Link: Official DJ Quik Site
The Inside Pulse:
Stop me if you’ve heard this one before…There’s this established and well-respected producer in the rap game who isn’t exactly a much of a lyricist in the purest sense. While Kanye West has garnered critical and commercial acclaim with the same formula, Compton’s DJ Quik hasn’t seen the same success in recent years. Hell, Quik is arguably most famous for two things: his 1991 debut Quik Is The Name, which was released as the West Coast gangsta era was about to blow up and his scathing Dollars & Sense diss track from 1994. From there, it’s been about eleven years of undeserved anonymity. Quik even retired from rapping after 2003’s poorly received Under tha Influence. But, the rap scene out west has been enjoying a semblance of a renaissance in recent months, so Quik has come from behind the boards one more time in an effort to recapture what he once had.
Positives:
A DJ Quik album is all about the beats and, as usual, they’re pretty much top notch from first track to last. Fandango is the first single and is already established as a certified club cut up and down the California coast. The start-stop effect with horns works well with the contrasting styles of Quik and a guest spot by B-Real. Get Up has a smoky jazz feel and one of The Game’s best verses to date, in another cameo. Nate Dogg does his thang on Black Mercedes and, in a more substantial appearance, Wyclef Jean and Quik get reflective on the surprisingly deep Ladies & Thugs. Mic time is also equally, and effectively, shared with Ludacris, Jodeci and AMG.
Negatives:
44 minutes? That’s a criminally short album length for a bad album. Quik could’ve cobbled together another twenty minutes from his outtakes and still make it work. Lyrically, Quik is limited, but much more capable than the dated material in tracks like Catch-22 and Till Jesus Comes. And, there’s a Chingy sighting on Get Down. You’ve been warned.
Cross-Breed:
It’s a lateral move for that familiar West Coast style mixed with some perfectly acceptable rapping.
Reason to Buy:
Judging from the Billboard charts, me and Quik’s blood relatives were the only ones to cop this when it dropped last month. It’s better than you think, as Quik’s Sweet Black P*ssy days are long gone and he has evolved into a fine producer. What he lacks on the mic, the guest stars more than make up for.
