"The people don't need a record industry as much as theye need the music" - DJ Quik

Music is fun, that's the blueprint for The Midnight Life. Yesterday I published some words about Vince Staples' new project Hell Can Wait, that was that good West Coast shit, but gritty, grimey and insightful with plenty of angst. DJ Quik serves something equally as West Coast but a whole lot more funky, get up off your feet and do the greatest white boy clap and point and chuck in a little lean in their type of shit.

It's fun, that's why people need music.

"The motherfuckers in my my hood grew to be nothing, I went around the world stuntin' and they still doing nothing" - 'That Gutter'

DJ Quik is a master at conjuring musical noise that resembles near perfection each time. The beats are crispy, the sounds are imaginative and it sounds like modern day jazzy funk. The intro, consists of two guys asking DJ Quik what's up, how do you tweak them sounds, whatchu think the game need to blow up again? His answer - "I think hip-hop need a banjo in it."

Track 2 'That Nigga'z Crazy'. It starts with a banjo.

DJ Quik is a highly respected musical creative. He's made beats for all the OG's and had a hand in 50 Cent's 'In Da Club' beat.

Quik's no lyrical genius. But then again he doesn't need to be as he's bringing back RnB, he's 'the RnB saviour' so he can pretty much do whatever he wants. The rhymes are extremely nice though, probably more likely to get lost on you the first few times you listen to it. What he says kinda gets lost in the way that all the sounds fit perfectly both in terms of their actual position and how the fit within the feel of the song. He controls the tempo, the variety of patterns in a single song and how the song builds up to slow down, rather nicely.

Every song is produced by DJ Quik. Every song includes him gracing the mic to spit the smoothness. It's equally as hard Compton, 90's Deathrow record days but smooth as a Cadillac and a perm.

"I'm a bad motherfucker, cos my Glock says so
But my wallet says Gucci, I'm a fly killer yo" - 'Pet Semetary'

There's no need for me to go in to each song because A) there's 16 songs unlike the 7 on Hell Can Wait and B) while every song stands alone, it's more like a collection of really good tunes as opposed to a group of songs intertwining in to a story. Both options are equally as cool and The Midnight Life makes you laugh, it makes you dance, it makes you rap, it makes you wish you were at having a barbie (don't think Americans call a barbecue a barbie) in South Central Los Angeles on a Sunday arvo. With all the shit going on around them, there's still time and fun to be had.

Quik does take time to reflect on the past few years which saw him go through some stink situations and 'Puffin' The Dragon' not only showcases his ability on the mic but also an insight in to that time and his mindset. Anyone who can tell stories and offer wisdom to a rhythm gets a tick in my books and Quik's not to be slept on when he creeps to the mic.

"Journalists ask me what I did with my money, I gave it to the needy, not that greedy, I'm Quik I do what I wanna' " - 'Puffin the Dragon'

Want the good funky vibes? Get ya mits on this, because there's nothing else like it in music today.