album o' the day

Tha Alkaholiks
"Coast II Coast"
(Loud)

There aren't many rap groups who can command respect from true hip-hop heads, while publicly proclaiming that their only goals are to get tanked, laid and high. Then there are Tha Alkaholiks, whose 1992 debut "21 & Over," is Bacchanalian excess commited to tape. Though they managed to have a string of hits such as "Make Room" and "Mary Jane," they never seemed to be anything more than a trio of drunk, oversexed rappers.

And then came 1995's "Coast II Coast" which still contained many of their familar party themes, but solidified the group as strong emcees who knew how to pick beats. "Daaam," the first single was backed by a Diamond D beat and surrounded by incredibly witty lyrics. It was a simple formula, but it managed to be Tha Alkaholiks' strength.

"Coast" was very much a mature album, not only stylistically, but in the records that followed, Tha Liks would to surround themselves with an extended family who were insanely talented -- Xzibit, Lootpack, Madlib, and Defari, just to name a few.

But "Coast II Coast" is their transition from drunken fools to respectable fools, and with their final album looming in the foreseeable future, listening to the album is the best way to celebrate.