DJ Quik

With its vintage Isaac Hayes sample, DJ Quik's sleepy-eyed masterpiece "Born and Raised in Compton" set the tone for one of the most identifiable sounds in all of hip-hop — gangsta tales served up over a hypnotic G-funk groove that weaves its way through a warm-summer-night jam like "Pitch in Ona Party" and the rollin'-down-Crenshaw classic "Jus Lyke Compton."

"Career artist" isn't a term heard all that often in hip-hop circles, but it's exactly what DJ Quik's become. And like any career artist, you've got to dig below the surface (like his Ludacris collaboration, "Spur of the Moment"), right down to the Jheri Curl-moist bass lines and smokin' synths that fire up cuts like "I Don't Wanna Party Wit You" and "I Useta Know Her."

Crate diggers know all about DJ Quik's way with a lopin' gangsta lean — his laidback, Zapp-infused grooves that've lifted the work of Talib Kweli ("Put It in the Air") and 2Pac (his remix of "Loyal to the Game"). Crate diggers also know that the deep crate's where you'll find some of gangsta rap's best below-the-radar jams ("8 Ball," "Loked Out Hood").

Like the song says, DJ Quik was born and raised in Compton, and you better believe he birthed gangsta rap every bit as much as Dre, Cube, and Eazy. A threat on either side of the board, Quik wrote, produced, and rocked the mic, loading his monster debut, Quik Is the Name, with crates' worth of head-noddin', Zapp/Parliament-fortified G-funk, launching a career that would take him through 15 years, half-a-dozen albums, and counting. Quik is the name, and we've got his game right here.