David Marvin Blake (born January 18, 1970),[3] better known by his stage names DJ Quik or Da Quiksta, is an American rapper and record producer from Compton, California, known for his production in the G-funk style of West Coast hip-hop.

Blake has collaborated with Snoop Dogg, Kurupt, Tupac, Chingy, R. Kelly and Shaquille O'Neal, among others.

Blake's stage name refers to his ability of producing songs in a short period of time.

He was inspired by funk and soul artists,[6] such as Roger Troutman (who taught him the use of the talkbox, which became a trademark for Quik's sound throughout his career) and George Clinton.

Blake began selling homemade mixtapes (notably The Red Tape, 1987) after he received a turntable for his 8th grade promotion.

"[7] At age 16 in 1986, Quik dropped out of high school, and his mother lost her home due to foreclosure.

The year 1992 would also see him produce (along with Eazy-E) on Paid the Cost, the debut album by rap duo Penthouse Players Clique.

Before recording Safe + Sound, DJ Quik had previously scrapped an album, which he said was so horrible that he had to smash the masters.

During the process of the album, Quik was feuding with rapper MC Eiht from Compton's Most Wanted and long time friend AMG.

[citation needed] Their relationship saw Quik serving as the producer on his debut album, Street Gospel.

[17][18][19] The album fell short of commercial expectations, but was praised by many underground rap fans in California, and is seen as a "street classic" by many of them.

The DJ Quik production on this album was considered to be refreshing compared to the stereotypical West Coast G-Funk sound that had dominated most of the early 1990s, as he incorporated elements of jazz, funk, rhythm and blues, and even rock and roll to create instrumentals that caught the ears of many listeners.

He also faced personal and professional tragedy when his nephew murdered his close friend and protégé Darryl Cortez Reed in 1998.

In 1999, there was the release of Classic 220 by 2nd II None, in which Quik played a huge part, along with production on Gap Band's Y2K: Funkin' Till 2000 Comz album, Snoop Dogg's No Limit Top Dogg, Suge Knight Represents: Chronic 2000 and Deep Blue Sea (soundtrack).

However, he had sampled a Hindi song by the name "Thoda Resham Lagta Hai" originally sung by the legendary Hindi singing prodigy Lata Mangeshkar on the record, and the copyright holders Saregama Music eventually filed a $500 million lawsuit against Truth Hurts' label, Aftermath Entertainment, that was amicably resolved by Jimmy Iovine and Dr. Dre.

In 2003 he also saw 50 Cent become a bigger star, as the aforementioned Get Rich Or Die Tryin album featured In Da Club, which Quik did the drums for.

In September 2005, DJ Quik released his first independent album on his own new label, Mad Science Recordings.

The album is titled Trauma and reflects the turmoil in the producer's "musical" life over the past few years.

He went on to say that prison sentence gave him time to reflect on his life, and he later began getting rid of extra baggage.

"[24] In March 2007 they signed a single deal with Interscope Records for the release of their album Midnight Life and promoted it with "Can You Werk Wit Dat?

"[25] However, the album was scrapped due to unauthorized actions by Hudson Melvin Baxter II (also known as "Hud"), who illegally put it up for sale on the internet in December 2007.

In February 2008, Quik finished up mixing and producing for Snoop Dogg's new record Ego Trippin.

A collaboration album with Tha Dogg Pound member Kurupt, titled BlaQKout, was released June 9, 2009.

[28] TMZ reported that for the album's release party he took over a marijuana dispensary in Los Angeles on April 22, 2011, and in a matter of minutes the whole place was up in smoke.

[29] DJ Quik performed live with The Roots on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon with guest stars Jason Lee and Emma Roberts on June 10, 2011.

With the misconstrued feud gaining momentum, Quik respond to CMW's line in his song "Way 2 Fonky" & "The Last Word".

However, on the soundtrack to the 1994 short film Murder Was The Case, on the track "Dollaz + Sense", Quik ruthlessly verbally attacks Eiht, calling him a movie script killer (in reference to Eiht's appearance in the critically acclaimed 1993 film Menace II Society), a coward, and more.