Quadry – Malik Ruff Album Review

Story posted November 8, 2018 in CommRadio, Sports by Rachel Miloscia

Baton Rouge rapper Quadry released his debut album Malik Ruff. Starting back in 2017,
Quadry went through some downfalls that were incorporated to create this piece. In 2016, his
father died and in the beginning of this year Quadry lost his close friend who was also his
mentor. Quadry considered two things when making this album: How to memorialize his friends,
who are included throughout the album, and how he is growing out of his old self with
fear but holding on to his faith. From tradegy, Quadry was able to take that pain, and instead of
holding back, he unleashed all the emotions from pen to paper, and now into this album.

As for Malik Ruff, Quadry states, “I really created something honest to me because of
tragedy.”

Features included in his album are Idaye, bLAck pARty and executive producer Tev’n.
The musical aspect of this album is very different, which makes him stand out as an artist.
Quadry incorporates numerous sounds from conversations between people, police sirens and the
notorious FaceTime tone. These sounds bring along numerous beats that switch up
throughout songs such as "Motion/Settle" and "Bluegrass."

The first song on the album, "Motion/Settle," starts off with a guitar and the relaxing sound
of waves crashing in the background. Quadry sings about a night out with his friends and finds
himself almost doubting himself. He questions himself in regards of living up to his potential and
when he will start to see a change. Quadry sings in his chorus, “Feeling for a change never settle/
Onto the next it’s whatever," which delivers a message to listeners to keep moving forward and
to never expect anything less. The song “1:04," showcases guitar along with drum like beats that
keep the same rhythm throughout the song. It is a catchy tune that ties in with the lyrical flow
Quadry portrays. This song introduces Quadrys inner thoughts when questioning a real man and
a dream. He references influential people such as Whitney Houston, Martin Luther King,
Malcolm X, Michael Jordan and Jay-Z. One thing all these people have in common is they
started from the bottom and built their own successful empire that touched the lives of many. In
his song “Bluegrass,” Quadry starts off the song talking about smoking, which leads him to
reminisce about his Mississippi home. He raps about southern cooking, beautiful women and the
unfortunate popularity of gun violence, which led to the death of friends who did not make it to
see 23. The music flow starts off laid back with mostly the guitar and beat of the
drums that switch into a more upbeat sound that still includes the guitar with drum like beats.

This album was something different than what you usually hear in the rap game. Quadry
was able to express his own emotional roller coaster and implement it perfectly into the lyrics.

Essentially, with the combination of the lyrics and music, Quadry creates the perfect chilled out
tunes that will have listeners play on repeat. As a debut album, Quadry stresses on the
importance of an album and how the people will react to it. He says, “People hold albums close
to they heart more.”

Quadry nails the importance of his album by finding his purpose: music.

Rating: 7/10

 

 

Rachel Miloscia is a junior majoring in Telecommunications. To contact her, please email her at
rmiloscia34@gmail.com.