With DJ Quick’s new self-produced album’s droppin’ on the “smoker’s holiday,” HHW goes in the lab to find out what he’s been cooking.

IN THE LAB
DJ Quik

HHW: How long have you been working on your album?
I started the album towards the end of 2010, and it’s comin’ out on 4/20/11, so it took around six months.

Where’s your favorite place to record, and why?
My favorite place to record is in my studio in North Hollywood, because my brother G1 is there and he’s just like me. We get things done in half the time because it’s like the same brain workin’ on one project.

What type of vibe do you like or try to create while working in the studio?
I don’t try to create a vibe. We just go in the studio and try to create music!

When do you prefer to have your recording sessions? Is the time of day relevant to your creativity?
Well, I did “Nobody” (on The Book of David) with Sugafree @ 7am. I just felt it at that time. But the time of day is all relevant. The best time for me to record is when the neurons kick in. Just like any appliance, it takes a few minutes to warm up and then you rock out.

What are a few ‘must haves’ at your sessions?
Mandatory: Gotta have vodka or Champagne, blunt wraps and good food, but real food, like home cooking. Gotta have that fried chicken, macaroni and cheese, yams with marshmallows on it… you know, that good ish!

How do you know or determine that you’ve had a successful session?
When you get so high that you don’t remember that muthaf—- the next day! It’s like workin’ in warp speed! You can also tell by how f—– up the studio is the next day, with all the cups lyin’ around and ashes all over the place, just like Rick James!

If there’s one producer right now you could collaborate with for your album, who would it be?
It would be Rod Temperton from Heatwave. He wrote “The Groove Line,” “The Star of a Story,” “Send Out For Sunshine,” “Happiness Togetherness,” “Always and Forever.” Even before all the records everyone knows him for, he wrote and produced this song called “Sho’nuff Must Be Luv” on the first Heatwave album… Oh my god, incredible! A British songwriter and pianist, but one of the greatest of all time. Oh, and he also wrote this little song called “Thriller” by Michael Jackson

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