Sublime ft. The Pharcyde "Doin' Time (Marshall Arts Remix)"
Summertime, and the livin's easy.
Ahhh, summer in California. Sure, the weather is great year-round out there, but for a kid like me who was born in Oakland but raised in New York since the age of 5, there was always something special about “going home” to Cali every summer. It was my annual chance to connect back to my roots, both on the family and music tip.
See, I’ve always felt this musical connection to artists from California. And two groups that definitely still give me that feeling are Sublime and The Pharcyde. It’s that warm-weather vibe and care-free spirit—I’m instantly transported back to those summer Cali trips we used to make to the Bay and L.A. when I was younger and through my teen and college years, and it makes me happy.
So today, in celebration of my father’s 80th birthday, let’s go back to Southern California where he was born and raised, with a dope-ass remix of one of the greatest songs to ever come out of the Golden State.
Sublime is one of those groups that was poppin’ heavily when I was in college in the late ‘90s. Songs like “Santeria,” “Wrong Way,” and “What I Got” were constantly being played at the bars or at off-campus keg parties, and as much as I actually used to like those joints, my favorite was always “Doin’ Time.”
Off their self-titled album that dropped the summer before my freshman year at the University of Maryland in ‘96, “Doin’ Time” has that laidback Cali vibe I’m still constantly in search of. Ska is fire, don’t get me wrong. But the “Doin’ Time” production felt more hip-hop-influenced to me, especially with the drums, sample, scratches, and even lines like, “We’re well qualified to represent the LBC.” So to add The Pharcyde on top of it, one of the dopest L.A. rap groups of the ‘90s, was a match made in unexpected heaven.
IP’S PICK OF THE DAY 8/15/25: Sublime ft. The Pharcyde “Doin’ Time (Marshall Arts Remix)”
Yo, this is crazy. I’m just learning today that Sublime’s lead singer Bradley Nowell, who I of course knew died of a heroin overdose, actually died on my 18th birthday—May 25th, 1996. That’s bugged out. Nowell is one of those legends we lost too early in the ‘90s like Biggie, 2Pac, and Kurt Cobain who had way more gems to give us, so it’s important we cherish the ones like this he left behind.
Okay, let’s break it down real quick. First, the sample for “Doin’ Time” comes from jazz great Herbie Mann’s 1961 recording “Summertime (Live at the Village Gate).” It’s a long instrumental cut, but you’ll recognize the sample when it pops up right at the beginning.
Years after “Doin’ Time” was out, I copped a random Sam Cooke greatest hits CD one day that was chunky with mad songs, not really knowing what was on it. Well, one of the songs on it was “Summertime, Part 1” with the same lyrics as the Sublime song—"Summertime, and the living is easy.” I was like, “Yo, this is fire.” But also, I was like, “What the fuck is going on here? Is this where Sublime got their shit from?”
Turns out “Summertime” was originally composed by George Gershwin back in 1934 for the opera Porgy and Bess, and has since been covered by countless artists, including Cooke, Mann, Billie Holiday, Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald, Janis Joplin, and more. And speaking of covers, Sublime’s “Doin’ Time” was recently covered by Lana Del Rey.
Ah man, I gotta get back outside and enjoy this sunshine. Before you know it, it’s gonna be winter again in New York. August is flying. But before I bounce, let me drop a final California summer anthem that connects nicely to this post—“Summertime In The LBC” by Warren G affiliates The Dove Shack. This song, featured on their album This Is the Shack, actually celebrates its 30th anniversary this month.
Okay, I’m outta here. Big 80th birthday shout out to my pops Jimmy I. Love you! Enjoy the rest of your summer Friday.