46. The Pharcyde, Sold My Soul (The Remix & Rarity Collection)
The Pharcyde makes a second appearance on the list with a compilation album titled Sold My Soul (The Remix & Rarity Collection).
Ten years before the drop of this “best of” LP, Brent Rollins (art direction) and Ricardo Martin (photographer) came up with the brilliant idea to stage the West Coast group Pharcyde in four directions (cheating with the North to peek out to the camera) and wrap them up in recording tape for the cover of Rap Pages magazine under the leadership of Sheena Lester. The group was promoting their sophomore project Labcabincalifornia but had great angst because their first album (which was 35 on this top 50 list) had done so well in the hearts of fans. Could lightning strike twice in the same location? The magazine cover captured this. The sepia-toned image did well for Larry Flynt’s biggest selling music mag and was so beloved by the talent that they used it in 2005. See, we aren’t the only ones to love this piece.