DJ Quik

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DJ Quik
Background information
Birth name	David Martin Blake
Also known as	David Blake Quik
Born	January 18, 1970 (1970-01-18) (age 38)
Origin	Compton, California, U.S.
Genre(s)	Hip-Hop West Coast hip-hop G-Funk
Years active	1987 – present
Label(s)	Universal Records, Deathrow Records, Arista Records, Ark 21, Madscience
Associated acts	AMG Suga Free 2nd II None Hi-C Mausberg
Website	www.dj-quik.com

David Martin Blake (born January 18, 1970), better known by his stage name DJ Quik, is a rapper and record producer from Compton, California.

Contents 1 Biography 2 Discography 3 References 4 External links

[edit] Biography

He grew up without a father and moved out of his mother's home when he was only 17.^[1] Growing up on Spruce St. in Compton, California during a time when gangs were rampant in Los Angeles County, he took affiliation with the Tree top Piru Bloods, something he would later in his career frown on.^{[citation needed]} He spelled his name without the "C" because, being a Blood, he didn't want to offend anybody.^{[citation needed]} In gang culture "ck" together would mean 'Crip Killer'.^[2] It was always thought that he had 8 sisters, but in a March 2007 interview he stated that he only had one, explaining that Profile Records at the time had suggested to add it to his background.^[2] He began selling homemade mixtapes (like The Red Tape, 1987) after he received a turntable for his 9th grade graduation and then began doing shows DJing around Southern California. He signed to Profile Records in the summer of 1990, reportedly as the label's first six figure signee.^[3] Not only could he write his own songs, he could produce as well.

His debut album, Quik Is the Name, which was released in 1991, was led by the success of two top 20 R&B singles, "Tonite" and "Born and Raised in Compton." The album ended up reaching 10th on the album charts,^[4] and being certified Platinum by the RIAA.^[5] None of his successive albums reached the success of his debut, though they have been well received. He later released his second album entitled Way 2 Fonky in 1992. It was certified Gold by October 9. It included the smashing hits "Way 2 Fonky" and "Jus Lyke Compton" The album later reached the twenty-fourth spot on the Top 25 Hip-Hop Albums list in 2005. His third album Safe & Sound, released in 1995, made number 14 on the Billboard 200. It included the tracks "Dollaz & Sense" and Safe & Sound" The tracks "Dollaz & Sense" and "Let You Havit" were diss tracks to Compton rapper and member of the rival Tragnew Park Compton Crips, MC Eiht. The two would make several threats and diss tracks to each other in the mid 1990's. Today, Quik is on good terms with MC Eiht.^[6] Quik also beefed with House of Pain lead MC, Everlast. On the Menace II Society (soundtrack), Quik dissed Everlast in his verse on "Can't Fuck With a Nigga". Also in the mid 1990s, along with Gangsta D from 2nd II None, he had a beef with long time friend AMG, Quik had dissed him on the song "Get at Me". The two made up 3 years later, where AMG played a prominent role on Quik's fourth album Rhythm-al-ism, which was released in 1998.

He was chiefly inspired by funk and soul artists,^[7] such as Roger Troutman (who even taught him the use of the talkbox, which became a trademark for Quik's sound throughout his career) and George Clinton.

Throughout his career, Quik has collaborated with and produced for artists including 2Pac ("Heartz of Men", "Late Night"), Janet Jackson ("All For You (Remix)"), Snoop Dogg ("Doin' Too Much", "Don't Tell", "Buss'n Rocks"), Talib Kweli ("Put It In The Air"), Whitney Houston ("Fine"), Adina Howard "((Freak) And U Know It)", Kurupt ("Can't Go Wrong"), E-40 ("Quarterbackin' [DJ Quik remix]"), Jay-Z ("Justify My Thug"), Xzibit ("Sorry I'm Away So Much"), Ludacris ("Spur of the Moment"), Chingy ("Bagg Up"), Erick Sermon ("Focus"), Roscoe ("Get Flipped"), Dr. Dre, 2nd II None, Hi-C, Suga Free, 8 Ball & MJG ("Buck Bounce", "Jankie"), Eazy-E, Twiztid ("Hurt Someone"), Yung Joc ("Cut Throat") and countless others, his most recent being "Press Play" on Snoop Dogg's new album "Ego Trippin'".

Though he is only credited for producing "Heartz of Men" on 2Pac's acclaimed All Eyez on Me (in the credits he used his real name, David Blake, because he was under contract to Profile) he also did additional production and mixed half the album. In 2002, he produced Truth Hurts' Top 10 pop hit "Addictive". Quik used an uncleared Hindi sample on the record, and the copyright holders eventually filed a $500 million dollar lawsuit against Truth Hurts' label, Aftermath Entertainment. Quik also produced and appeared on another track on Truth Hurts' debut LP, Truthfully Speaking, entitled I'm Not Really Lookin.^[8] Quik also produced the 2Pac song "Late Night" on the 2002 Better Dayz, which was originally done in the mid 1990's featuring AMG instead of the Outlawz.^[9]

Quik faced personal and professional tragedy when his close friend and protegé Mausberg was murdered on the 4th of July, 2000. Mausberg was robbed in the street and left for dead with gunshots to the chest. This was compounded by the death of his best friend Daryl Reed soon after.^[10]

After the lacklustre sales of his fifth album, Balance & Options released in 2000, he was dropped by Arista Records which in 1998 had bought Profile Records. In 2002 he released Under tha Influence under Ark 21 Records which also sold poorly. In September 2005, DJ Quik released his first independent album on his own new label, Mad Science Recordings. The album is titled Trauma and reflects the turmoil in the producer's life over the past few years.^[11] In recent years he has worked with a 74 piece orchestra during a collaboration with Marcus Miller while working on the score to the movie "Head of State".

On June 28, 2006, DJ Quik began a five-month stint in jail for assaulting his sister. The incident occurred in 2003 when he allegedly pulled a gun during a family argument, according to police reports.^[12] DJ Quik was released early in October 2006 and began working on a DJ Quik & AMG collaboration album.

In preparation for the upcoming collaboration, which was expected for release in late 2007, DJ Quik and AMG formed the group: The Fixxers. Along with the formation of the duo, he dropped the "DJ" from his name for the upcoming album and rapped as "Quik".^[13] In March 2007 they had signed a single deal with Interscope Records for the release of their album "Midnight Life" and promoted it with "Can You Werk Wit Dat?"^[14] However, the album was scrapped due to unauthorized actions by business partners who illegally put it up for sale on the internet in December of 2007. The album was then spread across the internet as a bootleg. In February 2008, Quik finished up mixing and producing for Snoop Dogg's new record Ego Trippin. In the process of working with Snoop Dogg, a production group called QDT was formed. It stands for Quik-Dogg-Teddy and consists of DJ Quik, Snoop Dogg and Teddy Riley. It was also recently revealed that a collaboration album with Tha Dogg Pound member, Kurupt, is in the works and they have recorded one track so far.^[15]

[edit] Discography

Main article: DJ Quik discography

• 1991: Quik Is the Name
• 1992: Way 2 Fonky
• 1995: Safe & Sound
• 1998: Rhythm-al-ism
• 2000: Balance & Options
• 2002: Under tha Influence
• 2005: Trauma

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• DJ Quik's Myspace
• DJ Quik productions @ dubcc.com
• DJ Quik discography @ dubcc.com
• DJ Quik videography @ dubcc.com

v • d • e DJ Quik Albums Quik Is the Name · Way 2 Fonky · Safe & Sound · Rhythm-al-ism · Balance & Options · Under tha Influence · Trauma Singles "Born and Raise in Compton" · "Tonite" · "Sweet Black Pussy" · "Way 2 Fonky" · "Jus Lyke Compton" · "Safe & Sound" · "Dollaz & Sense" · "You'z a Ganxta" · "Hand in Hand" · "Down, Down, Down" · "Pitch It on a Party" · "Trouble" · "Black Mercedes" Related articles Discography · The Fixxers