This is a real interesting one in that it slices right between the seriousness of parts 1 / 2 and the comedy of part 3 in a way that’s pretty hard not to grin and nod to.
The Pharcyde – She Said
This isn’t the only Labcabincalifornia track to feature a clear departure from rhyme in the chorus. In fact, I think most of the choruses on Labcabincalifornia don’t rhyme. Let’s get to the bottom of this:
1. “Bullshit“: “You gotta get on up off of that bullshit, stop fightin’ that feelin’.” – Doesn’t Rhyme
2. “Pharcyde“: “Imani, Booty Brown, Fatlip, & Slimkid Tre (x3), We do it this way (x2)” – Rhymes
3. “Groupie Therapy“: [no chorus, just Queen Latifah samples] – Doesn’t Rhyme
4. “Runnin‘“: “Can’t keep runnin’ away.” – Doesn’t Rhyme
5. “She Said“: “And she said it’d be good if you’d stay with me tonight, so I granted her wish.” – Doesn’t Rhyme
6. “Splattitorium“: [no chorus, just chatter] – Doesn’t Rhyme
7. “Somethin’ That Means Somethin‘“: “Gotta spit somethin’ that means somethin.” – Doesn’t Rhyme
8. “All Live“: “All the way live! (baby baby baby baby baby baby)” – Doesn’t Rhyme
9. “Drop“: “Drop.” – Doesn’t Rhyme
10. “Hey You“: “Hey You! Can I take up a moment of your precious time to realize and define the whole truth? Hey you! Yeah take up a moment and clarify this for you.” – Rhymes
11. “Y?“: “Tell me why… Be like that, it just be like that. Baby tell me why it’s gotta be like that.” – Doesn’t Rhyme
12. “It’s All Good!“: “It’s all good baby baby.” – Doesn’t Rhyme
13. “Moment in Time“: “And we go round and round. Life is just a moment in time…” – Doesn’t Rhyme
14. “The Hustle“: “Some do it illegal, brothas just want more than their equal, tryin not to get caught up in the evil, this goes out to all my hustling people… just do it do it do it… do it do it do it…” – Rhymes
15. “Little D“: [no chorus, just an interlude]
16. “Devil Music“: “Every time I step to the microphone I put my soul on 2 inch reels that I don’t even own.” – Rhymes
17. “The E.N.D.“: “This ain’t nothin’ but the E-N-D, follow me into the sun and let your soul be free. The E-N-D, The E-N-D, The E-N, The E-N, The E-N-D.” – Rhymes
18. “The Emerald Butterfly” [bonus track]: “Feelin’ high… I’m the emerald butterfly.” – Rhymes
19. “Just Don’t Matter” [bonus track]: “Don’tcha ever try to get with this, it just don’t matter you’ll still get dissed.” – Rhymes
20. “Heart & Soul” [bonus track]: “Heart and soul, that’s what it’s all about. Heart and soul, let your spirit out. Take control, of everything about you. [something I can’t understand], that’s without a doubt.” – Rhymes
So towards the end we get a little string of rhyming choruses, but I still count 11 out of 17 tracks (20 including bonus tracks) with non-rhyming choruses just on this one album. Incredible! I’m gonna go find Guiness’s phone number.
This is great! I got into this album last year after hearing the “Runnin'” instrumental, only to find that the whole album is good. I never noticed so many of the choruses don’t rhyme.
Also, the Y? remix is the beat where Soulshock and Karlin took Dilla’s drums from to create the beat for Tupac’s “Do For Love” (my favorite Tupac song, coincidentally).
Liking this series, Rick.
yeah man, lots of good early dilla on that one. glad you’re diggin it.
Dig it too! Nice tally. And that video. Goof ass video, man. love it.
[…] Tree gave me a great reason to resurrect this series from two years ago. […]