In a sit down with international renowned magazine Vulture, veteran singer and producer got really candid about his thoughts on Michael Jackson, The Beatles, Ivanka Trump and some new school musicians.
Speaking of Michael Jackson Quincy explained why he viewed him as a ‘greedy’ person who ‘stole a lot of songs’.
“I hate to get into this publicly’, he said, “but Michael stole a lot of stuff. He stole a lot of songs. [Donna Summer’s] ‘State of Independence’ and ‘Billie Jean’. The notes don’t lie, man. He was as Machiavellian as they come.’ He added: “Greedy, man. Greedy. ‘Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough’ — Greg Phillinganes wrote the c section. Michael should’ve given him 10 percent of the song. Wouldn’t do it”.
On Michael Jackson’s Plastic Surgery:
“I used to kill him about the plastic surgery, man. He’d always justify it and say it was because of some disease he had. Bullshit.”
On Michael Jackson’s Childhood:
“He had a problem with his looks because his father told him he was ugly and abused him. What do you expect?”
On The Beatles:
“I remember once we were in the studio with George Martin, and Ringo had taken three hours for a four-bar thing he was trying to fix on a song. He couldn’t get it. We said, ‘Mate, why don’t you get some lager and lime, some shepherd’s pie, and take an hour-and-a-half and relax a little bit.’ So he did, and we called Ronnie Verrell, a jazz drummer. Ronnie came in for 15 minutes and tore it up. Ringo comes back and says, ‘George, can you play it back for me one more time?’ So George did, and Ringo says, ‘That didn’t sound so bad.’ And I said, ‘Yeah, motherfucker because it ain’t you.’ Great guy, though.”
On Ivanka Trump:
“I used to date Ivanka, you know,” he shares. Quincy continues, “Twelve years ago. Tommy Hilfiger, who was working with my daughter Kidada, said, ‘Ivanka wants to have dinner with you.’ I said, ‘No problem. She’s a fine motherfucker.’ She had the most beautiful legs I ever saw in my life. Wrong father, though.”
On Music Today:
“It’s just loops, beats, rhymes, and hooks. What is there for me to learn from that? There ain’t no fucking songs. The song is the power; the singer is the messenger. The greatest singer in the world cannot save a bad song. I learned that 50 years ago, and it’s the single greatest lesson I ever learned as a producer. If you don’t have a great song, it doesn’t matter what else you put around it.”
On Modern Artists He Likes:
“Bruno Mars. Chance the Rapper. Kendrick Lamar. I like where Kendrick’s mind is. He’s grounded. Chance, too. And the Ed Sheeran record is great. Sam Smith — he’s so open about being gay. I love it. Mark Ronson is someone who knows how to produce.”
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