Pharcyde

With their colorful infusions of jazz and soul, The Pharcyde were an experimental West Coast hip-hop group that offered an alternative to the gangsta rap of the ’90s.

• The Los Angeles natives met in the late ’80s through dancing—their primary interest before hip-hop.

Slimkid3 and Imani were part of a group called As Is, while Bootie Brown was a dancer for Fatlip.