Debut album by Tha Alkaholiks, a Los Angeles hip-hop group composed of rappers James "J-Ro" Robinson, of Los Angeles, and Rico "Tash" Smith, of Columbus, Ohio, as well as producer Eric "E-Swift" Brooks, of Cincinnati, Ohio.
Collaborate on the album, King Tee, The Loot Pack, Field Trip and Threat. The record is mainly produced by E-Swift, who leaves beats to Derick Williams ("Can't Tell Me Shit"), Madlib of The Loot Pack ("Turn tha Party Out", "Mary Jane") and King Tee ("Bullshit"). Most of the beats are quite simplistic, tight and funky, boom bap with hard and pounding drums, and decent samples from his East Coast. Lyrically, the group establishes itself as a protagonist of the alternative West Coast scene, focusing their lyrics on drinking: most of the lyrics are in battle rap and braggadocio, nevertheless, the guys pulling out several stanzas dedicated to alcohol and are among the first hip-hop acts to address the subject for so long on a record. As well as their rhythm, rapping is also closer to the East Coast scene than the sounds of LA, thanks to a slow, tight, flowing, syncopated performance.
Overall, it's a good, fun and youthful party record, consisting of 10 cuts for a total of 35 minutes of listening, which gives it good replay value. Distributed by Loud Records and BMG, it achieves some success in the charts (top 25 among rap albums), and sees the debut in the hip-hop circuit of the Oxnard group of Lootpack, and also of the first rapping and rhythms of Madlib, here already clearly superior to the other producers: the most beautiful sample of the edition comes directly from him in "Mary Jane", where he samples "Ike's Mood I" by Isaac Hayes for a few seconds, wonderful.
Highlights: "Likwit", "Only When I'm Drunk", "Turn tha Party Out", "Soda Pop", "Mary Jane".
Rating: 8/10.
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