Quik Is The Name

One of the most important figures on the burgeoning early nineties Hip-Hop scene in Los Angeles, DJ Quik’s talents as a producer approached those of Dr. Dre and played a major role in defining the components of the West Coast G-Funk sound. Quik began his career recording with The Penthouse Players Clique but perfected his production technique with his debut solo release, *Quik Is The Name*, an album that stands alongside *The Chronic* and *Amerikkka’s Most Wanted* as one of the high points of West Coast Hip-Hop. Quik spits rhymes in tribute to his Compton neighborhood, the joys of custom cars, and summertime cookouts over a series of leisurely paced, sleigh bell laden beats that must have sounded absolutely revolutionary at the time of their release. Though he was primarily a producer Quik was also a talented and self-assured MC, and his agile, Jamaican inflected cadences nicely complement the laid back G-funk of tunes like the anthemic “Born and Raised in Compton” and the Zapp sampling “Loked Out Hood”. *Quik is the Name* is essential for anyone looking to explore the origins of the West Coast Sound.

The release of DJ Quik's debut album, Quik Is the Name, in 1991 begged the question: does rap really need yet another gangsta rapper?