Last call for the Alkaholiks

With 15 years in the hip-hop game and four albums to their credit, the Alkaholiks have made a career out of drinking and smoking their way around the world.

The Alkaholiks Farewell Tour Place: The O Lounge In concert: 10 p.m. May 25 Tickets: $25 Call: 944-THEO

James "J-Ro" Robinson, Rico "Tash" Smith and Eric "DJ E-Swift" Brooks came together under the watchful eye of L.A. rapper King Tee in the early '90s, when gangsta rap put the West Coast on the map and allowed them to tour with artists like N.W.A., Run DMC and Boogie Down Productions.

After issues with their label kept them sidelined for more than three years, the group announced in 2004 that it would split up after the release of a final album, "Firewater." The Star-Bulletin spoke with Robinson earlier this week from Sweden, where he was having lunch at home with his young daughter.

Question: So you really do live in Sweden? What's it like?

Answer: Yeah, I'm in Sweden. It's different, as far as living here and stuff. But you know, there's a lot of things that are the same, too. I got a little daughter out here, so I'm just watching her right now.

Q: Is there a hip-hop scene out there?

A: Oh, for sure, man. ... I live here in Sweden, but I'm traveling a lot, you know. Getting out to Athens, to Rome, to Switzerland, London, France, all these different places. ... Hip-hop is everywhere, man. There isn't a place left on the Earth where hip-hop hasn't touched yet.

Q: And the 'Liks get love?

A: Yeah, definitely. We've been coming out to Europe since like '94. So we built up a big following, and to this day we still do tours and festivals and shows over here.

Q: Let's take it back to the early '90s. Some people might not know E-Swift and Tash are actually from the Midwest.

A: Well, they both from Ohio. Tash is from Columbus and Swift is from Toledo. We met right after I graduated from high school ... out in Cali.

Q: What was it like getting a push from King Tee?

A: Well, me and Tee grew up together. We had a crew together called Total Control ... and we started doing a lot of stuff like parties and opening shows for Ice T and people like that. I met E-Swift, and King Tee was actually looking for a DJ at this time. He gave us the name Alkaholiks, and it just started from there.

Q: What was it like coming up when gangsta rap was the predominant style?

A: If you from L.A., you know that it's not just gangstas living out there. There was a big hip-hop scene in L.A. before there was even gangsta rap. We was just a part of that whole feeling, that whole scene of just having a good time. I tell people L.A. is real gangsta, but 90 percent of the time it's fun and games. You're hanging in the hood ... smoking, drinking, chilling out, whatever. It's just that 10 percent of the time that something real bad go down. We just wanted people to see that other side.

Q: The first two albums, "21 and Over" and "Coast II Coast," those are joints that fans describe as classics. Do you have a favorite?

A: To this day, I think "Coast II Coast" was my favorite. The first album, to me, was the classic. But it was songs that we had already ... so when we got that deal, we were totally ready. But the second album, we was established and had gone on tour. To come back and make that album, there was a lot of pressure on us, and we withstood that pressure. We solidified our names in the game.

Q: One of my favorite tracks is "Hip-Hop Drunkies" with ODB. What was it like working with him?

A: That was one of my most memorable experiences in the studio. He was just wild. Just doing a song was something new, because he worked in a different way. The last verse, we were actually pushing each other out of the way to get at the mic!

Q: What happened with the Likwit Crew and Xzibit in 2000? Is there still beef between you guys?

A: This business can take you in many ways. Xzibit came up with the Likwit Crew, it was just during that time it went too fast. He was just trying to get his, but we sat down and came to an understanding and stuff.

Q: What happened when you took the hiatus from 2001 to 2004?

A: Once again, it's business. When we released 'The X.O. Experience' album ... Loud Records sold the company right in the middle of that, so basically we had no deal. It ain't always up to us.

Q: Why even come back to do one more? Why not just pursue solo deals?

A: We didn't want to go out like that. We wanted to go out on our own terms. We still wanted to do an album together, it's just at the point where we also want to do different stuff and do different things.

Q: Tell me about your solo album. Is it coming out this year?

A: Yeah, it's coming out this September. I'm on a label called Juju Records. I don't have a U.S. release, but I'm going to import it back. I'm doing that reverse tricknology, you know what I'm saying?

Q: The only new single I've heard is "Just Rockin On."

A: Yeah, I just released a new mix tape called "818 Antics." If you go to jujurecords.com, you can order it off of there or whatever. I'm going to bring some out to Hawaii, too.

Q: Anything else going on?

A: I got a clothing store called Likwit Cali. I just opened that up in February, and it's going good. I'm importing the clothes from Cali, got the clothes for the women and everything.

Q: What's going to happen after the farewell tour?

A: We're going to do some festival in Hungary later this year. As far as the music, we're actually still working together on that. You'll probably hear more music from us than ever before, with the new Tash album and my album and Swift's stuff.