DJ Quik has revealed that he and Michael Jackson crossed paths a couple of times throughout his career, but one of them wasn’t under the most friendly of terms.
Speaking on the All The Smoke podcast, Quik recounted the time he first (sort of) met with the late King of Pop, explaining that the weird interaction happened at Jackson’s studio while Quik was in the process of recording his 1991 single, “Tonite.”
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The West Coast pioneer claimed that he and several others were asked by someone on Jackson’s team to perform an odd request.
“They came through, warned everybody that Michael was finna come through, and he didn’t want nobody to see him coming through or looking, right?” he said.
Quik said a rep from Jackson’s team entered the room to notify them of MJ’s arrival. While they didn’t ask him or his guests to leave, Quik did note they did have a very weird request: they wanted everyone in the room to turn and face the wall.
“We taking a break from the studio, and these guys come in, and they was like, ‘We about to bring somebody through here, can you turn and face the wall?'” Quik explained, before telling hosts Stephen Jackson and Matt Barnes that he responded by asking: “Are you serious?”
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Despite feeling uncomfortable with the request, Quik and his crew turned around. However, the Compton producer did admit that before Michael Jackson scurried into the room, he was able to catch a glimpse of the late pop star.
“It’s like damn, Mike didn’t want anyone to look at him, the fuck is this?” Quik said. Later on in the clip, he recalled another brief studio run-in with Jackson, where he said the singer seemed “more cool” and “less timid.”
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Quik then joked that Jackson’s bashful demeanour was because of his alleged gang ties. “He didn’t wanna fuck with me, he thought I was a Blood. Michael’s [a] Crip,” Quik said while laughing, likely in reference to a viral photograph of MJ posing with some real-life Crips.
This wasn’t the first time that DJ Quik opened up about his experiences with other artists in the studio. In another clip from the show, the rapper and producer said he had an “out of body” experience working with JAY-Z and Beyoncé.
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The California rap legend was likely referring to his time recording “Justify My Thug,” which he produced for Hov’s The Black Album back in 2003. When asked by the hosts about his experience working with Jigga, Quik said it was everything he thought it would be.
“Amazing, an out-of-body experience,” he said. “It’s like, ‘Wow.’ You really made it when you’re in the studio, Beyoncé’s offering you muthafuckin’ water, fruit, and shit and just chilling.
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“That session was just like you could imagine it’d be. Jay is quiet, he ain’t the kinda dude to walk around the studio writing and thinking or something. He sit there and just let the music get in and what not.”
In the same episode, Quik also revealed that a silly misunderstanding — regarding his craft on stage — nearly led to blows with 2Pac.
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