DJ Quik's Former Manager Stan Sheppard Talks: DJ Quik, New Label & Projects

[Playano]

Dope interview!..

[GangstaBoogy]

Very interesting. He knows more than I do but IMO, Quik's career never progressed into what it should have because he never branched out. Didn't necessarily have to be R&B like Stan Sheppard suggested, but he definitely shouldve been producing for more artist than just 2nd II None, Hi-C, Amg, and Suga Free.

[R-Tistic]

really interesting read, he gives a good insight into the music industry and the labels.
Well, this article makes it look like Quik refused the money in order to stay real. I got great respect for  that he pushed and helped all his homies with his productions instead of making money with big mainstream artists. This shows that Quik is one of the few who stayed modest and is not a greedy sellout like 90% of the people. Still you could argue Quik wasted his talent in some regards especially if you compare him with Dre, but for the fans only the music counts and when you see his discog no1 can say he wasted his talent. Sometimes luck or destiny decides such things, who knows what  would've happened if Mausberg was alive etc.
If other people don't acknoledge because they're not ready/able to look behind their small MTV world, it's their problem and not Quiks.

As much as "keepin it real" sounds great as a staple in the Hip Hop community...it's a major reason that many cats end up broke, if not worst.

For a producer, I don't think you can really knock them the same way you knock a rapper for "selling out" or trying to become mainstream. Most of the major producers we have seen in history became major because they were able to branch out and produce for artists that were outside of their "range" and end up making them even bigger stars than they already are. Looking at how powerful Motown was, who in the hell would have thought that ANYBODY would have been able to take Michael Jackson and produce the most successful albums of his career AFTER he was done with Motown? Quincy Jones did that...and with Quik, I feel that he had the talent to do the same with many other artists that he could have worked with, and even those that he did work with.

Looking at Raphael Saadiq, most will agree that he is a better talent than R. Kelly, just as many of us argue that Quik's a better talent than Dre...but neither of them never made the albums, singles, and the OVERALL impact in the industry to prove it. I feel that Quik could have done for R&B artists, such as Raphael and Deborah Cox that he worked with, what Dre did for Mary and what many other producers have done for their R&B artists. As a rapper, I think Quik had much more mainstream appeal than most of our artists, and it is terrible that Arista wouldn't promote him at that level...but as a producer, if Lane is right, Quik must have held himself back.

Overall...most rap fans would say that J. Dilla was a better producer than Quik, if you go up to the point of Dilla's death. I would have never in life agreed 4-5 years ago...but after looking back, I feel that Dilla was a better PRODUCER....while Quik was still much more musically inclined, and could have become as good or better of a producer than Dilla.

[Rud]

Some great responses here! nice to see an interview stir up discussion...keep it coming

[soopadoopaflykid]

really interesting read, he gives a good insight into the music industry and the labels.
Well, this article makes it look like Quik refused the money in order to stay real. I got great respect for  that he pushed and helped all his homies with his productions instead of making money with big mainstream artists. This shows that Quik is one of the few who stayed modest and is not a greedy sellout like 90% of the people. Still you could argue Quik wasted his talent in some regards especially if you compare him with Dre, but for the fans only the music counts and when you see his discog no1 can say he wasted his talent. Sometimes luck or destiny decides such things, who knows what  would've happened if Mausberg was alive etc.
If other people don't acknoledge because they're not ready/able to look behind their small MTV world, it's their problem and not Quiks.

As much as "keepin it real" sounds great as a staple in the Hip Hop community...it's a major reason that many cats end up broke, if not worst.

For a producer, I don't think you can really knock them the same way you knock a rapper for "selling out" or trying to become mainstream. Most of the major producers we have seen in history became major because they were able to branch out and produce for artists that were outside of their "range" and end up making them even bigger stars than they already are. Looking at how powerful Motown was, who in the hell would have thought that ANYBODY would have been able to take Michael Jackson and produce the most successful albums of his career AFTER he was done with Motown? Quincy Jones did that...and with Quik, I feel that he had the talent to do the same with many other artists that he could have worked with, and even those that he did work with.

Looking at Raphael Saadiq, most will agree that he is a better talent than R. Kelly, just as many of us argue that Quik's a better talent than Dre...but neither of them never made the albums, singles, and the OVERALL impact in the industry to prove it. I feel that Quik could have done for R&B artists, such as Raphael and Deborah Cox that he worked with, what Dre did for Mary and what many other producers have done for their R&B artists. As a rapper, I think Quik had much more mainstream appeal than most of our artists, and it is terrible that Arista wouldn't promote him at that level...but as a producer, if Lane is right, Quik must have held himself back.

Overall...most rap fans would say that J. Dilla was a better producer than Quik, if you go up to the point of Dilla's death. I would have never in life agreed 4-5 years ago...but after looking back, I feel that Dilla was a better PRODUCER....while Quik was still much more musically inclined, and could have become as good or better of a producer than Dilla.

I wouldnt say Dilla is more of a better producer because most of his stuff is sampled based and if you look back on those records he sampled...he really didnt flip them that much...honestly dilla was just a good raregroove digger.