The DJ Quik song that inspired Kendrick Lamar’s ‘King Kunta’: “Make it nasty”
Telling a tale of overcoming struggle and powered by a funky bassline provided by Thundercat, Kendrick Lamar’s ‘King Kunta’ was a hip-hop highlight of the 2010s. The song is a classic now, but, at its core, sits a far less popular track that inspired it.
‘King Kunta’ was produced by Terrace Martin, Michael Kuhle and Sounwave, while Thundercat received a writing credit for the song, in addition to the main man Kendrick. But those two aren’t the only listed songwriters, as several prominent artists are interpolated in it and, therefore, are credited, too.
Michael Jackson, James Brown and Fred Wesley are among the additional credited songwriters on ‘King Kunta,’ while lesser-known names like John Starks, Ahmad, Redfoo and Johnny Burns make up the rest of the list.
This is down to Jackson’s ‘Smooth Criminal’ being referenced in ‘King Kunta,’ as well as elements of James Brown’s ‘The Payback’ cropping up. That one was credited to Brown, Wesley and Starks, hence their inclusion in the long list of ‘King Kunta’ songwriters. The 1994 song ‘We Want the Funk’ by Ahmad is sampled, which is why he gets to be included.
Johnny Burns is perhaps the most surprising of all the listed songwriters, as not very many people will necessarily know who he is. Burns was better known as Mausberg, who released only one album, Non-Fiction, in 2000. It came out months after his fatal shooting in his native Compton.
Mausberg’s album was rooted in the streets of Compton, and it was made alongside his friend DJ Quik, who produced several of its tracks. It was an album that presented a promising rapper at the start of his career, but, sadly, he never got to see it develop from there.
Kendrick, though, kept his legacy alive in ‘King Kunta,’ as co-producer Sounwave explained in 2016 for an article published by the Grammys. The initial demo for the song was softer than what it ultimately became, because Kendrick, upon hearing the initial track, had something dirtier in mind.
“When we first did ‘King Kunta,’ the beat was the jazziest thing ever with pretty flutes,” Sounwave claimed. “Kendrick said he liked it but to ‘make it nasty.’”
Explaining what he meant by that, Kendrick brought up the Mausberg-Quik song ‘Get Nekkid.’ “He referenced a DJ Quik record with Mausberg,” Sounwave recalled, “and he told me what to do with it. I added different drums to it, simplified it, got Thundercat on the bass, and it was a wrap.”