DJ Quik

As a teenager in the '80s in the Los Angeles suburb of Compton, David Blake was a member of the notorious Treetop Piru Bloods street gang. When Blake took a construction job, a coworker introduced him to the delights of that famous hip-hop accessory, the SP-1200 sampler. Blake became DJ Quik and at age 20 he saw his debut album go platinum on the strength of the hit single "Tonite." N.W.A had put Compton on the map, and the hard working Quik took full advantage of the national attention. His G-funk-heavy, danceable, melodic music worked in clubs and on radio, and like Dr. Dre, Quik was a triple threat who could write, produce, and bust rhymes. Quik has always had notable hair, whether the fully-activated Jheri curl of his early days or his more recent shoulder-length relaxed locks. He's also known for his longstanding beef with MC Eiht (of Compton's Most Wanted); Quik once goofed Eiht all the way to the spelling bee as "having no G in him." None of this would matter if Quik wasn't a durable innovator. Balance & Options (2000) led off with the chugging chant "Change da Game," a track featuring sizzling synthesizers and a talented Quik-discovered MC named Mausberg (who was shot and killed in Compton in July 2000 at age 21). "Roger's Groove" was a talkbox tribute to the late great Roger Troutman of Zapp. The album also included "U Ain't Fresh!" (featuring EPMD's Erick Sermon), in which Quik mocked an unnamed producer as an ecstasy-popping homosexual. The track was assumed to be about Dr. Dre, but the hatchet was buried in time for Dre to produce "Put It on Me" on 2002's Under tha Influence (the track also appeared on the Training Day soundtrack). While he has never stopped wearing Blood colors, Quik has moved beyond celebrations of the gang-banging lifestyle. Partying remains his favorite subject in his crudely humorous sex rhymes, which is why it's noteworthy that intellectual and highly lyrical East Coast MCs such as Talib Kweli and Pharoahe Monch guest on Under tha Influence. Since 2000, Quik has also produced tracks on albums by Xzibit and Dre protege Truth Hurts. (PETER RELIC)

From 2004's The New Rolling Stone Album Guide