Honorable Mention #5: DJ Quik - The Book of David

DJ Quik has been laboring long and hard under his own set of rules. He’s been producing and releasing music for the last 20+ years and by this time in his career, some amount of autonomy is afforded him and rightfully so. From his exploits producing hits for Dre, Tupac, and other mainstream rap heroes, Quik has earned the right to be as prolific as he’d like to be, with no expectations or assumptions made on his behalf. With the release of his newest album, he proudly displays the ever-present talent that brought him the luxury of working with some of the biggest names in rap music. And as such, The Book of David is not an album that calls attention to itself, at least not in the way an Outkast or Dre album does. The boasts and bravado are there but it is tempered with a sad, almost poignant outlook on life. That said, The Book of David never feels like a compromise, nor a backing-down of the nerve and grit that Quik has brought to every piece of music he has released. The real reason that this album succeeds as well as it does is a simple one: beneath the sometimes caustic, sometimes bitter edge in these songs, there is a heart that beats louder than any regrets made manifest. Tracks like “Ghetto Rendevous”, a vicious stab at his family and the jail time served as a result of a fight with his sister, and “Hydromatic”, a thumping horn-inflected jazz romp (yeah, you read that right), showcase the maturity that Quik brings to bare across this album.  The level of musicianship and restraint (odd to use that word concerning a rap album) that is on display across The Book of David is astonishing. Working the trenches from the inside out, here’s hoping that DJ Quik finally achieves that rare sort of musical stature, where the respect long afforded him from his peers is finally matched by the respect from his fans.

Tracklisting:

01. Fire and Brimstone
02. Do Today
03. Ghetto Rendezous
04. Luv Of My Life
05. Babylon
06. Killer Dope
07. Real Women
08. Poppin'
09. Hydromatic (listen to the mp3 below)
10. Across The Map
11. Nobody
12. Boogie Till You Conk Out
13. Flow For Sale
14. So Compton
15. Time Stands Still
16. The End?
17. Quik's Groove 9