Some random thoughts on DJ Quik.

I decided to go back and revisit his catalog.

I wasn't aware of The Red Tape. This is pretty interesting. It's basically a parody record. So many problematic lyrics. I enjoy how playful the album is. Some pretty good rough beats and concepts in it. Seems like they were overflowing with ideas.

It reminds me off slick rick, the pharcyde, can i borrow a dollar and some late 90's cali backpack rap. It kind of feels to me like they were taking some angst of the west coast towards how rap was at the time and putting their spin on it while clowning it.

I've always enjoyed DJ Quiks beats and voice. I also like how he mostly kept things fun even if some of his lyrics would get so much blowback now-a-days.

I feel like a DJ Quik Black Milk collabo would be dope. Definitely during Quik's prime but possibly still now.

He is such a beast behind the boards and has countless classics. On my personal producer Mt. Rushmore.

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"Fuck aliens." © WarriorPoet415

that beat is just crazy. i need a list of Quik's best tracks for other artists.

Do you think Quik has had a great album? Classic album?

safe and sound
rhythmalism

sadly though his last solo was kinda wack aside from a few joints.

“So back we go to these questions — friendship, character… ethics.”

>safe and sound
>rhythmalism
>
>sadly though his last solo was kinda wack aside from a few
>joints.

All of the above. Those are his two classics and while I feel like the majority of folks prefer Rhythm to S&S, I tend to lean S&S but would have them about close to even.

His last album was mad disappointing. Especially coming off the strength of "Book of David" which I thought was DAMN good.

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"Fuck aliens." © WarriorPoet415

depends on the day, and I agree book of david is great. that album was in heavy rotation for me for a while. the Rosecrans album is pretty good though.

“So back we go to these questions — friendship, character… ethics.”

It had a couple duds but the Quik/Kurupt album had a looot of really good material as well.

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"Fuck aliens." © WarriorPoet415

do you know
ooh
the second half of the appeal after the beat change? fire.

“So back we go to these questions — friendship, character… ethics.”

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"Fuck aliens." © WarriorPoet415

And it was about 50-50 as far as songs I really liked and those I didn’t care for as much. But the ones I did? SMH. So good. It basically went every other track for me. Blaqkout, Do You Know?, Oh, Hey Playa, and 9 X outta 10 all got a lot of play from me that summer.

Do You Know? Playing that in the car on a sunny, summer day. Amazing.

i forgot to mention that one.

“So back we go to these questions — friendship, character… ethics.”

I was a little hesitant but still downloaded. Got it liked it. A good suprise. Later on I went an bought the actual cd.

I wanted them to do another album together.

I know that beat has been flipped a million times but this song is so good.

“So back we go to these questions — friendship, character… ethics.”

>safe and sound
>rhythmalism
>
>sadly though his last solo was kinda wack aside from a few
>joints.

******************************************
Falcons, Braves, Bulldogs and Hawks

Geto Boys, Poison Clan, UGK, Eightball & MJG, OutKast, Goodie Mob

I know I really liked Rhythm-al-ism but I don't remember if I had it as classic. We'll see tomorrow.

Two semi-recent Quik favorites on another artist's album were "Press Play" and "Those Gurlz" from Snoop's "Ego Trippin'".

Speaking of working with Snoop, I also loved Quik's beats on "Top Dogg".

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"Fuck aliens." © WarriorPoet415

I think it's safe to say you and I are in agreement on all things quik.

“So back we go to these questions — friendship, character… ethics.”

>I think it's safe to say you and I are in agreement on all
>things quik.

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"Fuck aliens." © WarriorPoet415

it's a bootleg but I don't think I knew about it before. words to my first born is a dope song though.

“So back we go to these questions — friendship, character… ethics.”

im on Quik is the Name right now. I'll probably get to it tomorrow.

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"Fuck aliens." © WarriorPoet415

I'm the same as you I've heard some of it.

“So back we go to these questions — friendship, character… ethics.”

if you're trying to buy it im not sure but if you want the link i used i can pm you. looks like the tracks have an audio tag on them :/ just once per track but still blah

I can deal with 1 tag per song hah

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"Fuck aliens." © WarriorPoet415

a few instrumentals but a good listen.

Boom is nice, Words To My First Born like you said, Late Night is good too.

Maybe every album needs to end with Heartz of Men lol

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K3ojadQydLQ&list=PL-UWPlRIl68oQaiPQMdgY2cpvf26dgBuY.

V.

---
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DROkayplayer™

This is a really good album. The refinement from the red tape to this is amazing. I didn't remember enjoying this album so much before. I think Deep might be my favorite track on this.

would this work? would it had worked at some point? I definitely get a similar vibe in a lot of quiks tracks to the coup tracks.

would be cool to see two of my favs work together.

Boots would fix that

quik may just give him the boost he needs. but this is from a fans perspective, maybe boots is really happy with the direction his music has taken.

This was kind of weird. It wasnt bad but there was very little great in there. Way 2 Fonky, Just Like Compton and Only Fo that Money may be the only tracks I would go back to.

There were times this music straight up took me back to late elementary years with the vibes lol

>This was kind of weird. It wasnt bad but there was very
>little great in there. Way 2 Fonky, Just Like Compton and Only
>Fo that Money may be the only tracks I would go back to.
>
>There were times this music straight up took me back to late
>elementary years with the vibes lol

I remember when I first heard it in the shadow of Quik is the Name, back in high school, and I was taken aback by how far he veered from the QitN sound. Way 2 Fonky ranks pretty low on my list of his discog, to this day. Not much I go back to from that one.

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"Fuck aliens." © WarriorPoet415

as much as i dislike to say that. the second half seemed like he just put together interludes/skits to fill up the album.

at least i know theres a lot of good stuff coming lol

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"Fuck aliens." © WarriorPoet415

you must have became a Quik fan later on and not in the early years.

Way 2 Fonky was a big album when it dropped, you would hear it, AMG, 2nd II None, PPC and Hi-C all bumping out of car stereos back then. There really isn't many throw away tracks on the album and it was funky as hell. He was experimenting with a lot of sounds that Dre would later use on the Chronic, eg synthesizer melodies, live guitar, p-funk samples, etc. If you look at LA albums that came out the next few years, you can hear the influence of Way 2 Fonky.

probably all eyez on me is the first time i heard a quik beat and definitely the first time i knew it was a beat by quik. Rhythm-al-ism was my first quik album.

i can see the influence, like i said, the album took me back to a lot of the west coast stuff i was listening to back then. that would make sense if the album influenced the other music.

the skippable comment is from a perspective of someone that hasn't heard quik before right now. do you feel the music on the album is a must listen to someone new to quik?

i wont question the impact and influence the album had when it came out as i can't speak on that.

ill probably give all his albums another spin, i usually find at least one song i overlooked when i go back to albums.

To me this is the last really high quality Quik album and it almost NEVER gets talked about. Safe and Sound and Rhythmalism are classics no doubt but Balance and Options isn't far off. SO much heat on this album.....Change Da Game, Pitch in On a Party, I Don't Wanna Party with U, Sexuality, Do Wutchya Want, Do I Love Her?.....so much heat. As usual the production on this was top notch. I came back to this more than his "classic" albums to be honest. Under tha Influence after this one isn't too bad either but this is a criminally underrated album.

pitch in a party is great party song. you didn't like book of david?

“So back we go to these questions — friendship, character… ethics.”

I think I went from Rhythmalism to Under Tha Influence and maybe his singles from previous albums.

I really liked Under Tha Influence, or at least the songs that I liked I liked a lot.

Those songs were my soundtrack my first trip to Vegas. I can hear both in my head now. So good.

Also tend to agree that B&O is underrated. At the time of its release it definitely paled in the shadow of S&S an Rhythm, but as time went on it carved out a space of its own in his catalogue.

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"Fuck aliens." © WarriorPoet415

It was shortly after Mausberg died and he was heavy into drinking and drugs and just wasn't doing well emotionally.

So I think it's less about the content of the album than it is about the fact that he just looks back on that period of his life and sees nothing good.

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"Fuck aliens." © WarriorPoet415

for right now its below safe + sound and above rhythmalism.

i liked the vibe of this a lot more than rhythmalism. i dont know if i had a bad source but there seemed to be a lot of noise one some songs that took away from them a bit. highlights Pitch in ona Party (might be my fav quik song if not number 2), How Come?, Well, The Divorce Song.

I did not expect the divorce song, some of the singing was kinda borderline and wouldnt be surprised if a lot of people dont like it. the way the bass and drums come in around 1:30 was awesome. doesnt seem like this song fits with this album but im happy it was on it.

more lows than rhythmalism but a lot more highs as well. not as consistent as safe + sound

fun album. a pretty good example of what i enjoy about quik.

lol at quikker said than dunn.

what is the connection with eazy-e? obviously the voice is similar. i see a lot of similarities in the humor as well. if quik's first mixtape came out in 87 is it reasonable that dr dre may have modeled eazy's sound around quik's? is it just a coincidence?

I think there may be some other connections too but I can't remember.

“So back we go to these questions — friendship, character… ethics.”

mostly because i have sooooo many memories attached to it.....

safe & sound is a close second

____________
Twitter & IG: @rulerofmyself
SC: rulerofmyself17

Yes! She's on the drugs. (c) BoHagon

Okay, this was great. I thought I had listened to all his albums but obviously I only had some tracks.

This goes hard, only the overly sexualized lyrics hold it back some. The Ho in You is so good that I gotta get over the lyrics lol. If he had ended up with Summer Breeze I think it would be an undisputed classic.

After that either I was exhausted by the length or the rest of the tracks just weren't on the same level. Still good but not great. Everything up to/including Summer Breeze was great.

I kind of wish the intro and interlude weren't in it. Get at Me would be awesome way to start an album. I'm pretty sure this was peak intro/skits era in rap though.

I'm gonna break here for the day so I can get Rhythm-al-ism with fresh ears. It was my first Quik album but its been a long time since I heard it in its entirety.

that shit jams.

“So back we go to these questions — friendship, character… ethics.”

it was pretty much 5/5's through summer breeze then 4's the rest of the way.

thats on one listen with headphones. could be one of those songs that i need to listen to in the car or just at the right time to get it. i think i was borderline on giving it a 4.5. probably 4.25 would be what i give it.

>The Ho in You is so good that I gotta get over the
>lyrics lol.

That beat and vibe is ridiculous despite the content hah.

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"Fuck aliens." © WarriorPoet415

what a combo of abrasive and overly-sexualised lyrics with some sweetass melodies and harmonies.

V.

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DROkayplayer™

>RE: Ho In You is sung so sincerely tho lol

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"Fuck aliens." © WarriorPoet415

i listened to safe + sound yesterday and when it came on i was definitely feeling it lol

“So back we go to these questions — friendship, character… ethics.”

>So many problematic lyrics.

>I also like how
>he mostly kept things fun even if some of his lyrics would get
>so much blowback now-a-days.

I'd be both happy and afraid to see him get some high-profile industry position, because I'm sure they would dig back into some of those lyrics and boot his ass outta there, in a way that they haven't done for Dr. Dre.

Let him become the exec. prod. for the Black Panther II soundtrack or some shit. "Industry legend David Blake" would become "'Sweet Black Pussy' gangsta rapper DJ Quik" faster than you can blink.

____________
Twitter & IG: @rulerofmyself
SC: rulerofmyself17

Yes! She's on the drugs. (c) BoHagon

As I said before, this was my first DJ Quik album. I think I bought it cuz a friend had made a west coast mixtape for me and it had some quik stuff on it.

It had been a while since I listened to the whole thing. I have to say its pretty much what I remember. It felt like a lot of potential, a lot of big claims but didnt quite deliver as a whole. I gotta say Safe + Sound is easily way better than this. Hand in Hand might be my fav Quik song ever but the album didnt have many great songs to me.

I was hoping it would be as good as Safe + Sound and I would have to question why I didn't listen to it often.

That was Quik's magnum opus

Listen with a nice pair of headphones and you never stop discovering new things to marvel at with every listen.

He took a lot of risks on this album and it's such a departure from his previous sound that I understand it's jolting coming off of Safe & Sound and everything before it.

But man oh man - what a masterpiece.

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"Fuck aliens." © WarriorPoet415

polarizes ppl because of that. Many don't quite know how to define it perhaps idk. Plus the album cover is hard for many to get past (personally it never bothered me, I like risks, and the bright pink/blue color scheme is perfect)

i have some decent headphones - v-moda crossfade. pretty much any music i listen to with them i enjoy a lot more than i remember enjoying.

i'll give it another spin with my sennheisers as i do enjoy them even more. i was constantly interrupted while trying to listen to this album so i know that didnt help.

i am someone that loves when an artists takes chances and does something different, than what they are used to or whats expected from other artists.

i appreciated the headphone masterpiece, enjoyed the love below, phrenology, electric circus.

the fact that Quik claimed he was doing something different than most rap albums is part of what i liked. for some reason the execution didnt seem to be great to me. when i first heard it i remember wanting to like it more than i did. i wanted more stuff like it but that did it better.

to be clear, i think it is good but to me it does seem a step below safe + sound.

when i give it a second listen i will try to be more specific or hopefully come around and agree lol

>to be clear, i think it is good but to me it does seem a step
>below safe + sound.

Typically I prefer Safe & Sound as well but that's mostly due to my strong preference for the g-funk sound. But I think you'll find that with repeated listens, Rhythm-al-ism will reward the fuck out of you.

Think you said you've heard it before but I think going in now with the context of his previous works you'll grow with it. I know I did. I definitely had the same sort of "what the hell just happened" feeling the first few times I heard it haha.


>when i give it a second listen i will try to be more specific
>or hopefully come around and agree lol

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"Fuck aliens." © WarriorPoet415

it just didn't seem to be done as well as i hoped. i think the engineering and mastering is awesome but the music just seems to be missing something. doesn't quite groove as much as i hoped. it is consistently good, nothing bad in the album. could just not be for me.

definitely will give it more spins, i wanna see if i get it. even though i have heard it before i wouldnt be surprised if a lot of these songs this was the 3rd time i ever heard them.

i most likely placed the 3/4 songs i really liked on a playlist and didn't come back to any others before. some songs just need repeated listens to really click.

as a whole i dont think my opinion changed on it. i definitely was able to hear and appreciate a few more layers.

i still think it is a good album and what quik did was impressive but i just cant vibe with it. i think the sound he went for isnt for me. can't quite pinpoint it but it just doesnt work for me.

i listened to safe + sound after and i gotta say i still really enjoy that album a lot more than rhythmalism.

i can see why people like rhythmalism and i recognize that for a lot of people it is his best album but it just doesnt hit me like that. im going to try it in the car next.

layering, because it is so rich and lush

3) take a moment to appreciate all the various flows and cadences being experimented with, and consider that Quik is criminally never mentioned for his rapping skills, which imo took a quantum leap in this album...but other guys like Suga Free get into the act as well.

4) when you hear any given track, ask yourself how many other rap songs (or songs period) sound like this joint

5) next chance I get, I'm gonna try and provide a few notes for each track, I have been passionate about this album since it first came out lol (and I'm an EAST COAST head)

>layering, because it is so rich and lush

^^^ hell yes. This is my favorite and the most impressive part of repeated listens. There's so much to each instrumental. Which reminds me I've been meaning to buy an instrumental version of the album (if it even exists) for like 20 years haha.


>3) take a moment to appreciate all the various flows and
>cadences being experimented with, and consider that Quik is
>criminally never mentioned for his rapping skills, which imo
>took a quantum leap in this album...but other guys like Suga
>Free get into the act as well.

I'm on team "Quik is underrated on the mic" myself but even I probably haven't paid enough attention to the flows on this album, despite having listened to it a trillion times. That's mostly a product of being so focused and blown away by the musicianship that it's hard to focus on anything else.


>4) when you hear any given track, ask yourself how many other
>rap songs (or songs period) sound like this joint

Yea.


>5) next chance I get, I'm gonna try and provide a few notes
>for each track, I have been passionate about this album since
>it first came out lol (and I'm an EAST COAST head)

I look forward to this.

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"Fuck aliens." © WarriorPoet415

for the beat AND the flows.

V.

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DROkayplayer™

for some reason i dont like it as much as i remember but its definitely dope.

definitely impressive stuff quik is doing but i think i just cant vibe to it as much as some of his other stuff.

i personally think quik is really dope on the mic. listening to all his stuff i think he might be the best to produce and rap. definitely needs to be respected as just a rapper as well.

>(personally it never bothered me, I like risks,
>and the bright pink/blue color scheme is perfect)

I think it's actually a prime example of an album cover describing the content of the album to a T. In this case you were very quickly able to judge the book by its cover haha.

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"Fuck aliens." © WarriorPoet415

V.

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http://confessionsofacurlymind.com
https://soundcloud.com/confessionsofacurlymindredux
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DROkayplayer™

“So back we go to these questions — friendship, character… ethics.”

“So back we go to these questions — friendship, character… ethics.”

disappointing. along with de la, the 213 album, and others.

“So back we go to these questions — friendship, character… ethics.”

i liked this. its a bit scattered but still sounds like Quik was having fun and being creative. maybe not everything worked but it was a good album and I will come back to many songs.

at this point safe + sound is no doubt the best album, way 2 fonky is the low point and the rest are on equal footing to me. need more listens of each to identify an order.

Highlights : Put it on Me (kinda weird having a dre produced track but i do really like it), Quik's Groove 6, Get tha Money, Sex Crymee

Trouble is borderline.

Im expecting the rest of the albums to be around way 2 fonky level. i've only heard balqkout before and there were some songs i liked on it.