Dr. Dre is widely recognized as one of, if not Hip Hop's greatest producers. Crafting classic albums, massive hits, and breaking some of the biggest rap stars have made Dre the legend he is, but he's often been compared to another West Coast producer, who recently expressed his belief that he should receive the same accolades.
DJ Quik is a rap legend of his own. The Compton rapper and producer is credited as a Gangsta Rap pioneer and has crafted hits for Snoop Dogg, Kurupt, Tupac, Chingy, R. Kelly, Suga Free, Shaquille O'Neal and many more. However, Quik's success has not resulted in the same praise as his peer and collaborator.
Quik posted a series of tweets where he expressed his belief that he should be ranked where Dr. Dre is and talked about the possible factors that have contributed to his lack of popularity when compared to Dre.
"I know it's early. But I deserve to be where Dre is. 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," Quik tweeted Tuesday morning. "My friends have come to me in confidentiality to say 'do your music like you want to. Just be DJ Quik! People love that s***!'"
The Compton producer clarified that he has no issue with Dr. Dre, despite the two often getting compared to one another, and added that he had no intention of his remarks becoming major news.
"This doesn't need to be on a podcast. Because you have fire starters, who want to spin everything to get more ratings," Quik added. "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."
In subsequent tweets, DJ Quik seemed to accept that he may never be viewed in the same way Dr. Dre and made sure his followers knew he wasn't having a meltdown.
"There is no automatic winning lottery ticket for everyone Periodt," he wrote. "On this planet, you get what you get. But it's what you do with what you have been given to work with that makes you a star. I know I'll never be as popular as I need to be, but I have 10s of artists superstars! And when they shine, I just smile. The janitor doesn't get all the glory, but he keeps the backstage, clean as a triage. This is not a meltdown, I'm just expressing myself as neutrally as I can."
Scroll up to view DJ Quik's tweets.
