12/30/05
| Daz Dillinger & Kurupt Rate Their Albums For
WestCoast2k.Net
Westcoast2k reached out to the Dogg Pound Gangstas Daz and
Kurupt for a very special feature. For the first time in their career, Dillinger
and Young Gotti take their time out to rate and review all their group albums
as well as solo albums, exclusively for Westcoast2k.
Tha Dogg Pound is
hailed as one of the most influental and successful groups in Hip Hop period,
and with such a strong fanbase it's only right that the duo looks back to the
past, takes a glance at the present day, and catches a glimpse of the future.
They both share their honest opinion, positive and negative, about the outcome
of their albums, the mindstate they were in while recording, and how they rate
their work today.
Come and join the DPG on this throwback ride!
[
Listen
to Kurupt's drop for Westcoast2k ]
[ Listen
to Daz' drop for Westcoast2k ]
THA DOGG POUND - "DOGG FOOD"
(OCTOBER 1995)
Daz: The mindstate while
recording "Dogg Food" was real special. We was just young and energetic,
smoking weed, and we wanted to come out with a record. I was producing for everybody
else, but I was doing the Dogg Pound on the side. Me and Kurupt was getting hot,
but Dre wasn't producing for us, so I had to do it myself. We were putting it
together, and Suge started backing it. We were recording the shit at my house,
and then bringing it back to the studio. ADAT's was in effect back then, so I
was working them motherfuckers. We was happy with it so we just put it out and
it became a great hit with the help of Deloris Tucker. But that's how we wanted
it to come out, I wouldn't change shit about it cause I wouln't be where I'm at
right now. What I did, I did. I have no regrets about it. But people can't fuck
with that album, it's a straight up classic. Everywhere I go, it's still in the
stores right now. It's got songs for days, I love banging "One By One",
"Dogg Pound Gangstaz", "Some Bomb Azz Pussy", "If We
All Gon Fuck", "Respect", "Let's Play House". You know
man, all of them. It's so many good memories on them songs, with all these good
times we had.
As the Dogg Pound, we do a lot of thangs, so we make hella
songs. I was talking to Young Jeezy, and he was like 'I need to get with y'all,
cause y'all make albums of songs.' As far as every song has to have a concept,
from the beginning to the middle to the end. And that's what "Dogg Food"
was all about. Something people can relate to, not just motherfuckers rhyming.
Anybody can rhyme, but can you make a song? I mean I put out a lot of albums,
but that's the album people can relate to the most. "Dogg Food" is what
I'm known for. But as far as albums in general with Daz on it, they gonna relate
to "The Chronic" the most.
Kurupt: "Dogg Food",
man, we was starving puppies dying to get our chance to get out there and drop
the most classic record me and Daz ever made in our lives. It changed our lives.
We worked very hard on that, and it was a life altering experience. And that experience
was based off our own experiences, cause the records came from our daily lives,
and other records came from tales the homies told me. Different experiences I've
seen people go through, things I knew about in the game. It was a mixture of everything
combined in one, cause each record was about something of that sort. It was me,
Daz, Joe Cool, Snoop, Nate Dogg, we all put it together.
DAZ
DILLINGER - "RETALIATION, REVENGE, AND GET BACK" (MARCH 1998)
Daz: I had a lot of anger recording that album. Motherfuckers was leaving, everybody
was by themself. Before that we was all family, and when I did the album everything
just switched up. It was a bunch of shit going on, I was just trying to keep it
together, and put my plot together to get where I'm at right now. But I did it,
and today when I listen to it, it's like a movie and it just never dies. It never
slows up, because when one song goes off, the next song got you back riding. And
I make the music to how I'm feeling, who's around. On that album I was expanding,
as far as the music goes and the guest features. I tried to show some love and
branch out to other people and get with them, cause a lot of cats on there didn't
have no deals.
KURUPT
- "KURUPTION!" (OCTOBER 1998)
Kurupt: I think I was trying
to give something to my people from the East Coast, something to my people from
the West Coast. It was my first solo record about myself, and I was thining of
having it to drop with a little piece of class to it, that's why I kept it g'd
up with that old school g'd up look to it. It's a dope record, I mean it's my
first solo album. I'd rate that a 3 1/2 or a 4, but I gotta give it a 4 cause
one of my biggest records of all time came from that album, "We Can Freak
It".
Dr. Dre told me I should just combine the 2 disks to a good
14 records, and then it would have been a different result. And he was right!
So I think if anything, if I could do it all again I would just use Dr. Dre's
advice, make it 1 CD and bang it out with that mixture of the East and West cuts
on it. We also shot 3 dope videos, "We Can Freak It", "Ask Yoself
A Question", and the one on the East Coast side "Gimmewhutchagot".
KURUPT
- "THA STREETZ IZ A MUTHA" (NOVEMBER 1999)
Kurupt: Now that's
a classic, easily. That's my best solo album that I've done. It was me and Daz,
we was something else on that album. A lot of people still talk to me about that,
how they love me for that album. I think so as well. The production was flawless,
I had Organized Noize, Soopafly gave me some classics, Fredwreck gave me some
classics, and I had Daz oversee the whole thing. This is what made it. I wouldn't
change shit about it, I love the way it is.
I was real angry at that time,
I went back home and got back on the streets. So the concepts on the album are
mostly street based. I was angry at the world, I was hot to death! It was just
life reasons, different things that I was going through personally. So it effected
everything else, you can hear it in the music. But that's all part of being human.
DAZ
DILLINGER - "R.A.W." (SEPTEMBER 2000)
Daz: I put out R.A.W.
independently, that was when I said fuck everybody. But it paid off cause I was
hungry, and ready to make it happen again! Man, I was on the corner selling that
motherfucker! Like straight dope and newspapers! All the homies was coming over
buying boxes of 50 for $500 and selling them to One-Stops, because the One-Stops
wanted the record! They didn't know how to get it, so motherfuckers in the streets
was buying it from me cause I was in the streets. So I pressed up 10,000, sold
all 10,000, and that got me a deal with this dude named Robert Gillem out of Houston,
Texas. He was making a gang of money down there. That's where I know Lil' Flip,
Slim Thug, and all them from. I know everybody from Houston cause I lived in Houston
for 2 years. I lived everywhere man! When you hustle you gotta live everywhere.
But I like that record, it meant a lot to me. And the reception from outside
was real good. I mean the music on R.A.W. was a little bit different, it changed
a little bit because I got older. When I was young I was doing it from the experience
from everybody who was around. I started with it on Dr. Dre's album and I was
inspired through that. Now I'm just doing it by myself.
So we shot a
video for the single "R.A.W." with Kurupt. That was basically me learning
how to work the camera. From then on it was always me shooting my videos. Like
"Do U Think About Me", all that shit, I shot all that. Instead of paying
a motherfucker to do it for me, I'ma do it myself.
THA
DOGG POUND - "DILLINGER & YOUNG GOTTI" (JUNE 2001)
Daz: That was a classic album too, cause see, that was a moment in time, everything
is a moment in time. When we did "Dillinger & Young Gotti", we haven't
done an album since '95. So that was definitely a classic moment for us to drop
another album together after so long. But recording that album wasn't nothing
like we did "Dogg Food". I wasn't being so hyper, I was just being laid
back and made them songs. But the way it came out, I would rate it 5 out of 5,
cause that album was knocking. Like I said, all my albums are like movies. This
one's the same.
I hooked up with Mike Dean, he was the engineer and
musician, he was making the shit sound good. He did "Behind The Walls",
that shit is hot! Instead of paying a lot of money for big ass studios, I'ma go
to Mike Dean's. So I'd rather work with him cause he's my friend. He did some
great records, and on "Dillinger & Young Gotti" I trained Mike Dean
to my style. You can see his style changed, and it's about that attitude that
you have behind that board. But "Dipp Wit Me" was definitely my favorite
song on there.
Kurupt: That was a classic! We was smashin on that
album. We was on bust mode like BAM! We also had different MC's like Beanie Sigel
on the album, that was some pure gangsta shit.
KURUPT
- "SPACE BOOGIE: SMOKE ODDESSEY" (JULY 2001)
Kurupt: I was
getting more mature on "Space Boogie". I wanted to make more music with
outside people, so I've done a lot of collaborations with some pretty big folks.
You know, Fred Durst, Jon B, Dj Quik, Nate Dogg. That album was more for the entire
game, cause "Streetz Iz A Mutha" was for the streets. And "Space
Boogie" is for the game. I can't say it was better or worse than my previous
albums, because it depends at what you're looking at. You looking at the rhymes,
or you looking at the type of album it was. I just think it was more upgraded,
because it had an all-star cast. And it was put out to open certain doors, and
that's what it did. So judging from my standpoint, "Space Boogie" is
a 4, cause it actually done its thing. It wasn't a "Streetz Iz A Mutha"
type of album, but it never intended to be one. See that's the thing, a lot of
people, once they get used to you a certain way, they stay that certain way forever.
And me, I just can't do that. I gotta change it up, cause when I make records
I'm feeling different ways. I make whole albums in a certain kinda mood, so if
that's not your mood, it ain't something that's better or worse. That's just not
what you bang now, but sooner or later.
The flow was still Kurupt, it
was just different formulas of Gotti. My rhymes is just so special to me, it all
bangs out. The music takes you everywhere, so the production is important, and
that was different on that album so it was a whole different ball game. But overall
the production was cool, with a lot of bangers on there. DJ Lethal gave me something
so super, it was sick. So I think it was top grade production.
We had
"It's Over" on there. The reception was cool, even for the different
songs. Everywhere we were at they was loving it, and it opened new doors for me.
Older class of people was liking this record, they knew about Kurupt. It was actually
a shock! Or maybe I wasn't in the zone where people didn't like that song, but
me personally, I really can't pay them no mind. It doesn't help me creatively,
it doesn't help me in any way, shape or form. It's nothing I can even look or
think about. I can't pay them attention, you know?
DAZ
DILLINGER - "THA DOGG POUND GANGSTA LP" (JANUARY 2005)
Daz:
That was one of them albums that I really enjoyed doing, cause I was at So So
Def and we was with Jive and they was bullshitting so we was going through that.
So I put a paper in, waited a little bit and I just came out with that record.
So I'm independent again, doing it again. I laid a new deal with Virgin, and I'm
finna drop 5 more albums independently. But the album itself was real positive,
I didn't diss nobody or nothing. I was just being myself, I was just calm. That
was the other side of the gemini, you know I'm a gemini, so that was just the
other side.
And then I did "Gangsta Crunk", that was something
different too. That was for my people down there. I make so many different songs,
cause I got a gang of songs. I got like 4 or 5 million songs at home laying around,
about 15 million hard drives and shit. I make Rock songs, Jazz songs, everything.
And there I broke away and I started feeling myself, cause I already did the hard
shit. So that's just a chapter in my life, I can move on. Everybody changes in
life.
KURUPT
- "AGAINST THE GRAIN" (AUGUST 2005)
Kurupt: Cut that record
out! That's just a gang of old Kurupt shit they pieced off and put together. The
company that released the album put together anything just to put that motherfucker
out, because I stopped doing the record. I said 'Hey we gotta switch up the record',
so they just put it out. It wasn't Death Row that was trippin, it was the distributor
that put it out. They didn't handle they business right, they never did. So I
told them that I ain't concentrating on that record no more. Then when I got back
with the homies, suddenly they put it out with a gang of old ass shit. So it was
a wrap.
THA DOGG POUND - "DILLINGER & YOUNG GOTTI
2: THE SAGA CONTINUEZ" (NOVEMBER 2005)
Kurupt: "The Saga
Continuez" is me and Daz' first new album back together. So it's a total
different kind of record than the first "Dillinger & Young Gotti".
I like monster records more than anything. "Dogg Food" was a classic
and monster record, "Streetz Iz A Mutha" was a classic and monster record.
I love those records more than I love any type of records. But I also like my
cool ones, I got my cool records where you can just cool out too. But I love it
for how it came out, it's so super, so I give it that good 4. It's cool for when
Im rolling, when I'm mad nigga I listen to that, I come down. It's some real shit
on there! But recording it we was laid back, kicking it, chilling and relaxing.
We wanted to make some grown folks music. We're older now, and we just got back
together, that had a lot to do with it. It was a monumental moment to us cuz,
so we made that record right there.
But it all depends on what you're getting
an album for. Something that you're looking for, if you're not fiening it then
it's not an album that's for you. But I give you one of those sooner or later
don't trip!
Daz: "The Saga Continuez", I like that one from
the top to the bottom. Because it's like I said, an album is always between this
time period and that time period. And then it was just some feel good, laid back,
smoking some weed and rollin through the streets type of record. "DPGC Muzik"
is my cut! But "Dillinger & Young Gotti" is better to me. Right
now we having fun with what we doing, but the first one was more harder. Just
different flavor, you know?
KURUPT
- "SAME DAY, DIFFERENT SHIT" (MARCH 2006)
Kurupt: That's
my next album coming, it's already done, and next is when you gonna hear it. That
album, that's all monsters. That's like "Streetz Iz A Mutha". It's just
that monster shit again, it's a whole different feel. When I say like "Streetz
Iz A Mutha", I'm talking about that street orientated shit. It's all emceeing
and rhyming, but g'd up. It's all g'd up, Young Gotti is way g'd up! It's so sick,
it's retarded. The production is all Daz monster shit, like "R.A.W".
So it's just me and Daz on a smash mission. We started the album in our minds,
like 'Kurupt you gotta bust, you gotta tell them some bomb stories and bust on!'
And that's what I gave them, each record is just so outrageous, the beats is banging!
Daz:
And y'all heard the new single we just put out, "Yes I'm Quiccer". That's
on some straight Killa MC shit. We getting back to the basics on that album, and
I'm on the turntables!
DAZ
DILLINGER - "SO SO GANGSTA" (2006)
Daz: That's the other
side of the gemini now. It's really going down on there. The sound on there you
never heard before, because it's gonna be a new sound. We got that new sound with
me and Jermaine. It's gonna be that "All That I Need" sound, taking
people back to the Eazy E shit, it reminds me of "Boyz N Tha Hood".
It's a reflection of what I'm going through right now. It's like, I'm not really
thinking about what rappers got to say about me. Fuck them. I only worry about
the motherfuckers that I grew up with, the motherfuckers that I do business with,
and the motherfuckers that's out here in the streets gangbangin' and killing.
I'm not worrying about them rappers right there, they not living with me everyday.
So it's really easy, cause if I'm gon' pop them motherfuckers I'm already gonna
have problems. It ain't shit to clap you, but you working with security. I ain't
doing that shit, I'm by myself everytime you see me. I don't have security, I'm
my own security. I beat the shit out of somebody, I'm big enough! As I said, that's
the other side of the gemini.
Kurupt:
Also get ready for that Roscoe album that we putting out, Daz is producing the
album. Also get ready for that Y.A. album that Y.A. is putting out independently
on they own, and check out the Y.A. album that Daz is gonna do, that me and Daz
is putting out. So look out for these things. Penagon is pushing full skills,
Dogg Pound Gangsta'd up, Gangsta Advisory.
[
Listen
to Kurupt's drop for Westcoast2k ]
[ Listen
to Daz' drop for Westcoast2k ]
...........................................................................
exclusive interview with daz & kurupt
