Don't be confused by the name; DJ Quik isn't offering up a paint-by-numbers in-the-mix recording, or any fancy turntable manipulation. Instead, this multi-talented artist is busy defining a new genre for himself on RHYTHM-AL-ISM. A vocalist, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, DJ Quik's abilities and musical interests are too wide-ranging to be contained by any one style. He fuses good-timey, often boastful rapping with vintage '70s R&B and early-'80s Rick James-style funk-rock. Though he's as obsessed with the opposite sex as anyone this side of R. Kelly, Quik has a contemplative side, as seen on "You'z a Gangsta." On this cut, he continually refutes the title's accusation, offering a strenuous enough protest to put you on his side. Mostly, though, RHYTHM-AL-ISM is pure party music-light-hearted, funky and irresistible.