''The Midnight Life'' is the ninth

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

by American rapper DJ Quik. The album was released on October 14, 2014, by Mad Science Recordings and INgrooves Music Group. The album spawned the singles "Life Jacket" and promo single "That Getter". ''The Midnight Life'' features guest appearances from Mack 10, El DeBarge, David Blake II,

Bishop Lamont Philip Brandon Martin (born October 31, 1978), better known as Bishop Lamont, is an American rapper from Carson, California. He was signed to Dr. Dre's Aftermath Entertainment record label and released one project under the label, eventually le ...

, Joi, Rob "Fonsksta" Bacon, Suga Free, Tay F 3rd Tweed Cadillac & Dom Kennedy. The album's

production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stati ...

was handled mainly by DJ Quik himself.

Background

On December 9, 2013 in an interview with

The Arsenio Hall Show ''The Arsenio Hall Show'' is an American syndicated late-night talk show created by and starring comedian Arsenio Hall. There have been two different incarnations of ''The Arsenio Hall Show''. The original series premiered on January 3, 1989, ...

's ''Extended Play'' in

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, Quik announced he received a budget for his upcoming ninth studio album and revealed his intention to channel the DJ Quik from 1989. The album title and release date were confirmed on September 17, 2014 in a press release from DJ Quik.

Singles

On September 24, 2014, DJ Quik released the album's first

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

, titled "Life Jacket", featuring frequent collaborator Suga Free and Dom Kennedy. The song was produced by DJ Quik himself. The snippet for the song along with a short

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

for "Life Jacket", directed by Jon Casey, was released on June 11, 2013.

Critical reception

''The Midnight Life'' received generally positive reviews from

music critic ''The Oxford Companion to Music'' defines music criticism as "the intellectual activity of formulating judgments on the value and degree of excellence of individual works of music, or whole groups or genres". In this sense, it is a branch of mus ...

s. Fred Thomas of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

said, "The album ... is a fun-loving affair, frequently switching styles from jazzy, sophisticated R&B workouts like "Pet Cemetery" to heavier trap and gangsta rap beats." Jayson Greene of

Pitchfork Media ''Pitchfork'' (formerly ''Pitchfork Media'') is an American online music publication (currently owned by Condé Nast) that was launched in 1995 by writer Ryan Schreiber as an independent music blog. Schreiber started Pitchfork while working ...

stated, "The enlivening Quik touch is everywhere: 25 years into his career, he is still discovering how 2 or 3 sounds can make you momentarily forget how rap songs usually go." Darryl Robertson of '' XXL'' said, "''The Midnight Life'' shows that Quik has a passion for making music, even if it necessarily doesn’t bless the ears of today’s hip-hop fans. In a genre where styles and flows change, Quik—including his content–remains the same, which validates his authenticity. However, he fails to adjust his style to the newer generation."

Commercial performance

The album debuted at number 63 on the ''Billboard'' 200, with sales of 5,097 copies in the United States.

Track listing

Personnel

Credits for ''The Midnight Life'' adapted from

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

. * Richie Abbott – Project Manager, Publicity * Jason Allen – Keyboards * Rob "Fonksta" Bacon – Bass, Composer, Featured Artist, Guitar, Moog Synthesizer * David "Preach" Bal4 – Keyboards, Piano, Producer * David Blake II – Drum Programming, Featured Artist, Keyboards, Programming, Vocals * Tweed Cadillac – Vocals * El DeBarge – Composer, Featured Artist, Keyboards * DJ Quik – Bass, Drum Programming, Drums, Horn, Instrumentation, Keyboards, Primary Artist, Producer * David Foreman – Bass, Guitar * Eboni Foster – Vocals * Kenya Frank – Photography * Brian Gardner – Mastering * Joi – Vocals * Dom Kennedy – Vocals *

– Vocals * Mack 10 – Vocals * Marco Olivia – Design, Packaging * Rillah – Photography * Courtney Robertson – Guitar * Keith Ross – Bass, Composer * Stephen Sletten – Engineer * Keisha Smith – Vocals * Suga Free – Vocals * Tayf3rd – Vocals * D-Loc Walker – Drums

Charts

Release history

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Midnight Life 2014 albums Albums produced by DJ Quik Mad Science Recordings albums DJ Quik albums