Tha Alkaholiks

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, Rovi