DJ Quik Biography
David Blake, 18 January 1970, Compton, California, USA. Rap artist whose deification of his home town, where he had grown up the youngest of ten children, pervaded both his first two albums ("Born And Raised In Compton" on his 1991 debut, and minor hit single "Jus Lyke Compton" on the follow-up set). At the age of 12 Blake began to learn the art of DJing, but it wasn't until N.W.A. exploded on the West Coast that he actually considered these skills might provide a career. He began recording cassettes, one of which found its way into the hands of Profile Records A&R man Dave Moss, head of their newly opened Los Angeles office. His debut set saw comparisons to Prince, though in mode of operation rather than musical terms: Quik writing, rapping, producing and arranging the set in its entirety. Rather than repeating the gangsta stance of his near-neighbours N.W.A. (though he claimed to be a former member of the Bloods gang), Quik confirmed that "There's a fun side to Compton, too", reflecting this in songs about sex (the rather too obvious "Sweet Black Pussy' - I'm like Noah's Ark, My bitches come in pairs"), alcohol ("8 Ball") and marijuana ("Tha Bombudd"). His biggest hit, however, came with the Top 50-breaking "Tonite". He also produced widely for Compton groups including 2nd II None and Penthouse.
DJ Quik signed a distribution contract with the influential Death Row Records for his 1995 set, Safe + Sound, which borrowed even more heavily from George Clinton's G-funk sound. By now his commercial star was on the wane, and despite a new contract with Arista Records in the late 90s he was dropped following the flop 2000 release Balance & Options. The success of productions for 2Pac, Janet Jackson, Whitney Houston, Jay-Z, Ludacris, Dr. Dre, 8Ball And MJG and Truth Hurts helped keep Quik's name in the media spotlight, however, as did a prominent slot on Won-G's 2001 hit single "Nothing's Wrong". He continued to record as a solo artist in the new millennium, releasing the independent albums Under Tha Influence (2002) and Trauma (2005). Both albums saw Quik wisely dropping his G-funk obsession and drawing inspiration from the new generation of Dirty South rappers.
Source: The Encyclopedia of Popular Music by Colin Larkin. Licensed from Muze.
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