Happy 25th Anniversary to Tha Alkaholiks’ second studio album Coast II Coast, originally released February 28, 1995.
During the mid ’90s, there were few groups as consistent as Tha Alkaholiks. Comprised of emcees James “J-Ro” Robinson and Rico “Tash” Smith, along with MC/producer/DJ Eric “E-Swift” Brooks, the trio created the type of hip-hop that its founding fathers envisioned: demonstrations of lyrical and musical skill that could always rock a party or live show. And their second album Coast II Coast, released 25 years ago, lived up to this ideal and is the best entry in their discography.
Coast II Coast is also among the top five hip-hop albums released in 1995. A follow-up to their entertaining debut long player 21 & Over (1993), it displays the group members’ growth as both rappers and producers. The album is among the most balanced projects, in terms of beats and lyrics, in hip-hop history. It’s a shame that it feels like the album, along with Tha Liks overall, never quite received the recognition that they deserve.
Coast II Coast’s musical backdrop is an essential part of its appeal. Though Madlib and Diamond D each contribute beats (the first and last song, respectively), E-Swift works behind the boards for nearly all of the tracks on Coast II Coast. He does a masterful job as well, providing upbeat, high energy, but decidedly non-commercial fare for J-Ro and Tash to sink their teeth into.
A quarter of a century later, it’s become even more apparent that this pair of emcees was severely underrated. Much like Wu-Tang Forever (1997), it would be easy to pepper this tribute with quotes from both emcees, even with an album as relatively short as this one (11 tracks and 51 minutes in length). From J-Ro boasting that he’ll “drop the mic and strike the Heisman pose” and Tash warning emcees to “spend a little time witcha your rhymes and quick kicking wack verses,” the two infuse the right portions of humor and pure skill into their raps.
The breakout star of Coast II Coast is Tash, who announces himself as a top tier emcee. Tash had done an excellent job on 21 & Over, but here he takes his ability up several notches, utilizing a sharp tongue, quick wit, and clever lines for days. In my opinion, there is no doubt that he became one of the strongest lyricists of the era with this album.
Tracks like the album’s first single “DAAAM!” demonstrate the type of balance of musical and lyrical execution that I alluded to earlier. The song sports a catchy call-and-response hook with an infectious beat, taken from the bass solo from Le Pamplemousse’s “Gimme What You Got” and elements from Bob James’ “Nautilus.” It had all the makings of a potential popular smash, but instead is an uncompromised lyrical bonanza, with J-Ro and Tash furiously spitting incisive lines. “I’m the brown bomber, dropping verbal scuds,” J-Ro raps. “I write rhymes while my momma peel the skin off the spuds.” Tash shines as well, rapping that he’s the “liquidator with the hardcore demeanor / Busting out the perpetrators I see through ’em like a Zima / So I’m never caught between a hard place and a rock / ’Cause I kill rhyme bandits bare handed like Mr. Spock.”
Coast II Coast is at its strongest when Tha Liks are delivering these types of dexterous rhyme exhibitions. “Read My Lips” is an oft-overlooked jam, with J-Ro and Tash trading verses over a rugged sample of Ohio Players’ “Satan’s Boogie.” While Tash is “casting shadows over battles like a lunar eclipse,” J-Ro reminds listeners “the way I get busy will get you dizzy like a beedi.”
“Let It Out” is a remix/re-recording of “Relieve Yourself,” the B-side to the single “Mary Jane” from their 21 & Over album. E-Swift’s production gives the track a darker feel, as all three members are “rocking like a 6.6” over a sample of Lalo Schifrin’s “Human Fly” from the Enter the Dragon soundtrack. Though much of the lyrics are the same as the original version, the three make some additions to their final verses.
With “WLIX,” Tha Liks, The Lootpack, and Declaime combine to recreate the feel of a freestyle cipher common to underground radio during the mid 1990s. Madlib, pre-Beat Konductor days, does an expert job at recreating the “live on the air” texture, adding pops of static and filtering the rappers’ voices to make them seem like they’re being pumped out through the high end of the AM band. The emcees excel as well, with J-Ro professing that he “skips like a stone on a lake over a break” and Tash vowing to “kill more ducks than oil spills.”
Coast II Coast sports not one, but two appearances from Roger “King Tee” McBride, Tha Liks’ longtime mentor and OG. He bats clean-up on both “All the Way Live” and “Bottom’s Up,” two uptempo braggadocio exhibitions. The former song also features a verse from Q-Tip, who rolls through the track “cutting and slashing like Luke’s lightsaber.” Tip’s verse replaced an appearance by Erick Sermon, which was removed when it became clear that the Green-Eyed Bandit had re-used a verse he kicked on Keith Murray’s debut album.
As good as Tha Liks were at smashing sucker emcees, they did occasionally branch out when it came to subject matter. One example is “Hit & Run,” where the crew details their various one-night stands with members of the female species. The song is also notable for being the first appearance of Xzibit, at least on a globally distributed album.
Tha Liks also display their storytelling skills through a pair of tracks. “21 & Under” features Tash buying brew for a bunch of underage teenagers in the midst of the Columbus, OH snow. Meanwhile, E-Swift runs afoul of a wack emcee at a party where he’s spinning, and finds it necessary to wrest the mic from his control. The J-Ro solo cut “2014” starts off describing the end of civilization through Nuclear War, but turns into an allegory about the strength and perseverance of underground hip-hop.
Tha Liks and Xzibit later transform themselves into the Baby Bubbas on “Flashback,” a tribute to the early days of hip-hop music. As a whole, the song is pretty goofy, but Tha Likwit Crew admirably recreates the early ’80s aesthetic. They do an excellent job of channeling the Sugarhill Gang and other old school mainstays, flexing the over-exaggerated vocal deliveries, while dropping references to their zodiac signs and other old school catchphrases.
Coast II Coast ends with “The Next Level,” the album’s second single and my personal favorite entry on the album. The Diamond D produced track sports an equal balance of West Coast funk and East Coast jazziness that was unlike everything else on the album. All three of Tha Liks share mic time on the track, utilizing their flashes of humor throughout, from J-Ro stating emcees “have a bad name like Dick Butkus” and Tash professing to spend his days “cooling out with your bitch eating sweet and sour chicken.” E-Swift holds his own as well, delivering his best verse on the album. He raps, “Ten years later, still a hip-hop slave / A prehistoric b-boy making beats in my cave.” Diamond D joins the rest of the crew on the mic, “sipping on piña colada two blocks off La Cienega, at the Ramada.”
Coast II Coast is Tha Liks’ most successful album, but was overshadowed by the splashier releases that hit the shelves later in the year. It represents the best parts of what hip-hop in the mid 1990s could be, finding a way to be fun, intelligent, and party-oriented simultaneously, while remaining true to the genre’s principles without ever sounding watered down. Hip-Hop heads didn’t know how good we had it with Tha Liks around.
Enjoyed this article? Read more about Tha Alkaholiks here:
21 & Over (1993) | Likwidation (1997)
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