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FatLip's lament >> Former Pharcyder tells it like it is by SCOTT C
Their second album, Labcabincalifornia, found the members of the group in a more reflective mode, almost in direct contradiction to the first album. They'd grown up a bit and been on the road long enough to know the business. This translated into a very moody record that found rapper FatLip doing what he does best: rhyming about his weaknesses and insecurities. Seldom tried by most lyricists, Lip excelled in revealing his soft underbelly, a vulnerability that is as real as his life. Having split with the Pharcyde, FatLip is now pursuing a solo career on Delicious Vinyl, the same label as the group. Mirror: So what happened, man? I know there was some friction a ways back, but what's the story between you and the Pharcyde now? FatLip: Back in '92, just before Bizarre Ride came out, we was all basically living together. Then we got signed and were on the road together for five years. I mean, it's cliché, but you add success and fame, alcohol and weed, egos and all that and you're gonna have conflicts. M: Was the problem more specific? F: I saw hip hop one way and they saw it another. I mean as far as I'm concerned, it was time for that "little break." And that manifested itself in different arguments and whatnot. The niggas just got tired of me, to make a long story short (laughs). M: So they kicked you out? F: I wanted to know why our second album wasn't doing as well as we wanted it to, and I started missing shows because I was working on a new sound, convinced we could do better. M: So basically you weren't playing along with the team. F: Yeah, but there's no animosity between us. We don't speak too much, but I can understand their point of view. I was an irresponsible motherfucker back then, y'know. Graduation ceremonies M: I know you got sidetracked, but didn't you start dabbling in other things? F: Well, there was a time when I had "graduated" from the weed and shit, and started sniffin' a little somethin'. I mean, I wasn't on no Rick James shit or anything like that (laughs), but I was experimenting with the homeys. When I started comin' back to the group braggin', thinking I was on to something new, that was just the straw that broke the whole shit. M: So you were living on the rock star tip?! F: Yeah, man. Here in L.A., you hear so many stories, and most of them are true, y'know. I didn't really take things to that level, but I saw how thick shit can get. It's not a lifestyle anybody should be fuckin' around with too much. M: Getting kicked out of the group must've been one hell of an eye-opener. F: I learned a lot. I learned shit about myself that I didn't even like and I'm glad 'cause I was able to change. Sometimes you get to thinkin' that your way is the only way, and you won't get anywhere thinkin' like that. M: Are you a leader or a follower? F: Definitely a leader, but I'm influenced by a lot of things. When we did LabCab, I was on niggas nuts, trying to sound like somebody else that I was admiring. I was bringing the group down in my mind. M: You mean lyrically?! F: Yeah. I would hear a record that just blew me away, and I would get depressed and shit because I thought our shit wasn't up to par. I was feeling down like that and bringin' all that energy back to the group. Maybe there was some truth to those feelings, but ultimately you got to be yourself. I was just concentrating on being someone else. Hip hop's state in '98 M: Is hip hop in '98 up to par? F: I was like a hip hop snob when I was younger. Like, if it didn't sound a certain way right off the bat, you dissed it right away. Later, especially after I started producing my own beats, I started to appreciate other shit even if it wasn't my type of beat--purely on a production level. You listen to music totally different after you start making it. I'm not gonna say what hip hop is, but I'm liking a wider variety than I would have if I was younger. M: I feel like we haven't had a standout, memorable hip hop year in a while. F: You know that feeling? The one you got in '87'88 and '91'92? It's not coming back....never!! You know why? Those times had so many elements that cannot be duplicated. '87'88 was one of the highest points in hip hop because it was still new to a lot of people, the art of sampling was just being explored and you had some unforgettable characters. Today it's like, "What old school jam can we revamp into another hit," y'know? It's like the hip hop forest has been depleted and they're trying to replace it with plastic trees and shit (laughs). M: What have you been doing for the last two years? F: Just focusing on my production, really. I'm trying to make sure that when my new stuff comes out, it's the type of shit that people will still want to listen to years from now. That's most important to me. M: Do a lot of people ask you if the Pharcyde is getting back together? F: I get that. I also get people telling me I was the tightest in the crew, tryin' to make me feel better or somethin'. It's weird. I'll be on the bus, 'cause my car got repossessed last year, and people will be like, "Damn! Why is FatLip on the bus?!" People just can't grasp that I'm a regular person who just happens to make hip hop. I got a real life, dude. It's real. M: So you know your name's not even on the flyer for the party up here right? F: Nah, man, I didn't know nothin' about that shit. What does it say? M: It says the Pharcyde are coming. F: Not even "FatLip from the Pharcyde"? M: Not even. F: Ahhh, man... FatLip performs (without the Pharcyde) along with Biz Markie, Shades of Culture and A-Trak at the Cosmodome (2150 DesLaurentides, Laval), Saturday, November 21. Info: 859-9080
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When Bizarre Ride II the Pharcyde was released back in 1992, those silly, high-pitched rhymers from the west gave us something completely different from all the Dr. Dre-influenced fare of the time. Imani, Bootie Brown, FatLip and Slim Kid Tre were able to effectively record their clowning with laudable production and memorable results.