The Pharcyde is about freaking your funk and taking it to the spots where people rarely travel, and putting some paint where it ain't."

So says Imani Wilcox, one half of the legendary West Coast rap group.

Best-loved for their bouncy and infectious debut, Bizarre Ride II, The Pharcyde pioneered alternative hip-hop along with De La Soul and A Tribe Called Quest, back in the daisy age of the late Eighties and early Nineties. Now touring 15 years' worth of material, the vibe on the current tour has so far been "pretty f******* incredible," says Imani. "If people enjoy the party, The Pharcyde's mission is complete."

Imani and fellow founder member Romye, who both started out as dancers, are still going strong despite the untimely departures of former members Fatlip and Tre.

The duo are now focussed on creating new songs for a fourth album, which Imani expects to be out there "by the close of 2006".

"We really want to solidify the Pharcyde thing, get to where there's no questions no more," he says. "We want people to all be updated.

"I feel as an artist I have to promote my new music, but for us it's more about promoting the vibe of The Pharcyde. We want to hit people with the new and then take it back a little bit for the people who know about the old and then give it some s*** you probably never seen before. And that's how the show goes down."

Being signed to an independent label has meant The Pharcyde have had to work hard to get their music out there.

"We work on more of a grassroots level," says Imani. "You put everything in a back-pack, pack up your s*** and go from continent to continent and state to state and smash, put it down.

"It takes a longer time to get the word out, but I think people respect us more because they see what we are going through and they are seeing the progress."

Born in the Seventies, Imani describes himself as a "third generation Californian-bred veteran." He grew up in a musical family listening to soul music and R&B, from Michael Jackson and Bobby Brown to James Brown and Barry White.

It was his father who turned him on to to rap. "My uncle plays the horn, my grandma plays the piano," he says. "Everybody in my family is musically inclined and s*** so I'm just in the house with music and s***.

"My foundation comes from rhythm and blues and jazz and s***. If I was born in the Thirties or the Forties I probably would be playing the tenor saxophone, the keyboards or the xylophone or some s***.

"But I was a child of the Eighties so I'm on turntables and beat machines and s*** of that nature."

Starts at 9pm. Tickets cost £15, call 01273 673311.