# 40oz. to Freedom
**40oz. to Freedom** is the debut studio album by the American ska punk band Sublime, released on June 1, 1992 through Skunk Records. The album runs 1 hour 9 minutes and 3 seconds, and it was recorded at Mambo in [Long Beach, California](https://www.edgepedia.org/long-beach-california).[1](https://music.apple.com/us/album/40oz-to-freedom/1440841807) It was produced by Sublime and Michael "Miguel" Happoldt, the sound engineer who ran Skunk Records.[2](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1995-05-04-ca-62206-story.html) The album blends punk, reggae, ska, dub, and hip-hop, and it has been credited with paving the way for [Southern California](https://www.edgepedia.org/southern-california)'s 1990s ska-punk scene.[1](https://music.apple.com/us/album/40oz-to-freedom/1440841807)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Artist | Sublime, a three-piece band from Long Beach, California[1](https://music.apple.com/us/album/40oz-to-freedom/1440841807) |
| Released | June 1, 1992, on Skunk Records[1](https://music.apple.com/us/album/40oz-to-freedom/1440841807) |
| Length | 1:09:03[3](https://www.allmusic.com/album/40oz-to-freedom-mw0000126082) |
| Notable tracks | "Date Rape", "Badfish", "Smoke Two Joints", "Waiting for My Ruca"[1](https://music.apple.com/us/album/40oz-to-freedom/1440841807) |
## Music and style
The album draws from a wide range of styles. It covers [Bad Religion](https://www.edgepedia.org/bad-religion), Descendents, Toots and the Maytals, and the [Grateful Dead](https://www.edgepedia.org/grateful-dead), and it samples Public Enemy, N.W.A., and [Minutemen](https://www.edgepedia.org/minutemen), with repeated salutes to KRS-One, the rapper that frontman Bradley Nowell idolized most.[4](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/sublime-40oz-to-freedom/) One writer notes that the songs on the album contain an average of three to five samples each.[5](https://sites.williams.edu/f18-engl117-02/uncategorized/what-went-into-40oz-to-freedom/)
The album opens with a sample of the Minutemen's "History Lesson Part 2" in which the line "Punk rock changed our lives" is spoken, followed by barking from Lou Dog, Nowell's Dalmatian.[5](https://sites.williams.edu/f18-engl117-02/uncategorized/what-went-into-40oz-to-freedom/) The closing track, "Thanx", name-checks a further set of artists including [Butthole Surfers](https://www.edgepedia.org/butthole-surfers), Fugazi, Frank Zappa, Eek-A-Mouse, Crass, Big Drill Car, and [Steve Albini](https://www.edgepedia.org/steve-albini)'s defunct noise project Rapeman.[4](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/sublime-40oz-to-freedom/)
## Notable tracks
"Date Rape" was one of the first songs the band worked up, and the single drew enough radio attention that it eventually reached alternative-rock playlists around the country.[2](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1995-05-04-ca-62206-story.html) "Badfish" and "Smoke Two Joints" are other tracks that drew airplay.[1](https://music.apple.com/us/album/40oz-to-freedom/1440841807) AllMusic's review notes that the song "Date Rape" is bound to be misinterpreted, since it reads as frat rock despite its stated anti-rape intent.[3](https://www.allmusic.com/album/40oz-to-freedom-mw0000126082)
## Reception and influence
The album has drawn a range of critical responses. Pitchfork gave it a mixed review, rating it 5.6/10 and calling it "a flawed artifact of '90s alt-rock, punk, ska, and hip-hop, but remains a fascinating document of Bradley Nowell as the honey-voiced musical tourist bro."[4](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/sublime-40oz-to-freedom/) AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine notes that Sublime "attempt to have it both ways", seeking appeal with alterna-punks while also trying to make a social statement through lyrics and self-consciously eclectic music.[3](https://www.allmusic.com/album/40oz-to-freedom-mw0000126082) [Jeff Weiss](https://www.edgepedia.org/jeff-weiss) of the LA Weekly described the album as a Long Beach classic and noted that its appeal crossed cultural lines within that city.[6](https://www.laweekly.com/the-haters-are-wrong-sublimes-40oz-to-freedom-is-a-long-beach-classic/)
Sublime recorded three albums during their run, and the second, 1994's *Robbin' the Hood*, was recorded in a crack house and described by Pitchfork as haphazard and caustic.[4](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/sublime-40oz-to-freedom/) Nowell, the band's frontman, died of an overdose two months before the band's self-titled 1996 album was released.[4](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/sublime-40oz-to-freedom/) After that album sold by the millions, *40oz. to Freedom* became one of the band's most enduring works, described by Pitchfork as "one of the most musically ravenous albums of the '90s" and a countercultural melting pot that invited skate-punks, surfers, burnouts, tape-trading jam kids, and hip-hop fanatics into the same audience.[4](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/sublime-40oz-to-freedom/) Apple Music has described it as a "defiant, DIY-driven debut" that "paved the way for SoCal's '90s ska-punk explosion."[1](https://music.apple.com/us/album/40oz-to-freedom/1440841807)
## Release history
The album was first released on Skunk Records in 1992.[1](https://music.apple.com/us/album/40oz-to-freedom/1440841807) It was reissued in 1996 on Gasoline Alley/MCA, and it has since appeared on a range of formats and labels, including a 2014 LP on MVD Audio and a 2016 LP on Universal Music.[3](https://www.allmusic.com/album/40oz-to-freedom-mw0000126082)
## References
1. [40oz. to Freedom – Album by Sublime, Apple Music](https://music.apple.com/us/album/40oz-to-freedom/1440841807)
2. [Sublime Making the Most of '40oz.' of Success, Los Angeles Times](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1995-05-04-ca-62206-story.html)
3. [40oz. to Freedom Tracks & Reviews, AllMusic](https://www.allmusic.com/album/40oz-to-freedom-mw0000126082)
4. [Sublime: 40oz. to Freedom Album Review, Pitchfork](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/sublime-40oz-to-freedom/)
5. [What Went Into 40oz. to Freedom, Williams College](https://sites.williams.edu/f18-engl117-02/uncategorized/what-went-into-40oz-to-freedom/)
6. [The Haters Are Wrong: Sublime's 40oz. to Freedom Is a Long Beach Classic, LA Weekly](https://www.laweekly.com/the-haters-are-wrong-sublimes-40oz-to-freedom-is-a-long-beach-classic/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Music › Musical works and recordings › Albums and recorded releases › Studio albums › Punk and emo albums › Punk and hardcore albums*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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