J-Ro´s Bio

J-RO [of Tha Alkaholiks aka Tha Liks]

BIO

Multi-talented with skills, a mind and a mouthpiece - on the mic, on the block, in the classroom and in the boardroom, James ‘J-Ro’ Robinson made his legend in the North Los Angeles neighborhood of Pacoima [San Fernando Valley] years before he burst on the scene in the early ‘90s with the goliath Hip-Hoporiginal party-rockin’ trio, Tha Alkaholiks.

J-Ro started rapping at the age of 13 as a young multi-talented athlete and overall connoisseur of sports and verbal jousting was no exception. But even before blessing the microphone, like many B-Boys before his time, he started as a DJ and overall lover of Hip-Hop, but the mic was irresistible to MC. ‘I learned how to rap from my God-brother, Suave E.D. Brock (RIP) and then met E-Swift and Tash when I was 18 – we became the E.S.P. (Everyday Street Poets) Crew”, says J-Ro – now calling Sweden his home. He was competitive at a young age and his thirst for the mic would get him in special places with special personalities – like DJ Pooh, Scotty Dee, Cold Crush Chris and on tour with Hip-Hop legend, King Tee. ‘I would open for King Tee and after I introduced Tash and E-Swift to him, he renamed us Tha Alkaholiks’, says J-Ro. Tha Alkaholiks would go on to record a breakout single with King Tee entitled, “I Got It Bad Y’all”. The success of the single in tandem with the undeniable personality, of J-Ro, Tash and E-Swift as Tha Alkaholiks, prompted their immediate signing to Loud Records. What would follow is one of the most underappreciated, overwhelming, credible and amazing Hip-Hop careers to ever exist – Tha Alkaholiks earned universal respect as Hip-Hop ambassadors and aficionados around the globe and were never boxed in as ‘regional’ artists.

J-Ro’s success as a man is forever connected with Tha Liks and King Tee, but the B-Boy in him sought more and different experiences and one day he picked up a book that inspired him to make a move. ‘In 2003 I began reading Quincy Jones’ autobiography about him living in Sweden and traveling Europe ‘, explains J-Ro. This was a time when J-Ro felt the stagnation of Hip-Hop approaching as Jazz had experienced during a time in Quincy Jones’ life. An intelligent man from one of Los Angeles’ more difficult neighbhorhoods to grow up in, J-Ro always demonstrated an ability to think outside of the box and defy the convention of stereotypes and one-dimensional thinking, so he did just that in December 2004 and packed his suitcases for Sweden. In Sweden many of J-Ro’s gifts and talents would find fertile soil. As a global representative of Hip-Hop culture, J-Ro would open a clothing shop called LikwitCali, release two albums (818 Antics & Rare Earth B-Boy Funk Vol. 2), DJ and host international parties with a who’s who list of Hip-Hop legends and most rewarding for J-Ro, he would be commissioned as an educator/teacher of Hip-Hop culture …and as important as anything, he has become a full-fledged Hip-Hop ambassador throughout Europe.

One cannot measure the value of a free man who has created and pursued his path like J-Ro has. More than a member of one of Hip-Hop’s most celebrated groups, more than a survivor of an area that has with drugs, gangs and social ills swallowed men and women of color alive and finally more than a B-Boy – J-Ro stands as an ambassador and representative of Hip-Hop’s best elements and of human relations around the world.