Mighty Pythons CD, and an Imani solo project is in the works.

So Plain Rapis, as Ross describes it, "a good, honest representation of where the group is now"--in transition. J-Swift's remix of "Trust," included on the album, is getting some solid airplay, and its accompanying computer-animated video is one of the coolest of the year. But ultimately, Pharcyde's third full-length represents a phase in their evolution more than it stands on its own as a great album. It's a piece in the puzzle, a rung on the ladder that is the Pharcyde's future.

Block

The grass used to be greener on the Pharcyde: The band in better times, before drugs and label problems tore it apart

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More About

• The Pharcyde
• Brand New Heavies
• Mike Ross
• The Roots (Musical Group)
• Hip-Hop and Rap

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"I just want this record to [reconnect] us with hip-hop fans out there...to open doors, to open opportunities," says Imani, drifting off. "It's frustrating that we've only released three albums. I've got so many more to make."