Tha Liks

By Gary Eskow

Oct 10 2001

All writers, poets, composers and rappers, know that the craft's "golden rule" is simple: Write from your experience. Tha Liks (formerly Tha Alkaholiks), currently riding the charts with their latest Loud release, X.O. Experience, have been rhyming together since 1993, when their first CD, 21 & Over, was released.

Tha Liks have built up a loyal fan base that shares the group's principal passions: booze, blunt and nice-to-know-ya', got-to-go casual sex. Although these themes might not win the group a Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval, listening to X.O. Experience from cover to cover it's easy to see why they remain popular. Clever hooks and interesting synth-based arrangements, which feature plenty of quasi-Asian riffs and ear-grabbing dissonances, give Tha Liks' raps a constantly shifting background. And the group members - J-Ro, Tash, and E-Swift - leaven their paeans to debauchery with humor and a touch of parody that softens the pounding tributes to drugs and alcohol featured on "Sickness," "Anotha Round" and "Best U Can," the first track off of X.O. Experience to receive wide airplay.

A self-contained group in the early days, Tha Liks have begun experimenting, and have included the work of outside producers and rapper Busta Rhymes (Bully Foot Skit) on X.O. Experience. Tireless performers, Tha Liks have traveled the globe to promote their work. Their lack of pretension and theiravailability to their fans have helped Tha Liks rise to a position of respect in the highly competitive world of rap.