The year was 1993, the beginning of an era that many would later refer to as “The Golden Era.†A year after Steve Rifkind started up Loud Records, emcees Tash and J-Ro, accompanied by their producer/DJ/sometimes emcee E-Swift, released a classic party abum that defied the sound that was predominant in the Los Angeles region at that time. That album was 21 & Over.
After making guest appearances on the tracks “Got It Bad Y’all†and “Bus Dat Ass†from King Tee’s criminally underrated opus Tha Triflin’ Album, Tha Alkaholiks showed they were ready to step out on their own, and they did so with a vengeance. From Tash’s opening verse on “Likwit,†the group made a mission statement that they would stick with for the majority career. They would release lyrically potent party jams that largely focused on the finer things in life- which was, in their case, blunts, bitches and brew.
5 years after EPMD sampled “Seven Minutes of Funk†by Tyrone Thomas and the Whole Darn Family, Tha Liks followed suit with “Only When I’m Drunk.†The beat was used three years later by Jay-Z and Foxy for “Ain’t No Nigga,†which definitely caught some more shine than Tha Liks’ version, but it’s debatable which song was better; although they’re completely different songs, they’re still of equal quality in my mind. The remaining 8 songs of the album (yes, this was back in the days when artists would release albums with 10 great songs, instead of 5 good songs, and 17 filler tracks) were all of equally high quality... although my faves are still “Last Call,†Turn Tha Party Out,†“Make Room†and “Who Dem Niggas.â€
While Tha Alkaholiks made it a point to include their mentor on several tracks (something they later accused former Likwit Crew member Xzibit of not doing), they also introduced the world to The Lootpack on “Turn Tha Party Out.†Although that group would go on to release Soundpieces: Da Antidote in 1999, it was group member Madlib who would go on to gain the most recognition in the hip hop world, especially due to his work with Jay Dilla on the Jaylib album and with MF Doom and the Madvillain album. There’s word that Lib is also currently working on a collabo album with E-Swift. Over the years, other Liks albums would also introduce us to Strong Arm Steady’s Phil Da Agony and the biggest star to come out of the Likwit Crew, Xzibit.
Although Tha Alkaholiks ended on a sour note with 2006’s shameful final effort, Firewater, they did leave us with with 2 fantastic albums other than this one (Coast 2 Coast and Likwidation) and one other album that was decent (The XO Experience). But still, their debut showed a hunger that wasn’t seen in their later work, and in my opinion, it still stands out as their best album.
