Quincy Jones’ 6 Most Anti-Hip-Hop Quotes

XXL StaffPublished: April 7, 2014

Quincy Jones has had a long, contentious history with hip-hop dating back to its very beginnings, when he was an early advocate for the genre that he says he saw coming "20 years away." He's even had a close family connection; his daughter, Kidada, was engaged to Tupac at the time of the West Coast legend's murder in 1996, a relationship he has said he'd had to come to terms with. But in recent years, Q has distanced himself from hip-hop, generally disparaging rappers and drawing a line in the sand between himself and producers and artists of today.

That distinction was made clearer again over the weekend, when the legendary producer and arranger was asked about Lil Wayne and the current state of music. "When you come from the era of Ray Charles, Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, Aretha Franklin, Frank Sinatra and Michael Jackson, it gets hard to get used to Lil Wayne," he told The National. "I just can’t handle it."

Having taken shots at Kanye West, Diddy and the culture of hip-hop in general over the past decade, XXL compiled six instances of Quincy Jones voicing his displeasure at hip-hop as a genre. —XXL Staff

Previously: Quincy Jones Is Not A Fan Of Lil Wayne
Quincy Jones Criticizes Diddy: “He Couldn’t Recognize a B-Flat If It Hit Him”