DJ Quik and Spice 1 released their debuts Quik is the Name and Spice 1, respectively in the early ’90s. In hindsight, these albums were going up against the grain. Quik’s product had to be exceptional to share the spotlight with fellow Compton natives, Eazy-E and NWA. Spice 1 couldn’t come slacking either — that is if he wanted to convince the Hip Hop world not to sleep on Northern California.
DJ Quik dropped Quik Is the Name in ’91. A then-19 year old wrote, produce, and mixed his whole debut which was rare at the time. It came with ease for him, however. He’d been playing around with instruments and DJ equipment since a preteen. In fact, that’s how he got his record deal.
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After selling homemade mixtapes, he miraculously got the attention of Cory Robbins and Steve Plotnicki, co-founders of New York-based Profile records. Essentially, that would lead to his first record deal.
On “Tonite,” he cleverly samples Kleeer’s “Tonight,” Betty Wright’s “Tonight is the Night,” and Esther Williams’ “Last Night Changed It All.” Unlike his fellow Compton natives, Quik elected to rap about the party side of the CPT instead of the street.
The album’s title track, “Sweet Black Pussy,” and “Born and Raised In Compton,” among others helped the album reach the 29 spot on US Billboard 200 and eventually reached Platinum status.
In “Jus Lyke Compton,” Quik warned us: “So, I’m just lettin’ you know, that if ya plan to take a trip to The Bay keep your hand on the clip…” Spice 1’s self-titled was just what he was referring to.
Released in 1992, Spice used his debut to give us the street life from the Bay perspective. Tracks like “My Neighborhood” and “East Bay Gangster” gave us a full description. In addition to the Marvin Gaye-sampled, “Welcome To the Ghetto.”
Though the album was filled with hood tales, Spice took his creativity to a new level in “187 Proof,” a hood story using alcoholic beverages as characters.
“And that’s how the sh*t was handled,” Spice spits. “First name Jack, last name Daniels/Had two boys named E and J/E had the nine and J the AK.”
Spice gave us another shot in “187 Pure,” incorporating smoke products as additional characters and metaphors.
Despite having a dope rap tone, The East Bay gangster switched up the flow in “Money Gone” and “1-800-Spice.”
The Bay is home to funk acts such as Sly and the Family Stone, Con Funk Shun, and Sheila E, so producer Ant Banks made sure he kept the tradition going by providing plenty of funk.
Spice 1 reached the number 14 spot on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums. The album reached Gold status.
We have two exceptional West Coast albums, that despite being from opposite ends of Cali, they both contributed to Hip Hop’s coastal shift.
DJ Quik’s ‘Quik is the Name’ or Spice 1’s ‘Spice 1’?
[Polls Are Closed!]
Spice 1 – ‘Spice 1’ – 75%
DJ Quik – ‘Quik is the Name’ – 25%