Kurupt Bio

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Theo has been a full-time freelance writer for nearly a decade and a lifelong Hip Hop head since 1993. He knows the ins and outs of the culture and the drama. As a writer, he's curated weekly columns showcasing the best new underground hip hop artists. He's excited to bring his talents to The Hip Hop Insider.

Kurupt Quick Facts

Full name: Ricardo Emmanuel Brown
Birthdate: November 23, 1972
Nicknames: Young Gotti, Kurupt Tha Kingpin
Siblings: Roscoe (Younger Brother), Angela McCoy (Younger Sister)
Children: 6
Spouse: Divorced since 2017
Awards: Nominated for the 1996 Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group

Going to Cali – The Early Days

Originally born in Philadelphia, a young Ricardo Brown spent his formative years in Cali. First in Hawthorne, where his family moved when he was 16, and then to the Crenshaw District of Los Angeles, California.

But it was back in Philly that a young Ricardo would cultivate the love for music that he developed as a child and put it into practice.

Ever since eight years of age, Ricardo wanted to be a rapper. Watching his cousin, aspiring rapper Skippy G and his friends freestyling and writing rhymes left a lasting impression on the youngster.

It also gave the future West Coast legend the confidence and impetus that maybe he could do it too. Like most emcees of his era, a teenage Ricardo tested his skills by entering local battle rap competitions and learning to think on his feet and with his tongue. A lost art form in the upload everything you record, from your home-studio era of today.

The Kid, as he was first dubbed, also took his cue from legends of the game, like Rakim:

“That was my idol, who created my whole style was following Rakim’s lead on the mic.”

Listening to ‘Live On The Mic’ from his solo debut album Tha Streetz Iz A Mutha, it shows. With verses like:

“My style’s out of this universe

Words that serve all these emcees

They hear pre-verbs, and I break them down into nouns and verbs

They know exactly what I do, I run through crew for crew.”

His early training by fire set the stage for what was to come.

Professional Career

One of Many Nights

Looking at the writing credits for electro-funk group S.O.S. Band’s 1991 album, One of Many Nights. You will curiously see the name Ricardo Brown appear on three of the ten tracks.

He co-wrote these songs and got his first taste of the music business. The S.O.S. Band was signed to Tabu Records at the time, founded by legendary music executive Clarence Avant. But it is unclear what, if any connection Ricardo had with Avant.

Welcome to Death Row (Records)

Shortly after making his professional debut, Ricardo met another up-and-coming California-based artist Calvin Broadus. Better known today as Snoop Dogg.

The story goes that the two traded bars for nearly 45 minutes straight! With each coming away thinking that the other was the better emcee.

After this initial exchange, both felt it was their duty and obligation to run it back again. For some added context, this meeting took place in 1992, around the time Snoop appeared on Dr. Dre’s debut solo single “Deep Cover.”

This was the first track Dre released after the infamous breakup of N.W.A. and the first unofficial Death Row Records project. It also put Snoop Doggy Dogg on the map.

With his status now raised, Snoop Dogg co-signed Kurupt to Dr. Dre off the strength of their first encounter. Kurupt has confirmed as much, saying:

“He put all of us in the greatest positions of our lives. He changed our lives like Dr. Dre changed his life.”

But this didn’t mean a record deal was a sure thing. Far from it, as Ricardo, now going by the name Kurupt bestowed upon him by one of his homeboys, still had to showcase his skills for the doctor and the label’s larger-than-life boss Suge Knight.

Turns out, all the freestyling and rap battles paid off. As Kurupt would go on to appear on three tracks of The Chronic. Death Row’s first full-length album release.

Tha Dogg Pound Version 1.0

Before Kurupt and Daz Dillinger were ever a duo, they were promising solo artists on Death Row’s deep talent roster.

It was only after Dr. Dre suggested they had chemistry on the mic that the two began to feature on more tracks together. This started with three features as “Tha Dogg Pound” on Snoop Dogg’s debut album Doggystyle.

By this point, it was clear that the up-and-coming label had found a successful formula.

Snoop was fully introduced on Dre’s album and followed it up with his multi-platinum release. Tha Dogg Pound featured on Snoop’s album and soon it would be their turn to record an LP.

In 1995 they got their chance, becoming the third act on the label to release an album with Dogg Food.

Much like the successful formula the label hit upon, the album followed a familiar script musically as well. It stayed true to the g-funk style, with slow hypnotic sounds and a heavy dose of sex, drugs, and violence as its primary subject matter.

Despite the well-documented controversy surrounding rap music with explicit lyrics at the time and Tha Dogg Pound nearly being shot while filming the video for the album’s second single “New York, New York.” The release was a major success, peaking at #1 on the Billboard 200 chart and getting certified double platinum.

Tragically, we would never get another Dogg Pound album on Death Row. As the events set in motion by Tupac Shakur’s untimely passing in September 1996 caused Kurupt to leave the label a year later.

The Antra Era

The name John McClain may not be in the pop culture lexicon, but the man was unquestionably one of the most powerful executives in the music industry at one time.

An A&R for the independent A&M Records, he helped launch Janet Jackson’s career and was also controversially later named one of the executors of Michael Jackson’s estate.

Upon his departure from the now-faltering Death Row Records, Kurupt signed a distribution deal with A&M Records and McClain was the man who “gave him his own lane” and label Antra Records.

This is notable because Kurupt would arguably go on to release the best work of his career during this period. Starting with his first solo album in 1998.

Kuruption!

A lot goes into making a good, let alone a great album.

From cohesive writing touching upon a consistent theme to the artwork that matches the theme and an engineered flow that brings it all together.

Kurupt’s debut album had hints of all these elements. The fact that it was a 23-track, multiple-producer double album makes it all the more impressive. Kurupt has since stated in interviews that this was a “beautiful time” in his life and the proof is in this seminal work.

Although not commercially as successful as his and rhyme partner Daz’s Tha Dogg Food album, Kuruption! Did crack the Billboard 200 top 10, peaking at number 8.

Tha Streetz Iz a Mutha

Personally, this is my favorite Kurupt album. The reasons are myriad…

From the record’s classic West Coast g-funk sound, Daz Dillinger production, and a banging first single “Who Ride Wit Us”, to which I have made countless memories over the years. The album is a scorcher.

Although it failed to reach the mainstream consciousness, peaking at #31 on the Billboard top 200 albums chart. It touched the inner city, with cuts from the album regularly being heard at local spots throughout East LA.

Space Boogie: Smoke Oddessey

This is the Kurupt album that most casual music listeners remember the most.

The pop-influenced first single “It’s Over” featuring the late Natina Reed on the hook had a lot to do with this. A summertime anthem if there ever was one, the track was all over MTV and it helped propel the record to debut at #10 on the Billboard 200 albums chart. The best showing since Kurupt’s first solo album.

With features from the likes of Limp Bizkit’s Fred Durst and Everlast, besides the obligatory Daz and Snoop Dogg appearances. This album is Kurupt’s most exploratory, but only a half-decent introduction to the artist if this was your starting point.

The bonus track “Have Fun” featuring Tha Alkaholiks lives up to its name and comes as a recommended listen.

DPG – Tha Dogg Pound Version 2.0

Now both independent, more mature, and with established fan bases. Daz and Kurupt reunited in the new Millenium to begin working on their second studio album as a duo.

The long-awaited follow-up to their 1995 hit Dogg Food was an entertaining 73-minute-long, Daz and Mike Dean-produced effort that was appropriately titled, Dillinger & Young Gotti.

While it may not hit quite like the first effort, which is no doubt owing to its lack of originality. It stays true to who Kurupt and Daz are and for that, I can’t hate on it.

The self-proclaimed Dogg Pound Gangstaz would follow this up with a slew of albums after briefly squabbling as all families do during Kurupt’s uneventful return to Death Row Records and second solo run during the early 2000s.

In a fitting bit of irony, the duo’s upcoming release – Dogg Food 2, is going to be distributed by…Death Row Records, after crippin’ cousin Snoop Dogg purchased the rights to the label’s trademarks earlier in 2022.

The HRSMN Project

When Kurupt first hooked up with fellow artists Canibus, Ras Kass, and Killah Priest to form the HRSMN supergroup, it was easy to dismiss the collaboration.

After all, Kurupt had attempted to form another supergroup around the same time named The Riflemen, consisting of himself, Mobb Deep, Jayo Felony, 40 Glocc, and producer The Alchemist. Nothing ever came of this, so fans were rightfully skeptical of the HRSMN combination.

After many delays between 2000-2002, the group named after the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse – Pestilence, War, Famine, and Death. Finally released The Horsemen Project in 2003 to much fanfare.

Unfortunately, the project was not distributed by a major label, and still being in the CD era, few got to hear the nine-track album.

The second HRSMN album, released in June 2021 is currently on streaming platforms and it gives a taste of the unrelenting lyrical barrage that you should expect from an HRSMN project.

Revival & Legacy

Kurupt has emphatically said that he’s never going to stop making music. Exclaiming tongue-in-cheek:

“I will be in the hospital bed fighting cancer with a microphone right next to my bed making raps.”

This consistency has led to a late-career renaissance of sorts, with 2021’s collaborative HRSMN album The Last Ride, and 2022’s 7Ps Tha Gotti Way solo album, being well received.

Of course, being prolific has also conveyed some forgettable EPs and collab albums over the years. As a creative, quality over quantity has always been my mantra. So if I lean more toward someone like Dr. Dre’s sporadic release schedule than timely drops, then so be it.

For this reason, Kurupt’s legacy is complicated. On one hand, hip-hop elders have him as one of the 50 best MCs of all time. On the other hand, Kurupt’s 14 solo and collaborative albums and these are not including his Dogg Pound discography. Somewhat take away from it, as the quality is not consistent across all of these projects.

In the end, irrespective of how I or you may feel, Kurupt’s impact on the culture and influence on some of its greatest MCs, from Eminem to Kendrick Lamar, cannot be denied. This is his real musical legacy – Lyrical Godfather.

FAQs

Question: Kurupt looks familiar, has he done anything outside of hip-hop?

Answer: Yes, Kurupt’s then-wife Natina Reed introduced him to her agent at William Morris, who would go on to also represent Kurupt. He has appeared in numerous films and TV series, including Soul Train, The Wash, and many others.

Question: Is Kurupt currently signed to any label?

Answer: Kurupt and Daz have announced that they are back on Death Row Records after Snoop Dogg purchased the label and are actively working on a follow-up to the most successful album of both their careers – Dogg Food 2.

Question: Who are Kurupt’s biggest influences?

Answer: Kurupt has cited Rakim as his idol, Dr. Dre, and Snoop Dogg as the ones that taught him how to make records, and Tupac as the one who taught him the whole acting game.

Kurupt Quick Facts

Going to Cali – The Early Days