Hip hop is big business these days. Really, it's a hip-ocracy! Too many hip-ocrits (a.k.a. overnight MCs) are in it for a minute and out the next. Innovative groups who built this artform's foundation are not getting the proper respect while many of these flash-in-the-pan operators jack beats, chant catch-phrases, and have some kind of corny R&B-ish singing over the hook. Acting like superstars in their big budget videos, mafioso kingpins or some other sh%t to sell millions of units. Hip hop has gotten out of control.

Tha Alkaholiks are here to wet things back into perspective. Hailing from Los Angeles, Tha 'Liks ( E-Swift, J-Ro, and Catastrophe) are about to pour it on the world. Likwidation is their third release. While the other LPs (21 And Under and Coast To Coast) suffered from lackluster sales (go figure, both were hip-hop gems!) the kings of 40s, punchlines, definitive production, and originality are going to blow up!

grid caught up with Tha Likwit Crew when they came through SLC on the Warped Tour here's how it went...

grid: How long did it take you to record Likwidation. I know you have a lot of special guests on there, right?

Catastrophe: Ever since the last time we dropped, you know, we just been working on songs. Like a period of a year and a half, two years, something like that.

grid: Did you leave a lot of songs off of it?

Catastrophe: Yeah.

J-Ro: I mean, we were working on it for so long we couldn't put everything on there so we just might use them for B-sides or maybe when we retire we'll bring them back as "greatest hits."

What's your idea of success in the music industry?

J-Ro: Longevity, man... Staying in this business for over seven years or whatever, I feel that's pretty successful right there. 'Cuz the public is so fickle, man. They pick a new hero every year. We just wanna be there every year, instead of in and out.

You remind me of groups like A Tribe Called Quest, De La Soul, groups that have that chemistry from the start. And you know that they'll be in the game for like five albums plus. I'm just wondering, what keeps you so on top of it? So fresh and relevant with your music as well as your lyrics?

Catastrophe: We're not a trendy group, where we just do what's hot for that year and catch on the next vibe. Or whatever's hot the next year. We've been doing the same music, the same sound, the same kind of beats, the same kind of lyrics--since we all started as a group, you know what I mean? We don't see a need to change what we're doing. If it's not broke, why fix it? We're not trying to change hip hop, we're just trying to bring what we got to the table.

Now, in Tha Likwit Crew I know you got Xhibit, Defari...

J-Ro: Yeah, he's here with us... (pointing behind me)

Oh, he's here too? I love that single, "Bionic." Who else is part of this? The Lootpack?

J-Ro: The Lootpack, yeah, they did some stuff on the album. The Barbershop, some cats from L.A. Feel Tha Agony, he's on the album too. Who else?

Catastrophe: King Tee.

J-Ro: Yeah, King Tee. He's got an album coming out next month too.

What do you use to make your beats with?

E-Swift: Well, I'm an old school type of cat, I use SP-1200s, you know? I got ASR-10s. I use whatever's available, it depends on what kind of mood I'm going for, what kind of sound I'm looking for. But that's basically it. A lot of old records, turntables...

What's your idea of a "Real MC"? What do they have to do to impress you?

Catastrophe: You know, abide by the MC rules--they can't be switching and changing and changing and switching. You know, just live it like we live it: Everyday we wake up in the morning, it's a hip hop day. We put on our clothes, hip hop. We eat our breakfast, hip hop. It's hip hop from then on. You can't really explain it. When you got a crowd of real fools and you got one fool that's a faker, he kinda sticks out, you know? He sticks out like a thumb. So, you know, we've basically been doing the same sh%t since '83.

What groups are you listening to right now, anything special?

J-Ro: Beatnuts. I like the Beatnuts album. That's my favorite album that's out right now.

Catastrophe: I listen to my crew, of course--Tha Likwit Crew, Defari... But aside from my own crew I listen to fools like Keith Murray, Redman, King Tee, Deadly Threat, Tha Whoridaz (from Oakland).

What's the greatest thing about hip hop?

J-Ro: You can do what the f%ck you wanna do, that's the best thing. It's not like a regular job or something where people are telling you what to do, it's something you wanna do. That's the greatest thing about hip hop, self-expresssion.

Catastrophe: It's kinda like you're your own boss. We don't really punch a clock in the morning but we know that if we be lazy--you know, don't get up and write these rhymes and make these beats--you fall off. It's kinda cool having a control aspect of what goes on in your life everyday.

Hey, were you guys mad that the Jazz beat both of the L.A. teams in the playoffs?

(The whole group looks puzzled.)

Catastrophe: Hey man, next question. We don't even want to talk about the Jazz.

E-Swift: Big ups to my man Kobe Bryant!

Catastrophe: This is the Jazz man (pointing to Noid, one of Tha Alkaholiks entourage). Every time we play Sony PlayStation he always plays with the Jazz. And he get's whupped!

Really? I thought he'd win every game...

Catastrophe: Hell no...

(Noid shouts, "Stockton MVP!")

Catastrophe: He's from L.A., man. It's a shame folks. It's an atrocity out here.

Just one more question. What would you say to up-and-coming artists, people who are into it but they don't know how to break into the business?

J-Ro: Just better love doin' it. Don't get in it for no other reason besides loving hip hop, 'cuz you gonna get sidetracked, something's gonna come up when you ain't gonna wanna do it, and you gonna look stupid...

Catastrophe: ...and you gonna get clowned.

J-Ro: Yeah. You gotta be serious. It's all fun and all that, but it's a serious business.

Catastrophe: One thing I tell up-and-coming artists, man, is you gotta keep your d%ck in your pants, man. Because if you out there wasting time, f%cking with a whole bunch of girls, drinking and in the clubs everynight, you ain't gonna get nowhere. You gotta look at this like a job. A lot of people think rappin' is just a hobby, but if I can get paid, I can get paid! But, you gotta look at it seriously. You gotta look at it like, man, there's a million people that want the same spot.#