* En anglais uniquement
Party rappers from the West Coast,
tha Alkaholiks entered the hip-hop field by working with
King Tee on his 1993
Tha Triflin' Album; after touring with
KRS-One,
Ice Cube, and
Too Short, they found a major-label contract with Loud/RCA. The group came together in the early '90s, after DJ
E-Swift (born
Eric Brooks) and
Tash (born
Rico Smith) -- both raised in Cincinnati -- had worked together in Disturbers of the Peace (D.O.P.). The two settled permanently in Los Angeles and met
J-Ro (born
James Robinson), who had worked in
Total Control with rapper Suavee D and
King Tee (opening for
the Real Roxanne and
Dana Dane, among others), but was looking to move on. Named
tha Alkaholiks, the trio worked with
King Tee on his single "I Got It Bad Y'All," and signed to Loud/RCA for the 1993 single "Likwit/Only When I'm Drunk." Debut album
21 & Over followed later that year, while their second,
Coast II Coast, saw the trio working with East Coast heavyweight
Q-Tip even while they maintained a West Coast party vibe throughout. Tha Alkaholiks released their third album, Likwidation, in August 1997, and became
tha Liks for 2001's X.O. Experience. Firewater arrived in 2006 -- along with the announcement that the group would be no more. ~ John Bush