May 3–10, 2001

music picks|hip-hop

The Pharcyde

Ready for a Bizarre Ride? Credited for helping lift Los Angeles out of it’s "bullets and bitches pigeon hole" nine years ago, Imani Wilcox and Romye "Booty Brown" Robinson will let the funk fly on South Street this Friday. But, you ask, isn’t the Pharcyde a quartet? It was. Minus original member Tre (but with Fat Lip still in the fold at the time) the ’Cyde proved it’s still viable with their 2000 release Plain Rap. Zany, outspoken, funny, eccentric, freaky, original, witty and real — the two left standing as The Pharcyde are sure to kick the classics "Passing Me By" and "Runnin" to an audience that knows all the words. Expect plenty of leg shakin’ (remember these guys used to dance on In Living Color ). And don’t forget your Kangol — opening the show is Ugly Duckling, a trio of Long Beach lyricists that like to take it back to the old school with a playful melodic flow.

—Ainè Ardron-Doley

Fri., May 4, 9 p.m., the TLA, 334 South St., 215-922-1011, www.electricfactory.com, $18 ($16 advance).