Balance & Options

Professional ratings

Review scores
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]

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.[1] 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.

Note

•  • (co.) Co-producer

Sample credits

• "Pitch In Ona Party" contains sample of "We Still Party" - earlier Quik's track, from his previous album "Rhythm-al-ism".
• "You Ain't Fresh" contains portions of "You Ain't Fresh" by Boogie Boys.
• "Quikker Said Than Dunn" contains samples of "Eazy-er Said Than Dunn" by Eazy-E.
• "Do Whatcha Want" contains samples of "Let's Have Some Fun" by The Bar-Kays.

Credits for Balance & Options adapted from AllMusic.[10]