“You don’t need me to tell you this, but “Passin’” is an absolute masterpiece, the too-smart-by-half class clowns ruminating on their romantic insufficiencies. It’s the group’s biggest hit, and the primary reason to call Bizarre “one of the most joyously heartbreaking albums ever,” as Ernest Hardy did. Powered by Fatlip’s impassioned howl on the chorus (which J-Swift claims in the box-set liners was a playful Jim Morrison impression arising from The Doors playing at the crib), “Passin’” is half-rapped, half-sung soul music made by a group of kids remarkably unafraid of seeming uncool or wussy. Fatlip emerges as the star, singing the hook and delivering one of rap’s all-time greatest climax verses. It opens with the lovely bit of lyrical hopscotch “now there she goes again, the dopest Ethiopian,” and concludes with two bars that firmly situate the song in a litany of pop sentiment, nodding toward Rodgers & Hart, and sending two shouts to Elvis at his most lovelorn. Buffeted by high rotation on “Yo! MTV Raps” and BET’s “Rap City”, the song’s arty black and white video (which Ross recalls being beat out by Onyx’s “Slam” as MTV’s one regular-rotation rap clip) made the Pharcyde a hit with rap fans and Buzz Bin acolytes alike. “If we got that MTV slot,” Ross remembers, “I can only imagine how big that song would have gotten.”

“To this point, they’ve answered the question of “are they really serious?” in the affirmative or made it a moot point— whether you just liked the Big Punisher quotes, casually accepted being called a white demon for the greater good, or both, their work could be enjoyed on any number of levels. But Relax feels like it’s hovering over a more pernicious escape clause— “you don’t get it.” Interpreted through telling lyrics like “when you see me on the streets, don’t bother me,” “I don’t know why people think we give a fuck so often,” or, as the closing argument in “Celebration” goes, “you could ask what it is, but I still wouldn’t tell you,” the title of Relax feels more like a statement of aggression, Das Racist shifting the blame to the listener for their own lack of commitment.”