I remember i rushed to the store to buy 'LabinCalifornia' after hearing "Runnin'"....That song still remains one of my favorite tracks of all time....The rest of the album is dope as well....All four mc's do a solid job of providing sick rhymes covering all kinds of topics....The beats on this album are much more polished than their debut album...."Drop" was an instant classic known for its insane beat....

If you're a hip hop fan, this is a must have album

Los Angeles based group with a more east coast mainstream feel. Not what you'd expect from a west coast crew with topics such as on track 7 with "Somethin' That Means Somethin'". In comparison to their debut, Labcabincalifornia is a lot more mature and witty. Three of The Pharcyde's members even had a hand on the production. One of the immediate repeats is "Drop". A pioneers of the singing/rap by Slim Kid 3, he adds a more artistic, a more colorful style to the group as his solo song "Moment In Time". What's a rap album without an artist describing their addictions to chronic on the almost song (being that it's so short) "Splattitorium". Imani, Bootie Brown, Fat Lip and Slim Kid 3 did their thang on this one.

i purchased this albulm when it first came out in november of 95. this is easily one of the best records of that year. at that time when i was in college and i played this albulm everyday driving my roomates mad. and from 98 until this very moment i play it at LEAST once a week. you will enjoy the whole cd but make sure you listen to running, drop, something that means something, moment in time, group therapy, and she said. great albulm for anyone who just enjoys music and hip-hop thats against the norm.

This is classic, not only for hiphop, for popular music in general. It's a hiphop album, yet the production is so smooth en detailed you forget this album is actually pretty old. Pharcyde consists of 4 distinct mc's who each bring their own style. They excell in narratives and generally goofing off and soundin bugged out. You can play this record during christmas-dinners and your grandma will be bopping her head. If you like any kind of music, you will love this record. Every song on this has a purpose, every song is unique and as good as the other. If you haven't heard runnin', you haven't heard what hiphop music could've been...

it's too sad these guys heydays are over and they never had the respect they deserved, because they are definitely up there with giants like common, the roots, talib. And they even came before all these people and they do a lot more than these people..

I picked this album up because it was cheaper than "Bizarre Ride II The Pharcyde," so I can't compare it to that debut album. Imani, Booty Brown, Fatlip, and Slimkid3 were from California, but their lyrics were very East Coast inspired, yet they had their own authentic sound. I was expecting a little more experimenting and quirkiness for this album, but the music remains mostly calm and mellow. These guys were a lot more conscious and mature than I expected. Even "Groupie Therapy" was done in a mature manner.
My two favorite tracks here are "Runnin'" and "The E.N.D.," and the other two best tracks are "Y?" and "Moment In Time"(a beautiful short ballad by Slimkid). Other highlights are "She Said," "Somethin' That Means Somethin'," the single "Drop," and "Devil Music"(NO, they do not worship no devil, mind you)! Pretty much every track is great, except "Splattitorium,"(which is too short to be THAT bad) and the not-so-funny "Little D."
I'm guessing that this is definitely a more mature album than "Bizarre Ride..." with less experimenting. Fine by me. They include a lot of jazz, just like many of the best East Coast acts before their time. This was the their last album before they started disbanding, one member at a time. "Labcabincalifornia" may not be a classic, but definitely worth your dough if you see it at the store and are into underground/conscious/old-school Hiphop. If you like this type of West Coast Hiphop from around this time, and not that overplayed Gangsta nonsense, check out Aceyalone or the Freestyle Fellowship or Project Blowed, all, who like the Pharcyde, dared to be different than their glamorized and fantasized California counterparts!