DJ Quik: ‘I Deserve To Be Where [Dr.] Dre Is’

DJ Quik has had a few things to get off his chest this week while reflecting on the journey of his decorated career in music.

As an architect of the West Coast’s G-Funk sound in the ’90s, Quik expressed that he believes his career should match the mainstream acclaim of his friend and Hip Hop billionaire Dr. Dre.

“I know it’s early. But I deserve to be where Dre is,” he declared on Twitter on Tuesday (December 6). “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.”

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Quik was swift to explain that there was no vitriol in his rant and showed Dr. Dre love while referring to him as the “big brother” he never had.

“This doesn’t need to be on a podcast. Because you have fire starters, who want to spin everything to get more ratings,” he wrote. “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.”

He then went on to explain how this wasn’t a “mental breakdown” but rather him expressing himself as freely and neutrally as he could.

“I know I’ll never be as popular as I need to be, but I have 10s of artists superstars,” the West Coast legend added. “And when they shine, I just smile. The janitor doesn’t get all the glory, but he keeps the backstage, clean as a triage.”

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The Compton native’s career has had several parallels with Dr. Dre as Quik would “fill the gaps” for N.W.A. when Dre wasn’t around. The two were involved with Suge Knight and had aligning stints at Death Row Records in the ’90s. They even linked up again in 2002 for Quik’s Under Tha Influence standout cut “Put It On Me.”

DJ Quik has often bemoaned the lack of appreciation for his contributions to Hip Hop. Earlier this year, he burned a three-figure check from Death Row Records on Instagram Live in the midst of a rant about not receiving the proper credit.

“I’m not so happy,” he said. “I’m real offended by this Death Row check and this amount. As much work as I did for these sons of bitches, I feel the respect factor is crazy. There is none. So to show you how much your money means to me, Mr. Death Row Records — all the 2Pac stuff I did, help with Tha Dogg Pound project. Devil, you are a bitch. I want my real money and I want all my credits for everything that I did in this industry.

“All the songs, including ‘Hot In Here’ by Nelly and Pharrell. I want my credit for being ‘Get Nekkid.’ I want my credit from Kendrick Lamar — and this is no disrespect to Kendrick Lamar, I love TDE, you guys are awesome — but the fact y’all left my credit off ‘King Kunta’ [To Pimp A Butterfly] was crazy.”

He added: “All Eyez On Me, it’s my credit, I want that. ‘In Da Club,’ ‘If I Can’t,’ I helped with those records by 50 Cent. I want that too. I want all my credits. I’m starting to get to a point where I’m impatient and I feel disrespected. I’m not going to be the underdog of this music industry anymore. I am to be respected as a king and a lord that I am, a God when it comes to production. I need all of my fucking credits.”