Balances & Options

Released only a matter of months after Dr. Dre’s landmark The Chronic: 2001, Quik’s Balance & Options might remind one of Dre, but the album is actually a very precise demonstration of the differences between Dre and Quik. Both producers pride themselves on precisely constructed productions, strengthened by sharp grooves and sonic detail, but where Dre’s tracks can feel cold and calculated, Balance & Options is vibrant and warm. Like Dre, Quik often uses live instrumentation, and it makes all the difference on songs like “I Don’t Wanna Party Wit U.” Balance & Options is pure block party, picnic table BBQ and Coronas included. As masterful as Quik is, he never sounds agitated or over-serious on the mic; his Compton stories are less about gang threats than a laid-back lifestyle. Listen to “Did Y’all Feel Dat?” or “We Came 2 Play” or “Pinch In On A Party” and see if can’t feel the Cali sun on you neck. Quik himself sums it up on “How Come?”: “Cuz if the West be a movie, then this be the soundtrack.”