Balance & Options | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | May 16, 2000 | |||
Recorded | 1999–2000 | |||
Studio | The Hospital Studio (Los Angeles, California) Skip Sailor Recordings (Los Angeles, California) | |||
Genre | Hip hop, R&B | |||
Length | 70:41 | |||
Label | Arista | |||
Producer |
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DJ Quik chronology | ||||
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Singles from Balance & Options | ||||
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Balance & Options is the fifth album by West Coast rapper and producer, DJ Quik. It was released on May 16, 2000, on Arista Records (who inherited DJ Quik's contract when they bought Profile Records). The album debuted at number 18 on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart, with 68,000 copies in its first-week of sales. [2] It was his first album not certified by the RIAA. It features the single "Pitch in on a Party" whose video was directed by photographer Patrick Hoelck.
Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
Allmusic | link |
Robert Christgau | link |
DubCNN.com | link |
RapReviews.com | link |
Rolling Stone | link |
The Source | link |
USA Today | link |
Vibe | (Favorable) link |
Balance & Options received rave reviews from contemporary music critics. Incognito from DubCNN gave the album 4.5/5 stars and wrote "On his latest effort "Balance & Options", Quik is wiser and is able to admit that he aint no gangsta. There is nothin wrong with that, Quik can still rock the parties and get respect from peeps on the streets. I really like this record, songs like "Change The Game", "Pitch in on a Party" and "Well" really mean a lot. The Beats really make the record, though I still love it, I think it deserves a 4/5 because of incredible production and deep meaning. With this album, Quik has again shown us how he has established himself as a key factor in the West coast". [3] Rolling Stone gave the album 3.5/5 stars and wrote "...Could be the most unexpectedly progressive hip-hop album of the year." [4] The Source gave the album 3/5 mics and wrote "...The gems of BALANCE are scattered like buried treasure, weighing heavily toward the LP's end. When you hear the stronger cuts, you realize BALANCE's potential..." [5]
Nathan Rabin from The A.V. Club wrote that "Balance & Options, like his stellar Rhythm-al-ism, finds the rapper-producer moving away from gangsta-oriented lyrics in favor of a more self-consciously "positive" worldview. Balance & Options finds the occasional socially conscious lyric mingling freely with rampant misogyny and homophobia—sometimes within the same song—that's too pervasive and persistent to be incidental. The album gets off to a good start and scatters strong moments throughout. "Sexuality" isn't exactly progressive, but its dense P-Funk groove is undeniable, while "Do Whatchu Want" showcases Quik and Digital Underground at their irreverent best. The instrumental "Quik's Groove" is sure-footed enough to buck the self-indulgence that plagues most instrumentals by rappers, while the melancholy "Tha Divorce Song," co-written and sung by James DeBarge, hints at intellectual and emotional growth. Balance & Options is a mixed bag, but Quik is such a talented producer that even when he's not at his best, he's still superior to the vast majority of his peers. [6]
In 2012, Kendrick Lamar included the album on his "Complex Top 25 Favorite Albums" list and wrote that "My homeboy Earl would play that album all day. One of the first songs on there ‘I Don’t Wanna Party Wit U’ is one I could remember that really jumps out to me and really gave me that feel. It was summertime, we was running around and that was always playing.” [7]
The album debuted at number 18 on the US Billboard 200 and number 5 on the US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, selling 68,000 copies in its first week. [2] It spent 18 weeks on the Billboard 200. [8] As of March 21, 2002 the album has sold over 324,000 copies in the United States. [9] It was his first album not certified by the RIAA.
Looking back, DJ Quik said: “Balance & Options was the record that didn't sell as much as the other ones. Music started to change. Downloads came in around that time, that's when the MP3 thing started to explode, more than just Shawn Fanning and Napster. Peoples started stealing music and the business was changing.“ [10]
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
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1. | "Change da Game" (featuring Mausberg) | David Blake, Johnny Burns | DJ Quik | 4:04 |
2. | "Did Y'all Feel Dat" (featuring Mausberg & Skaboobie) | Blake, Burns | DJ Quik | 3:27 |
3. | "We Came 2 Play" (featuring AMG & James DeBarge) | Blake, James DeBarge, Jason Lewis | DJ Quik | 3:49 |
4. | "Pitch in on a Party" | Blake | DJ Quik | 4:06 |
5. | "I Don't Wanna Party wit U" | Blake | DJ Quik | 5:06 |
6. | "Motex Records I (Interlude)" | Blake | DJ Quik | 1:43 |
7. | "Sexuality" | Blake | DJ Quik | 4:03 |
8. | "How Come?" | Blake | DJ Quik | 3:53 |
9. | "U Ain't Fresh" (featuring Erick Sermon & Kam) | Blake, Joe Malloy, Craig Miller, Erick Sermon, Rudy Sheriff, William Stroman | DJ Quik | 3:54 |
10. | "Roger's Groove" | Blake | DJ Quik | 2:48 |
11. | "Motex Records II (Interlude)" | Blake | DJ Quik | 0:36 |
12. | "Quikker Said Than Dunn" | Andre Young, Blake, Antoine Carraby, Eddie Floyd, O'Shea Jackson, Rahiem Thomas, Eric Wright | DJ Quik | 3:44 |
13. | "Straight from the Streets (Interlude)" | Blake | DJ Quik | 1:30 |
14. | "Speak on It" (featuring AMG & Mausberg) | Blake, Burns, Lewis | DJ Quik | 2:32 |
15. | "Do Whatcha Want" (featuring Digital Underground & AMG) | Blake, Ron Brooks, Ronnie Caldwell, Ben Cauley, Gregory Jacobs, Lewis | DJ Quik | 5:08 |
16. | "Well" (featuring Mausberg & Raphael Saadiq) | Blake, Courtney Branch, Burns, Warryn Campbell, Charles Wiggins | DJ Quik, Warryn Campbell (co.), Courtney Branch (co.) | 5:42 |
17. | "Quik's Groove V" | Blake | DJ Quik | 4:58 |
18. | "Do I Love Her?" (featuring Suga Free) | Blake, Dejuan Walker | DJ Quik | 4:00 |
19. | "Tha Divorce Song" (featuring James DeBarge) | George Archie, Blake, DeBarge | DJ Quik, G-One (co.) | 3:33 |
20. | "Balance & Options (Outro)" | Blake | DJ Quik | 1:08 |
Total length: | 70:41 |
Note
Sample credits
Credits for Balance & Options adapted from AllMusic. [11]
Chart (2000) | Peak position |
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US Billboard 200 [8] | 18 |
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums [12] | 5 |
Lorenzo Jerald Patterson, known professionally as MC Ren, is an American rapper, songwriter, and record producer from Compton, California. He is the founder and owner of the independent record label Villain Entertainment.
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Eazy-Duz-It is the debut studio album by American rapper Eazy-E. It was released on November 22, 1988, by Ruthless Records and Priority Records. The album charted on two different charts and went 2× Platinum in the United States despite very little promotion by radio and television. Three singles were released from the album, each charting in the US. The remastered version contains tracks from the extended play (EP), 5150: Home 4 tha Sick (1992). The 25th anniversary (2013) contains two bonus tracks which are 12" remixes of "We Want Eazy" and "Still Talkin.'"
Tha Blue Carpet Treatment is the eighth studio album by West Coast hip hop recording artist Snoop Dogg. It was released on November 21, 2006, by Doggystyle Records and Geffen Records. Recording sessions took place from November 2005 to September 2006 in several recording studios and artists such as Dr. Dre, The Neptunes, DJ Battlecat, DJ Pooh, Timbaland, Danja, Mark Batson, Terrace Martin, and Mr. Porter appear on the album, among others.
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Quik Is The Name is the debut studio album by American hip hop artist and producer DJ Quik, released by Profile Records on January 15, 1991. The album was produced by DJ Quik and his executive producers Courtney Branch and Tracy Kendrick. The recording sessions took place in 1990 at Westlake Recording Studios in Los Angeles, California, with a production budget of $30,000.
Rhythm-al-ism is the fourth studio album by American West Coast hip hop recording artist and producer DJ Quik, released on November 24, 1998, by Arista Records and was certified Gold by the RIAA on July 7, 1999. It peaked at number 63 on the US Billboard 200 chart. He recorded the album at Skip Sailor Recordings in Los Angeles, and worked with producer G-One. The album featured the singles "You'z a Ganxta", "Hand In Hand" featuring 2nd II None & El DeBarge, and "Down, Down, Down" featuring Suga Free, Mausberg & AMG.
The following is a discography of solo production by DJ Quik.
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Trauma is the seventh album by rapper/producer DJ Quik. It was released in 2005 and sold 100,000 copies through his own independent label Mad Science Records. The album debuted at number forty three on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart, with 24,000 copies sold in its first-week. An all instrumental version of the album was also released.
This is the discography of DJ Quik, an American hip-hop artist and Record producer. This list includes all of the official album and single releases, including his albums, Quik Is the Name, which debuted at No. 29 on the US Billboard 200 chart, and No. 9 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums in 1991. Way 2 Fonky, which debuted at No. 10 on the US Billboard 200 chart, and No. 13 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums in 1992. Safe + Sound, which debuted at No. 14 on the US Billboard 200 chart, and No. 1 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums in 1995. Rhythm-al-ism, which debuted at No. 63 on the US Billboard 200 chart, and No. 13 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums in 1995. Balance & Options, which was his first album not to chart and not to receive a RIAA certification in 2000. Under tha Influence, which debuted at No. 27 on the US Billboard 200 chart, and No. 7 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums in 2002. Trauma, which debuted at No. 43 on the US Billboard 200 chart, No. 13 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, No. 9 on the Rap Albums, and No. 1 on the Independent Albums in 2005.
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