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DJ Quik Information
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'DJ Quik' (born 'David Martin Blake' on January 18, 1970, later changed his name to 'Dante Blake') is a West Coast rapper and record producer from Compton, California. He was raised at 436 West Spruce Street in Compton, California. As a teen he took up an affiliation with the Tree Top Piru Bloods, hence why his name is spelled Quik with the C conspicuously missing. He grew up without a father and moved out of his mother's home when he was only 17. He lived in the house as the only male with 8 sisters. His home life was far from stable as he raps in a song that one of his sisters was selling drugs to one of his other sisters. He began selling homemade mixtapes after he received a turntable for his 9th grade graduation and then began doing shows DJing around Southern California when he moved out. He signed to Profile Records in the summer of 1990, reportedly as the label's first six figure signee. Not only could he rap and write his own songs, he could produce as well.
His debut album, "Quik Is The Name" was led by the success of two top 20 R&B singles, "Tonite" and "Born and Raised in Compton." "Tonite" even charted on the pop charts. The album ended up reaching 10th on the album charts. None of his successive albums reached the success of his debut, though they have been well received in California, particularly his 1998 release "Rhythm-Al-Ism." His most popular albums are Quik Is The Name and Safe + Sound. The latter was his only album executive produced by Suge Knight, with whom DJ Quik signed on to Death Row Records. While on Death Row, he recorded "Dollaz And Sense," which was a diss track to Compton rapper and member of the rival Tragniew Park Crips MC Eiht. Though full of bravado at the time, Quik now admits to fearing for his life during the period.
Other singles by DJ Quik include "Safe + Sound", "Down Down Down" which became a huge hit on LA radio stations during the summer of 1998, and "Pitch In Ona Party", a national hit during the summer of 2000.
DJ Quik is one of the innovators of the G-funk style that dominated West Coast rap during the 90s. He has collaborated with and produced for artists such as 2Pac ("Heartz of Men"), The Outlawz, Janet Jackson ("All For You"), Snoop Dogg, Talib Kweli ("Put It In The Air"), Whitney Houston ("Fine"), Kurupt ("Can't Go Wrong"), Jay-Z ("Justify My Thug"), Xzibit ("Sorry I'm Away So Much"), Ludacris ("Spur of the Moment"), Chingy ("Bagg Up", and "Wurr's My Cash"),Dr. Dre, 2nd II None, Hi-C, and 8Ball & MJG ("Buck Bounce"). Though he formally produced only "Heartz of Men" on 2Pac's masterpiece "All Eyez On Me" album, he went uncredited for engineering many other tracks on 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 faced personal and professional tragedy when his friend, and protegé Mausberg was murdered on the 4th of July, 2000. This was compounded by the death of his best friend Daryl Reed soon after.
Following 2000's "Balance and Options" CD he was dropped by Arista Records which in 1998 had bought Profile Records. In September 2005, DJ Quik released his first independent album on his own new label, Mad Science, which is distributed by Warner Bros.The album is titled "Trauma" and reflects the turmoil in the producer's life over the past few years.In recent years he worked with a 74 piece orchestra during a collaboration with Marcus Miller while working on the score to the movie "Head of State." Over the years Quik has morphed from a hardcore gangsta rapper to a mainstream producer and rapper who is not afraid to change his style. He has abandoned his West Coast roots and now produces very much his own unique style.
Discography
* Quik Is The Name (1991)
* Way 2 Fonky (1992)
* Safe + Sound (1995)
* Rhythm-al-ism (1998)
* Balance & Options (2000)
* Under Tha Influence (2002)
* All The Best From DJ Quik - Da Finale(2002)
* Trauma (2005)
Trivia
* DJ Quik's name is often erroneously spelled DJ Quick.
* He DJed for The Game and 50 Cent during their TRL performance on MTV and appeared in The Game's "How We Do" video
* His birth name is David Martin Blake
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