Even though he is from the ”gangsta rap” capital of the world-the Compton ghetto in Los Angeles-D.J. Quik is quick to distance himself from the violence-riddled raps of groups such as Compton`s Most Wanted.
”I`m not a gangster,” the 22-year-old rapper-producer says simply.
”It`s so old, it`s the biggest negative issue facing me.
”There`s a difference between growing up around gang-bangers and being a gang-banger.”
Quik says the gangsta rap groups leave themselves no room to diversify.
”What else can they do?” he says. ”They`re limited, stuck.”
Quik`s two releases, ”Quik is the Name” and the recent ”Way 2 Fonky”
(both on Profile Records), are lushly produced (strings, flutes and even sleigh bells sweeten the mix) and, as advertised, furiously funky. Both are party albums that celebrate sex and good times, rather than telling tales of drive-by shootings and police busts. One track, ”Jus Lyke Compton,” takes a bemused look at gangs that Quik encountered on his last tour.
Both albums have been successful: ”Quik” sold more than 900,000 copies and ”Fonky” is approaching gold-record status (500,000 sold) less than a month after its release.
What`s more, ”Fonky” is in the vanguard of new rap releases that shun electronic samples from old funk albums in favor of live instruments. Quik, an accomplished pianist, and his friend Rob ”Fonksta” Bacon play most of the tracks.
”I make records that make you want to move,” Quik says. ”They`re more than just monotonous 808 (drum machine) beats with some funked up bass. They`re more like old-line funk, trying to recapture the feel of those records from the late `70s and early `80s.
Quik grew up the youngest of 10 children in a single-parent home, and taught himself to play guitar and then piano, first on a toy instrument and then by borrowing a friend`s keyboard.
”Growing up with eight sisters and a brother and a mom who didn`t work, we weren`t dressed in the highest fashion and eating filet mignon every night,” Quik says.
Around the house, Quik picked up on funk records by the likes of Zapp, the Gap Band, Cameo and the Dazz Band. Then as rhythm and blues got softer and quieter in the `80s in an effort to appeal to more adult listeners, Quik heard those same funky grooves in Run-D.M.C.`s 1986 rap classic ”Raising Hell.”
”I liked rap before that, but that was the record that made me realize I had to do it,” Quik says.
It was Run-D.M.C.`s label, Profile, that signed Quik a few years later on the basis of a three-song demo tape.
Quik is expanding the approach of his latest record by bringing a seven-piece band on tour with him (he`s scheduled to play the Chicago
Amphitheatre on Sept. 12).
That makes Quik among the first of the Compton rappers to join an emerging trend in hip-hop, in which rappers such as L.L. Cool J, Hammer, Basehead, the Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy and Me Phi Me perform their music in concert accompanied by bands instead of deejays.
”R&B sounds real clinical to me these days, a computer-thin sound that isn`t natural or pure,” Quik says in explaining his decision to use real instruments.
”I want people to see that we can do it, be real funky with a live band,” he says. ”This isn`t like Hammer`s band. They`re a little poppy. This is some Brand New Heavies-style stuff.
”I think we all need that approach,” he adds, speaking of rappers in general. ”Rap needs to be more original. We need to prove we can be just as original as any R&B record.”
– Ice-T`s decision to pull the track ”Cop Killer” from his ”Body Count” hard-rock album in response to criticism from President Bush and police groups around the country was smart business, even though it upset many 1st Amendment advocates who saw it as a troubling precedent.
As a rap and rock artist with steadily increasing record sales and an emerging movie career, Ice-T had too much to lose by going to the wall for
”Cop Killer.” So he figured sacrificing some underground credibility was a small price to pay in exchange for doing his record label, Time Warner, a major favor by pulling the song.
Only three years ago, Ice-T told the Tribune that he could continue to be successful with or without Warner`s support because ”I could sell 300,000 albums out of the trunk of my car.”
In the chilling artistic environment created by the ”Cop Killer” furor, that`s just how Houston rapper Willie D may have to sell his new single,
”(Expletive) Rodney King” (Rap-A-Lot), which is scheduled for release Thursday.
After police officers who had arrested King were acquitted of charges of beating him a few months ago, Los Angeles exploded in rioting, prompting King to plead, ”Why can`t we just get along?”
In response, Willie D, formerly of the notorious hard-core group the Geto Boys, issues a string of curses. ”Fool`s talkin `bout stop the violence . . ./This . . . is deeper than Vietnam/And there ain`t no room for an Uncle Tom.”
He also derisively refers to ”We Shall Overcome” as the ”Negro National Anthem,” and rails against black leaders who advocate pacifist responses to acts of violence against African-Americans.
”Willie D is burned out on people selling out,” says his publicist, Phyllis Pollack.
”That`s what`s holding us back,” the rapper says, ”certain black leaders who are just there to shut us up and keep us in line.”
So far, there have been no calls to boycott the record-Bush and his supporters have had more pressing concerns on their minds lately. But Willie D did show up at the Republican Convention last week and staged a protest outside the Astrodome, complete with a coffin that symbolized the plight of ghetto blacks in the Bush-Reagan era.
– During an interview in Worcester, Mass., Bruce Springsteen revealed plans to eventually put out a career-spanning album of B-sides and outtakes.
”At some point I`ll probably do an album of the better unreleased things,” he said. ”Initially I had an idea of doing one from different periods that I`ve worked in, but I don`t know if I have enough good stuff for that. There are some good songs, though. `This Hard Land` is one of my best songs that I wished I`d put on a record, and `Roulette` I should have put on
`The River` or `Born in the U.S.A.` ”
When asked which Elvis stamp he voted for, Springsteen responded:
”Keeping in line with my voting record the past 20 years, I didn`t vote.”
But then he quickly added that in this year`s presidential election, ”I plan to change that.”
