West Coast Connection Forum
DUBCC - Tha Connection => West Coast Classics => Topic started by: Dopeisjay on November 20, 2010, 03:23:14 PM
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http://www.ocweekly.com/2010-11-18/music/dj-quik-grove-of-anaheim/
DJ Quik Turning His Back on Hip-Hop?
Hip-Hop vet says he wants to transcend the genre that made him famous
By BROOKLYNE GIPSON Thursday, Nov 18 2010
Weird. Strange. A gangster. According to West Coast veteran DJ Quik, he has been tagged with every label in the book except the one he wants most: musician. However, if things go his way, that will change soon.
This past August, the beat-maker hosted a listening party for his upcoming LP, The Book of David, at Wavaflow Studios in Los Feliz. In typical Quik fashion, he nonchalantly opened the session with the flippant announcement he really doesn’t “like hip-hop music anymore.” He went on to explain to the silenced room that he likes doing music for film. “I’m going to be a music-score guy in a few minutes, and that’s what it’s gonna be forever,” he said.
Although it was disheartening to hear the legendary producer/rapper threaten to leave his devoted fans hanging, the 40-year-old’s candor offered interesting insight; Quik has never been one to reveal his thoughts easily. Besides, as he explained in a later conversation, it’s not that he’s necessarily over the genre; he’s just beyond it. “Hip-hop, to me, is just one genre of music,” he says. “And there are so many other genres of music.”
A classically trained musician, Quik is equally adept behind the boards as he is behind the mic or with instrument in hand. And now, he’s more focused on showcasing his fluidity. Although he rarely grants interviews, Quik spoke with enthusiasm about his plans for the future.
“Lately, I’ve been really studying a lot of piano under one of my composer friends. So I’m taking it somewhere else,” he says. “I really don’t want to have to compete with the jerk genre and the bubble-gum, pump-your-fist music. That’s not what I do.”
Like many other artists, Quik is taking his career into his own hands, by focusing not only on sales, but also the legacy he’s creating. “I would rather be considered closer to people like Curtis Mayfield than Kurtis Blow,” he says. “Even though I’m overlooked, if you look at my résumé in aggregate sales with Universal through the Universal video-distribution channel, I’ve already sold 100 million records. . . . I don’t want to sound pompous, but I was here before hip-hop. I was producing music before hip-hop. Hip-hop started in 1979, and I was playing musical instruments when I was 8 and 9 years old—before I even heard of hip-hop.”
With seven released albums of his own and a laundry list of production credits that includes tracks on everything from 2Pac’s All Eyez On Me, Talib Kweli’s Quality, Jay-Z’s The Black Album and Ludacris’ Red Light District, Quik has sold more than 3 million albums on his own (the albums he has produced on account for the other 97 million). The view from 20 years down the line has Quik seeing things in a new light, valuing quality over quantity. “Before, I didn’t take making music seriously,” he says. “I didn’t see the end coming. But you know when you start getting up in age, some things just tickle your fancy more than sitting up in a room, smoking a blunt and making a fucking beat.”
While Quik claims he produced The Book of David out of a distaste for hip-hop, at the end of the day, it’s still the heavy-hitting, hard-spitting Quik we know and love. “I’m rhyming like hell right now,” he says about the upcoming set. “It’s almost like my autobiography, in a sense. I’ve never been candid because I never thought that people would take the former Jheri-curl-wearing, Puerto Rican-looking rapper seriously, but now, to me, it’s really all about the spit. It’s about how I really feel. I’m just being really insightful on this record because I’m here basically to leave my musical legacy now. That’s where I’m at.”
For Quik, writing theme music is his way of transcending his reputation. “I’m going to where Barry White was conducting orchestras,” he says.
After all, DJ Quik emphasizes, “I’m way bigger than hip-hop. . . . Hip-hop is menial to me, and it’s not as fun as it used to be.”
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u kno matty's trippin off this 1 lmao!
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http://www.ocweekly.com/2010-11-18/music/dj-quik-grove-of-anaheim/
DJ Quik Turning His Back on Hip-Hop?
Hip-Hop vet says he wants to transcend the genre that made him famous
By BROOKLYNE GIPSON Thursday, Nov 18 2010
Weird. Strange. A gangster. According to West Coast veteran DJ Quik, he has been tagged with every label in the book except the one he wants most: musician. However, if things go his way, that will change soon.
This past August, the beat-maker hosted a listening party for his upcoming LP, The Book of David, at Wavaflow Studios in Los Feliz. In typical Quik fashion, he nonchalantly opened the session with the flippant announcement he really doesn’t “like hip-hop music anymore.” He went on to explain to the silenced room that he likes doing music for film. “I’m going to be a music-score guy in a few minutes, and that’s what it’s gonna be forever,” he said.
Although it was disheartening to hear the legendary producer/rapper threaten to leave his devoted fans hanging, the 40-year-old’s candor offered interesting insight; Quik has never been one to reveal his thoughts easily. Besides, as he explained in a later conversation, it’s not that he’s necessarily over the genre; he’s just beyond it. “Hip-hop, to me, is just one genre of music,” he says. “And there are so many other genres of music.”
A classically trained musician, Quik is equally adept behind the boards as he is behind the mic or with instrument in hand. And now, he’s more focused on showcasing his fluidity. Although he rarely grants interviews, Quik spoke with enthusiasm about his plans for the future.
“Lately, I’ve been really studying a lot of piano under one of my composer friends. So I’m taking it somewhere else,” he says. “I really don’t want to have to compete with the jerk genre and the bubble-gum, pump-your-fist music. That’s not what I do.”
Like many other artists, Quik is taking his career into his own hands, by focusing not only on sales, but also the legacy he’s creating. “I would rather be considered closer to people like Curtis Mayfield than Kurtis Blow,” he says. “Even though I’m overlooked, if you look at my résumé in aggregate sales with Universal through the Universal video-distribution channel, I’ve already sold 100 million records. . . . I don’t want to sound pompous, but I was here before hip-hop. I was producing music before hip-hop. Hip-hop started in 1979, and I was playing musical instruments when I was 8 and 9 years old—before I even heard of hip-hop.”
With seven released albums of his own and a laundry list of production credits that includes tracks on everything from 2Pac’s All Eyez On Me, Talib Kweli’s Quality, Jay-Z’s The Black Album and Ludacris’ Red Light District, Quik has sold more than 3 million albums on his own (the albums he has produced on account for the other 97 million). The view from 20 years down the line has Quik seeing things in a new light, valuing quality over quantity. “Before, I didn’t take making music seriously,” he says. “I didn’t see the end coming. But you know when you start getting up in age, some things just tickle your fancy more than sitting up in a room, smoking a blunt and making a fucking beat.”
While Quik claims he produced The Book of David out of a distaste for hip-hop, at the end of the day, it’s still the heavy-hitting, hard-spitting Quik we know and love. “I’m rhyming like hell right now,” he says about the upcoming set. “It’s almost like my autobiography, in a sense. I’ve never been candid because I never thought that people would take the former Jheri-curl-wearing, Puerto Rican-looking rapper seriously, but now, to me, it’s really all about the spit. It’s about how I really feel. I’m just being really insightful on this record because I’m here basically to leave my musical legacy now. That’s where I’m at.”
For Quik, writing theme music is his way of transcending his reputation. “I’m going to where Barry White was conducting orchestras,” he says.
After all, DJ Quik emphasizes, “I’m way bigger than hip-hop. . . . Hip-hop is menial to me, and it’s not as fun as it used to be.”
but let's see if he can make music that's better than his cheap funk and jazz imitations. that's not even a diss so don't nobody play me like that. but it's not like we've heard much from DJ Quik out of the realm of hip hop/rap and rnb that sounded like anything phenomenal. Some of the "quik's grooves" were alright but it's not like those records screamed at u and believe me i had a love 4 those songs back n tha day just becuz it was DJ Quik. but i wanna see if he can actually make something as good as he's making himself out to be right now.
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but let's see if he can make music that's better than his cheap funk and jazz imitations.
If you think Quik's productions are cheap jazz and funk imitations then what funky hip-hop would you consider not cheap, and quality?
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but let's see if he can make music that's better than his cheap funk and jazz imitations.
If you think Quik's productions are cheap jazz and funk imitations then what funky hip-hop would you consider not cheap, and quality?
i wasn't talkin about his beats (not at all) but I am talkin about all of those Quik's Grooves that he's done over the years. Those ARE cheap funk and jazz imitations made for a Hip Hop audience in mind. They just can't cut it if he's talkin about being compared to Barry White and all of them (and no i'm not about to do that old skool vs. new skool thing) but i do believe he should STEP HIS GAME UP if he's talking about being a composer. Composing music with the DJ Quik that we all know isn't gonna jump off, he's gotta be kidding. He should hook up with artists like Janelle Monae and other alternative music artist (outside of Hip Hop, of any culture) if he wants to do it right.
Quik is good no doubt, i'm not sleeping on his musician skills (becuz we've only heard a handful of original material by him) but if he wants to get his RESPECT as a musician then he's gotta step his game up to a whole nother level (starting by getting rid of those claps lol). Like dude has to really really get into it and go deep in it if he's talking about having a whole different career. I believe the passion is there (no question) but he'll need bands and the whole 9 if he wants to get away from just being DJ Quik. i'm all behind it though, i wanna see somebody do it (no1's done it yet), he just has 2 put his money where his mouth is. you can't brag about yourself and have nothing to show for it.
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i believe he can do it.. he gots a great mind in music
and he gots his band backin him on it too..
if u havent heard his band yall really gotta
hit a quik show.. the chemistry between
all of em is too dope! they really have come together
well since i first heard them live. but let's see if he can make music that's better than his cheap funk and jazz imitations.
If you think Quik's productions are cheap jazz and funk imitations then what funky hip-hop would you consider not cheap, and quality?
i wasn't talkin about his beats (not at all) but I am talkin about all of those Quik's Grooves that he's done over the years. Those ARE cheap funk and jazz imitations made for a Hip Hop audience in mind. They just can't cut it if he's talkin about being compared to Barry White and all of them (and no i'm not about to do that old skool vs. new skool thing) but i do believe he should STEP HIS GAME UP if he's talking about being a composer. Composing music with the DJ Quik that we all know isn't gonna jump off, he's gotta be kidding. He should hook up with artists like Janelle Monae and other alternative music artist (outside of Hip Hop, of any culture) if he wants to do it right.
Quik is good no doubt, i'm not sleeping on his musician skills (becuz we've only heard a handful of original material by him) but if he wants to get his RESPECT as a musician then he's gotta step his game up to a whole nother level (starting by getting rid of those claps lol). Like dude has to really really get into it and go deep in it if he's talking about having a whole different career. I believe the passion is there (no question) but he'll need bands and the whole 9 if he wants to get away from just being DJ Quik. i'm all behind it though, i wanna see somebody do it (no1's done it yet), he just has 2 put his money where his mouth is. you can't brag about yourself and have nothing to show for it.
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cheap funk/jazz imitations! i've heard it all now. clearly quik is a sonic genius and musically more inclined than pretty much anyone in hip-hop. his material stands the test of time.
good looks on the interview, can't wait for book of david. doesn't seem like it's coming in 2010 now? dissapointing...
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I never get bored with Quik. Not too worried about him being done with hip-hop but I can understand the frustration. It's an audience that, for the most part, does not embrace any kind of artistic attempt to grow. They'd rather have you play with the same old sounds with no passion behind it then take a chance with something different.
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^^^ not true. it's just nobody does it and the few that actually do always get embraced by everybody in a big way (outkast, eminem, kanye, etc.) you just have 2 actually be good at it lol. i know Quik got skills (never doubted it at all becuz i always knew) but he'll have 2 step out that box he's always been in if he wants to do something tha way he's makin it sound (i guess he should be more clear of whut he's attempting to do).
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Quik's bullshittin' as usual, his interviews are worst then Game's ones... he can say everything and do the opposite a minute later, I just wanna know when he's going to release "The Book of David" because.... he released "Nobody" on March 2010, he did a listening party on August 2010 and the album gets kinda old, we almost heard half of the tracks in low quality, he ain't gonna sell shit (no disrespect, I'm a huge fan, but it's the truth).
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Quik's bullshittin' as usual, his interviews are worst then Game's ones... he can say everything and do the opposite a minute later, I just wanna know when he's going to release "The Book of David" because.... he released "Nobody" on March 2010, he did a listening party on August 2010 and the album gets kinda old, we almost heard half of the tracks in low quality, he ain't gonna sell shit (no disrespect, I'm a huge fan, but it's the truth).
it's not really about him selling, it's about him reaching out to people and really gettin' out there like that (outside of Rap). Like you only hear about him working with Westcoast rappers and every blue moon making a beat on somebody major's album (Jay, Luda...). If he wants to score music he should reach out to people like The RZA so he can put him on with them White folks who be makin' all of those tight ass movie scores in tha big movies n shit.
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His interviews are worst then Game's ones... he can say everything and do the opposite a minute later
Disagree with this. Game is far worse at contradicting himself within minutes.
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BTW when is "Book of David" dropping?
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Wonder when the book of david comeing out tho
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Quik is doing another Quik's Groove on the 26th I think, maybe somebody can find out when he's planning on releasing it? I tried calling Fontana distribution a number of times, but never got an answer. It's been too long since this record was supposedly finished, and there's still no release date yet. He could still release it in time for Christmas, Daz announced on here his Matter of Dayz album not too long ago, and before long it was up on Amazon to preorder.
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Quik is doing another Quik's Groove on the 26th I think, maybe somebody can find out when he's planning on releasing it? I tried calling Fontana distribution a number of times, but never got an answer. It's been too long since this record was supposedly finished, and there's still no release date yet. He could still release it in time for Christmas, Daz announced on here his Matter of Dayz album not too long ago, and before long it was up on Amazon to preorder.
im already on it 8)....im goin 2 the show in anaheim on the 24th...
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we almost heard half of the tracks in low quality
???
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^ Maybe not complete songs, but a good part of them... there's one video on YouTube with him on a tour-bus with KK, they play like 6-7 songs.
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So did anybody ask about the new album's release date at last week's shows, or did Quik mention it at all?
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good read, whens the album dropping ? i cant wait. i feel the same about hip-hop as Quik. 8)