DJ Quik
The Book Of David
He’s an early pioneer of West Coast G-funk and a legendary producer and remixer, but at this point DJ Quik is probably more beloved in theory than in fact. He hasn’t released a solo album since 2005’s “Trauma” (although he recorded several mix tapes and a well-received collaboration with Kurupt, “BlaQKout”) and, even in his heyday, never got the respect afforded his thornier contemporaries.
Quik (born David Blake) always was more interested in wooing, shopping and bassed-out, ’70s soul-inspired love songs than in beefing. His new disc, “The Book of David,” dusts off everything Quik loved back in the day and everything he was good at; it’s aggressively, self-consciously vintage — from its old-school drum machines to its ’80s-style R&B-meets-hip-hop beats.
Quik’s only 21st-century concessions are a judicious use of Auto-Tune and the presence of up-and-coming rapper Gift Reynolds, who shows up on the genial first single “Luv of My Life.” Otherwise, the disc’s many guest stars appear to have been sprung en masse from some Aging West Coast Rappers lair: Kurupt shows up on the familiar, bottom-heavy “Flow for Sale”; Ice Cube roughs up the similarly old-timey “Boogie Till You Conk Out.”
R&B singer Jon B. turns up on “Real Women,” a silky rap song Luther Vandross would have appreciated. “Although you got your faults / we won’t make that an issue,” they promise generously, explaining, “I need a proper girl” — possibly the only time in the history of hip-hop this sentiment has been expressed. Even on a disc devoted to historical gangsta preservation, such courtliness may be the most retro thing of all.
— Allison Stewart
Recommended tracks:
“Real Women,” “Nobody”
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