As the name suggests, The Alkaholiks have never quite got over the wonders of drinking. 'Mary Jane' is (surprise!) an ode to the wonders of weed, but the remainder of '21 & Over' is hip-hop with a cracking hangover, brimming with the delights of non-stop speakeasy boozing. 'Only When I'm Drunk' finds them in late night never again-mode ("One too many I reckon, feeling I could hurl any second"), 'Last Call' is full of funky chest beating bravado ("I don't drink and drive 'cos I might spill my drink!"). Wise words. Eight years of LA nightlife (as well as tours with the likes of Ice Cube, BDP and King Tee) will ensure that the Alkaholiks slick LL Cool J-esque raps get plenty of attention, but their peculiar obsession with legal drinking (21 is the required drinking age in most US states) seems faintly ridiculous in the light of 'Black Sunday''s dope-fuelled chaos. The only point at which the Alkaholiks seem to remember that the bar they're slumped in is in LA is on the final 'Who Dem N!@@as' where the mood swings into a more frantic sprawl of urban rap fury. Otherwise they could be anywhere, half-cut and short on things to say, but never tired of saying them. - Hip Hop Connection (October, 1993). 21 & Over was released on August 24, 1993. Listen to the LP below...
Below is their original promo Alkaholiks kit, ads, and the review in HHC ...
