David has been working with music ever since the tenth grade, when he used to deejay parties with a turntable he received as a gift for graduating junior high school. He adopted his DJ Quik moniker because he feels it describes just how fast he can put a song together; the 'c' was dropped due to the fact that he was not a member of the Crips and, as a result, was legally prohibited from using that letter in his everyday vernacular, which made things interesting whenever he had to fill out applications that required his mailing address. In 1990, he signed his first deal, and the rest, as they say, is history.
The Midnight Life, Quik's tenth full album, is further proof that the man might not be aging. On "That Getter", the fantastic lead single, he collaborates with someone named David Blake II. Now, if you have a good memory (or are an expert on all things DJ Quik), you'll remember that Quik's government name is David Blake. With that information in mind, it'd be reasonable to assume that he'd just be rhyming as himself under another moniker (as a huge fan of both RZA and Kool Keith, that type of thing occurs way too much in my iTunes library), but that's not the case. Instead, the 44-year-old Quik is simply working with his son, which actually makes a lot more sense than my original theory. Again, though, this isn't the weirdest thing I've ever seen. Plenty of rappers feel the need to throw their sons on record (the only one I can think of right now is Ghostface, but there's gotta be some more examples out there), and it's certainly endearing for the first listen, but the reason I'm going out of my way to point this out is that both rappers sound about the same age. Blake II uses the same slick, conversational flow that his father has been using for the last twenty years, and he does the flow justice. He's a pretty damn good rapper. Most importantly, though, is that Quik sounds young. Just as youthful as his son. Quik passed the point where most artists stop trying long ago, but The Midnight Life sounds just as fresh, innovative, and flat-out weird as anything he's created. The youthfulness of his voice remains in his adventurous spirit as well, and since he has no real contractual obligations or hope of radio play, Quik is free to run wild. And he starts off with some banjos.
Seriously. The Midnight Life starts with a skit featuring The Same Two Idiots That Appear In 73% of West Coast Gangsta Rap Albums, who ask Quik what the game needs to become fresh again. Quik curtly responds with, "a banjo." They walk away, telling each other that Quik is crazy, but when the first song pops up, guess what the first sound you hear is. The simple plucking of a banjo, that is undeniably funky. The whole situation is a little joke about Quik's career-long preference for obscure, unfashionable sounds and instruments. The self-awareness of the moment never would've appeared on his earlier works, but that shouldn't be taken as a lack of self-confidence, as he unleashes a torrent of bile and resentment against fuckboys of all shapes and colors. He sharply warns, "You're lucky my security don't want it to pop/ They looking our for you bastards, if it was me you'd be shot." His lyrics don't always match the forever sunny vibe of his instrumentals, though. Carrying over themes from his last album, The Book of David, Quik describes himself as a loner, stuck in a place of being resented by artists lacking his success, and relentlessly preyed on by his family. That's not to say you're going to walk away from The Midnight Life in a bad mood, but there's likely more emotional depth here than Quik would readily admit.
But back to the whole banjo thing. As someone who has been listening to Quik for a very long time, its that type of unexpected thing that I've come to expect. There's just a certain beauty of watching a twenty-year plus veteran fucking around with different sounds, grasping for the musical areas he's yet to cover. It's even more impressive than he's been able to hold onto his artistic integrity when considering the shit he's been dealing with over the past couple decades. Due to family issues, he's been in and out of jail, and was involved with a shockingly intense beef with MC Eiht. (that ultimately produced Quik's best album, Safe + Sound, along with my single favorite dis bar in hip hop history: ''E-I-H-T, can I continue? / You left the G out cuz the G ain’t in you.") Through all of it, Quik has triumphed in his goal to keep shit funky, and The Midnight Life is very much the product of the contrarian that was behind 1998's Rhythm-al-ism. Regardless of your music knowledge, there will be moments on here that'll just make you stop and question how the fuck a human can produce these sounds.
As we've already discussed, there are dark undertones to Quik's shit talking, and rightfully so—its almost impossible for a man in his forties to make a completely carefree album—but in comparison to his 2011 album, The Midnight Life is a fun time. Just pick a spot in the album, and you'll walk away with some amazing quotables: “I’m moving at double the speed of light / Third passport, popping Ambien on international flights.” And even though it might not be the most impressive line of his career, Quik says what might be the Quikest thing I've heard him say on "Life Jacket": "And when I play this guitar, its gonna make my dick hard". It's an acquired form of comedy, of course, and if you can't get your brain to look past all the misogynistic shit that comes with every Quik album, then you're probably a better person than me, but you'll be missing out on some hilarious material. So its probably a pretty even trade.
But Quik isn't stupid, so he was sure to include songs that the whole family can enjoy. The Midnight Life contains a series of instrumental cuts that are provided by outside guests. The first is "El's Interlude 2", a short, but necessary forty second comedown form the energy exerted on the album's first three songs. The next, "Bacon's Groove", comes on the second half of the album. Its a beautiful piece that goes for over five minutes, and never gets tiring. None of them do--they compromise the essence of the album. Its impossible to not appreciate the way he lets the synth keys of "Pet Cemetery", the album's second single and best song, bleed into the rest of the album. Its a career's worth of learning that enables Quik to construct an album perfectly, adding any sonic enhancement where necessary.
Watching DJ Quik operate in today's hip hop scene is a treat we're all lucky to see. He's long since moved on from the G-funk he came up on, and he has no interest in jumping on the minimalism bandwagon. What he has is something completely unique, a constantly evolving sound that has become synonymous with his name. That sound isn't competing with anyone in 2014, that would be impossible. Its just waiting for everyone to catch up.
Rating: 4/5