It appears that legendary producer DJ Quik is tired of not getting his flowers, so on Tuesday (July 22) he took them.
“DJ Quik is actually who everyone thinks Dr. Dre is,” a fan posted on social media.
“Finally. Someone had the balls to say it,” Quik wrote in the comments.
For years the legendary producer and rapper has been overshadowed in the conversation on shaping West Coast hip hop by Dre. Dre’s early success with hip hop pillars N.W.A helped spur his celebrity as a producer. After leaving Death Row and starting his own label, Dre would go on to start his own label Aftermath and sign hip hop royalty Eminem, who would go on to sign 50 Cent.
What many people don’t know is that Quik was along for that ride with Dre and was influential in Dre’s success. During an appearance on Drink Champs, Quik told hosts NORE and DJ EFN that he came up with the hook for Dre and 2Pac’s “California Love.” In an interview with the Village Voice, Quik noted that he was responsible for part of the ear worm beat that became 50 Cent’s “In Da Club.”
“[Most people] don’t even know why they like that song ‘In Da Club’ by 50 Cent,” he said. “They just know that they’ve heard it more than any other song, and it never gets old somehow. Well, it’s because I helped Dr. Dre with the drums. I gave him those claps, and that kick. He acknowledges that now.”
It’s important to note that Quik is not arguing that he’s better than Dre (in fact, he considers Dre his big brother) he just believes he should be mentioned in the same breath for the work he’s done to shape Hip-Hop.
“I know it’s early. But I deserve to be where Dre is,” Quik wrote back in 2022 on Twitter (now X). “I don’t think it’s fair, but I understand why. I’ve never had a machine behind me that always hurt my friends more than it did me. My friends have come to me in confidentiality to say ‘Do your music like you want to. Just be DJ Quik! People love that sh*t!’”
“This doesn’t need to be on a podcast,” Quik continued. “Because you have fire starters, who want to spin everything to get more ratings. But the truth is: I love Dr. Dre, like a big brother, one I never had. It pains me when people pit us against each other.”
Quik also noted that he’s never going to receive the accolades he deserves, but people will never be able to deny the impact he’s made in music.
“There is no automatic winning lottery ticket for everyone, Periodt. On this planet, you get what you get. But it’s what you do with what you have been given to work with that makes you a star,” wrote Quik. “I know I’ll never be as popular as I need to be, but I have 10s of artists superstars! And when they shine, I just smile. The janitor doesn’t get all the glory, but he keeps the backstage, clean as a triage.”