Tha Dogg Pound

Tha Dogg Pound formed a cornerstone of the Death Row Records roster that loomed large across rap during the first half of the 1990s. Even though the imprint put out only one album from the pair, Dogg Food in 1995, the duo sustained a consistent footprint in later years through separate solo paths and intermittent reunions. Kurupt, born Ricardo Brown on November 23, 1972, and Dat Nigga Daz, born Delmar Arnaud on May 25, 1973, constitute Tha Dogg Pound, an act separate from the unrelated and far briefer hardcore rap collective Dogg Pound Posse.

Both native Californians started recording on their own before appearing here and there on Dr. Dre’s foundational Death Row project The Chronic in 1992. Their first joint billing as Tha Dogg Pound arrived on “Niggas Don’t Give a Fuck,” a track for the Poetic Justice soundtrack in 1993. They resurfaced under the same name later that year on Snoop Doggy Dogg’s debut Doggystyle, contributing to several cuts highlighted by the hit single “Doggy Dogg World.” In 1994 the duo surfaced on two additional Death Row soundtracks, Above the Rim with “Big Pimpin’” and Murder Was the Case with “What Would U Do?,” “Who Got Some Gangsta Shit?,” and “Come Up to My Room.” During this period Daz also proved himself a skilled producer, handling Lady of Rage’s “Afro Puffs” along with other material.

Death Row issued Tha Dogg Pound’s first full-length album, Dogg Food, on Halloween 1995. The set achieved strong commercial results by reaching the top of the Billboard 200. “Let’s Play House” emerged as the project’s biggest single, climbing into the Top 50 of the Hot 100, while “New York, New York” gained heavy MTV rotation; its video depicted Kurupt, Daz, and Snoop stomping through New York in Godzilla fashion while taunting East Coast adversaries. Tha Dogg Pound stayed busy afterward, appearing on 2Pac’s All Eyez on Me in 1996 and on Snoop’s Tha Doggfather the same year; Daz also produced multiple tracks across both releases, including the singles “2 of Amerikaz Most Wanted,” “I Ain’t Mad at Cha,” and “Doggfather,” plus numerous album cuts.

Following Dr. Dre’s abrupt exit from Death Row in 1996, Daz stepped into the primary in-house producer position. After 2Pac’s murder and Suge Knight’s imprisonment later that year, Daz took on leadership duties. As a result nearly every Death Row release in the late 1990s carried prominent Daz contributions, ranging from the holiday compilation Christmas on Death Row in 1996 and the two-disc Gridlock’d soundtrack in 1997 to the unreleased Danny Boy project and the long-delayed Lady of Rage debut Necessary Roughness in 1997, where he worked as both producer and rapper.

Death Row quickly deteriorated after 2Pac’s death, and Interscope Records divested its stake in the label during August 1997. With Suge behind bars and Snoop pursuing other opportunities, Daz, now operating as Daz Dillinger, attempted to stabilize operations. His solo debut Retaliation, Revenge and Get Back arrived in March 1998 as the final Death Row album from that era. A backlog of unreleased Death Row recordings would surface in following years, beginning with Nate Dogg’s double-disc G-Funk Classics, Vols. 1 & 2 issued by Breakaway Records in July. Meanwhile Kurupt had already secured his own solo trajectory, departing Death Row shortly after 2Pac’s murder to sign with Antra Records. His Antra debut Kuruption! appeared as a double album, followed by Tha Streetz Iz a Mutha in 1999 and Space Boogie: Smoke Oddessey in 2001.

While Kurupt’s solo momentum stalled after Space Boogie, Daz remained occupied running D.P.G. Recordz, also known as Gangsta Advisory Recordingz. He launched the label with R.A.W. in 2000 and continued issuing projects in subsequent years, among them two joint efforts with Kurupt: Dillinger & Young Gotti in 2001 and Dillinger & Young Gotti, Vol. 2: Tha Saga Continues in 2005. Daz further drew from his archive of unreleased material for The Last of tha Pound in 2004 and DPGC: The Remix LP in 2005. For a brief period after Suge’s release from prison, Death Row likewise tapped its vault for older Dogg Pound recordings, resulting in 2002 in 2001.

Kurupt surprised observers by rejoining the Death Row fold in 2002 once his Antra deal concluded and his short-lived collaboration with Daz wrapped. He assumed the vice-president role previously held by Dr. Dre, yet the arrangement yielded little new music; his solo album Against tha Grain faced repeated delays until 2005, at which point his ties with Suge had already frayed. Distributed and marketed through Koch, Against tha Grain moved modestly, prompting Kurupt to exit Death Row once more. He subsequently repaired relations with Daz, who had maintained a contentious stance toward Suge and Death Row, and by extension toward Kurupt.

Snoop’s Western Conference event in December 2005 helped spark renewed collaboration between Kurupt and Daz, setting the stage for an active stretch ahead. In 2006 Daz released Kurupt’s Same Day, Different Shit on D.P.G.; Koch put out the full-scale Dogg Pound reunion album Cali Iz Active; and Jermaine Dupri issued Daz’s So So Gangsta on So So Def Recordings. Beyond that crowded 2006 slate, Tha Dogg Pound returned in 2007 with Dogg Chit, whose artwork referenced the cover of Dogg Food. Despite obstacles with Cash Money and Koch, Kurupt and Daz sustained the group through further independent releases such as That Was Then This Is Now in 2009, the compilation Keep on Ridin’ in 2010, and 100 Wayz also in 2010. Doggy Bag collected stray tracks in 2012. Throughout the mid-2010s the pair continued guest appearances and solo output.