Coast II Coast
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Album Summary
Coast II Coast came rolling out in 1995 on Loud Records, and baby, it was the sound of three young brothers from Los Angeles — J-Ro, Tash, and DJ E-Swift — doing what they did best: partying hard and rhyming harder. This was Tha Alkaholiks' second studio album, not their debut, and it arrived right in the thick of that beautiful, golden mid-90s era when hip-hop was still finding all its voices at once. Production duties were spread across a team of West Coast architects who understood the deep roots of jazz and soul, weaving funk-drenched samples into a sonic backdrop that felt both loose and deliberate. E-Swift himself stepped up behind the boards in a major way, and the result was an album that captured the crew's signature blend of high-energy lyricism and uncut party spirit — raw, real, and recorded with the kind of authenticity that only comes when artists are living every word they spit.
Reception
- The album earned strong respect within underground hip-hop circles and built on the West Coast credibility the group had been steadily accumulating since their debut.
- Critics praised the album's energetic performances and organic, funk-heavy production aesthetic, recognizing Tha Alkaholiks as sharp and distinctly humorous lyricists in a landscape that often took itself too seriously.
- Coast II Coast achieved solid regional success on the West Coast, reinforcing the group's standing as a beloved fixture in the underground while Loud Records continued building its hip-hop roster.
Significance
- Coast II Coast stood as a proud counterpoint to the G-funk dominance sweeping the West Coast at the time, offering a jazz and funk-rooted alternative that celebrated skill, humor, and communal energy over gangsta posturing.
- The album cemented Tha Alkaholiks' identity as torchbearers of the Golden Age spirit on the West Coast, proving that party rap could carry real lyrical weight and artistic integrity in the same breath.
- Its funk-heavy sampling approach and loose, celebratory atmosphere helped carve out space for an entire lane of West Coast underground hip-hop that would influence producers and MCs well into the late 1990s and beyond.
Tracklist
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A1 WLIX 92
4:39
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A2 Read My Lips 92
3:11
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A3 Let It Out 93
4:40
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B1 21 And Under 94
3:31
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B2 All The Way Live 96
4:22
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B3 Hit And Run 97
4:55
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C1 DAAAM! 96
4:46
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C2 2014 93
3:11
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C3 Bottoms Up 95
4:05
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D1 Flashback 98
4:48
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D2 The Next Level 93
4:44
Artist Details
Tha Alkaholiks, also known as THA LIKS, are a West Coast hip-hop trio — consisting of Tash, J-Ro, and DJ E-Swift — who came together out of Los Angeles in the early 1990s and burst onto the scene with their 1993 debut album *21 & Over*, a record that hit like a cold forty on a hot summer day, blending rugged boom-bap production with witty, laid-back party rhymes that stood in glorious contrast to the harder gangsta rap dominating the LA streets at the time. Signed to Loud Records and closely tied to the legendary producer E-Swift's tight-knit relationship with Xzibit and the Likwit Crew, they carved out a lane for West Coast underground hip-hop that was raw, fun, and unapologetically real. Their cultural significance lies in proving that the West Coast had more to offer than gangsta narratives — they kept the spirit of old-school hip-hop alive with pure skill, humor, and an unshakeable love for the craft.
