DJ Quik - The Midnight Life (Discussion Thread)

[jman91331]

a link would be greatly appreciated 

Here you go http://www.amazon.com/Midnight-Life-Explicit-DJ-Quik/dp/B00N281JIO/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1413157468&sr=8-2&keywords=dj+quik+midnight+life

wow how original. thanks for the lecture bro but i like listening to the album before actually buying it, thanks to the poster who came through with the link

Hey that's the link that I used to BUY the album so just passing it along brother. If you too cheap or too scared to spend $7.99 on one of the best to do it & have to "hear it first" says a lot about you.

[Blood$]

a link would be greatly appreciated 

Here you go http://www.amazon.com/Midnight-Life-Explicit-DJ-Quik/dp/B00N281JIO/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1413157468&sr=8-2&keywords=dj+quik+midnight+life

wow how original. thanks for the lecture bro but i like listening to the album before actually buying it, thanks to the poster who came through with the link

Hey that's the link that I used to BUY the album so just passing it along brother. If you too cheap or too scared to spend $7.99 on one of the best to do it & have to "hear it first" says a lot about you.

what's wrong with wanting to hear an album first before purchasing it?

[bouli77]

a link would be greatly appreciated 

Here you go http://www.amazon.com/Midnight-Life-Explicit-DJ-Quik/dp/B00N281JIO/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1413157468&sr=8-2&keywords=dj+quik+midnight+life

wow how original. thanks for the lecture bro but i like listening to the album before actually buying it, thanks to the poster who came through with the link

Hey that's the link that I used to BUY the album so just passing it along brother. If you too cheap or too scared to spend $7.99 on one of the best to do it & have to "hear it first" says a lot about you.

You're reaching bro... if you check the last cd's you bought thread you'll see i've bought plenty of new shit, but i felt you were trying to be a smart ass by providing a link to buy the cd when it wasn't even out and I was just looking for a link so I could listen to the album. oh, and btw, i bought the album. lol.

[Fonky Fresh]

Keep it Fonkey Babay! I knew broken down would be a killer jam when i heard the sampler.Suga Free is in olympic shape it's time for a street gospel part 2.Who's with me ?
To me it's not better than BOD but it's a decent follow up. Songs like shine, trapped on the tracks, that getter they're not the kind i like,too "new west" i guess but it's cool.
Highlights to me: broken down, pet semetary, life jacket, bacon's groove.

[Blood$]

this sounds so crisp on CD in the whip 

I'd say this one is cohesively better than Book Of David

[B.A.]

To me it's not better than BOD but it's a decent follow up. Songs like shine, trapped on the tracks, that getter they're not the kind i like,too "new west" i guess but's cool.

Yup, those are the same tracks I have a problem with, I'm sure he did those tracks cuz they feature his son and he wants him to appeal to the newer generation but I think if he would have had three more "Pet Semetary"/"Life Jacket"/"That N****r's Crazy" type tracks instead (with or without his son, just better production) I think this one would be up there with some of his best records.

Besides those three tracks the only thing I have a bit of a problem with is "That N****r's Crazy". Maybe I'm just trippin but I feel like El Debarge is all over the place and a lot of times he's singing right on top of Quik and makes it hard to hear what Quik's saying. He needed to get turned down a little, panned hard to the left or right, or just have his singing part arranged differently so that he and Quik both have their own pocket that they're in. Like I said maybe it's just me but El's part almost seems like an after thought, like the track was complete and one day El came through the studio and started singing over the track and Quik said "cool, lets keep it" and it was more of a demo than finished work from El. Maybe I'm just too picky, either way it'a a good track and it's great to hear Debarge back with Quik.

Quik's seems like he really wants to do something else from the stuff he says here and there, like his comment about "Broken Down" whick is another good track. If he wants to try new things, do tracks like "The  Conduct", it's not a typical Quik beat but it's tight and he even brought back the talkbox! And the "Gangster Clap", as quik called it, aint never made or broke a song, it's about the completed track. Then he says this about his next album, "That's the album I want Dr. Dre on, Ice Cube on, and me and my musicians are going to write them some not-no-cornball shit. We're going to write some big, heavy music". So how does Quik really feel about this album? Why didn't he and his musicians write some "not-no-cornball shit" for himself, his son, Mack 10, Suga Free, El Debarge, etc.? Why you gotta wait for Cube and Dre? You know if Dre came back with an album full of "Gangster Claps" and P-Funk all over it, a lot of people would be all on that shit, including Quik. Quik needs to just do him and not wait for anybody else, especially Cube; I don't think Quik heard those last couple tracks that Cube released. The he said in one interview "it's an analog record", I hope he's talking about his mixing or mastering process because he also said this about the new equipment he was using on this album, "smaller shit that gives us these bigger sounds that we used to have that we don’t have to bring an Escalade full of equipment to the studio. Now that shit’s in your laptop. It’s a little one drum machine, one little controller midi trigger keyboard, and it’s back to that", so basically a laptop and software/plugins...that's not analog...

I love Quik but it seems like he's going through a musical, mid-life crisis, like he doesn't know what direction to take his music in. And that comment about Dre and Cube on his next album is just wishfull thinking, he wants to do something real big but might feel like he can't do it without them. Quik shouldn't doubt himself, he one of the best to ever do it out of the west coast and in rap music period!

[bouli77]

very good points,

was thinking the same about the analog / new equipment thing.

listened to broken down, and I really don't like it, i don't like the melody. so far I've listened to 4 songs : Bacon's Groove, Pet Semetary, Broken Down and Life Jacket and that's two outta 4 I don't like (life jacket & broken down), i fear for the album, lol.

[Blood$]

album gets better after each listen, only songs I skip really are "That Getter" and "Shine" but those are still like 3/5 joints 

[Davizz]

What B.A. said on "That N Crazy" I think is the truth, it's the same for me.. El was there, ok we've got this finished track (please go listen to the live version without El, it's so much better), he started to "freestyle" some "ohhh crazyy.. crazy crazy".. bam, that's it.
I like El DeBarge, but he ruined a GREAT song.. probably my favorite from the album.

Quik clearly made them songs you said as a gift for his son.. I hate "Trapped" and "Shine", but to me "That Getter" is fine until DBII arrives.. Quik's verse is one of best from the album.

[WalterOhDim]

One of the most solid albums I've heard in a few years, logged in just to write this.  Last one I can think of this consistent is Xzibit's Napalm.  One thing I'm noticing though is those who loved BOD didn't enjoy this as much, and vice versa.  I'm in the Midnight Life crowd - love this album but did not like BOD.  The $7.99 I spent on itunes for the complete album was the best $8 dropped in a long time!

This album definitely needs to be bumped on a real system to be truly appreciated.  Lots of smooth bass, and lots of nice undertones so you need a sub or good speakers to truly appreciate the album.  Listening to tracks like "Back that Shit Up" on headphones just won't cut it.  There's also a nice variety of joints on the album giving the listener a diverse experience - something for everyone.  The Getter to Life Jacket to Fuck all Night to Bacons Groove is quite a range only Quik can pull off.

Top 5 (in album sequence)

That N's Crazy
Back that Shit up
Puffin on Dragons
The Conduct
Fuck All Night
    
Not Sure of
Trapped on the Tracks
Shine
Why'd You Have to Lie

XXL / 4 Stars

[bigpimpin20]

what work Quik did on Raphael Saadiq-Instant Vintage?

[teletomble]

 What Ever Happened To Gift Reynolds?

[Mr. Theo]

what work Quik did on Raphael Saadiq-Instant Vintage?

Probably he helped Saadiq on engineering, while hang out in studio.

What Ever Happened To Gift Reynolds?

Back to the D or somenthin' .

[BiG*WiCkEd]

Solid fucking music. Then again I wouldn't expect anything less from Quik.

Puffin the Dragon is on a whole nother level. Music like this is especially significant to me after hearing nothing but simple ass music wherever one goes.

It's amazing to me how Quik can blend his old school sound with a new twist.

That's what makes him the music genius he is.

[MOBNigga06]

Wanted to bump the album a few times straight through before commenting.

To me, it's very similar to Book of David: it has a hand full of songs that easily qualify as some of the best music Quik has EVER made.

Life Jacket, That Niggaz Krazy, Fuck All Night, Pet Sematary, and Puffin Tha Dragon = 5 of the best songs Quik has ever made, on par with all the classics from Rhythmalism and Safe & Sound. The quality of these five songs is high enough to make the album one of Quik's best regardless of others.

Tha Conduct, That Getter, Back That Shit Up, Broken Down = solid album tracks. Good production and Quik's verses outshine every guest by miles.

Bacon's Groove & Quik's Groove 9 = excellent instrumental tracks. Dope shit.

Trapped on the Tracks = growing on me with time. I kinda like it now.

Shine = the only wack song on the album. Just pure wackness here.

Why'd You Have to Lie = would have been better with Quik verses on it. Boring track as it is.

El's Interlude 2 = should have been longer.

On the whole, my opinion is that this is an excellent album, which could easily have been a CLASSIC album if a few things were different: replace Shine with a G-Funk track; have Quik rap on the Joi track; have more Quik verses and fewer guests; and maybe add a song or two. Album feels kinda short. The flaws in this album all come from Quik's vanity and random musical whims: he liked Joi's voice, so he wanted to give her a whole track on the album (dumb decision); he runs into an old friend and puts him on the album; he wants his son all over the album on some current sounding music; he wants El DeBarge to sound like Marvin Gaye, etc.The album would have been better if Quik had somebody around him to tell him that some of his ideas are bad. If Quik had a smart executive producer like Suge Knight around him, this album could have been Quik's best.