Tha Alkaholiks

Music critics and the masses alike largely ignored this '90s West Coast rap trio, but not since '50s lounge comedy has anyone gotten so much mileage out of playing drunk. Dean Martin and others milked the bottle because it offered some kind of hysterical release to repressed white suburbanites. On their wonderful 1993 debut, 21 & Over, Tha Alkaholiks aimed tighter (so to speak), offering simple, hedonistic release to upstanding "alternative rap" fans, while also providing smart, comic relief from the hardcore gangsta scene that thrived in the crew's home base, L.A.

It wouldn't have worked without the trio's intoxicating chemistry. Cali native J-Ro (James Robinson) was a charismatic card: He sounded like L.L. Cool J's younger brother as he burped his way through "Only When I'm Drunk," staying on the beat even as he staved off the heaves. Two friends transplanted from Ohio provided counterpoint, Tash (Rico Smith) with tighter, grimier raps and E-Swift (Eric Brooks) with an infectious blend of jazzy instrumentation and brittle sound effects (his occasional raps held their own, too).

On Coast II Coast, E-Swift's mixes came to the fore, tinged with a new darkness and harder funk to underpin the 'Liks' tacit acknowledgement that maturation was unavoidable. But if they hinted at breaking out of their haze (the reality check "21 and Under"), occasionally the stupor just turned stupid (the misogynistic "Hit and Run"). Likwidation was even more uneven, featuring throwaway skits and guest raps but also many of the crew's finest creations, from the extended dis of "Captain Hook" to the Stevie Wonder bliss of "All Night."

After threatening breakup, the group shortened their name and came back with X.O. Experience, a disc that goes all the way hard by hooking up with the Neptunes and other edgy, electrified youngsters. Teetering is one thing, losing all sense of balance another. (FRANKLIN SOULTS)

From 2004's The New Rolling Stone Album Guide