Thirstin Howl III steps up with Boston up-and-comers, God Forbid and Father Time, to form The Alaskan Fisherman, with their debut project, Fire and Ice. But why did Thirstyman and his crew choose this profession? So says the man himself on the first track – “You don’t watch the National Geographic channel?? Being an Alaskan Fishermen is the number one, most dangerous job on the planet!!” Move over mafioso thugs, the dawn of a new fearless, invincible rapper is here.

     But what this really is, is one of the most fun projects to drop in a minute, as each Thirstin Howl, God Forbid, and Father Time perform like they are at the Rap Olympics, with non-stop head-splitting verses, constantly trying to out-do each other, and see who can come with the funnier or stranger battle rhymes. As “Fire and Ice” sets it off, the trio trade verses for four minutes, while Thirstin gives segway between the verses “I asked my Eskimo chick the same shit the other day – yo, who told you you could leave the igloo bitch?!?!”. Oh but the extended metaphor / flogging of a dead horse doesn’t stop here, they’ve got enough hilarious rhymes that’ll last through the equinox (or at least 18 tracks). 

    The album kicks into high gear with the second track, “Do What You Want”, as the crew spits ridiculous over an uptempo 60′s go-go swing joint, or the incredibly live title track “Alaskan Fishermen”, where they brag about their fly snowmobiles, or “Cold Up In Here”, where they complain about the power and heat being cut off – yep, Thirst and his crew still ghetto, even in Alaska. The fun lasts throughout, even when they slow it down on tracks like the bluesy “Oh God!”, where their rhymes stretch out and get even seedier. 

     Admittedly, at 18 tracks length, like most crew albums, Thirst only graces us with his presence on seven tracks, but surprisingly for once, his crew can actually hold a candle to his style, as God Forbid and Father Time share flows like an early intoxicated Beatnuts, acting like assholes and not giving a fuck about the consequences. While it does have it’s moments that seem to drag on from time to time (“Revenge”, “Row”) and other times it’s a little to sloppy-drunk (“Get A Life”, “O.K.”), for the most part, this is a lyrically rich gem that will have you rewinding all over the place. While it could be polished a bit, it’s definitely one debut to check out this year.