Kurupt - Streetz Iz A Mutha

[On The Edge of Insanity]

Kurupt – Streetz Iz A Mutha

Following on from his 1998 Death Row album Kuruption, by the time Streetz Iz A Mutha was released Kurupt had left Death Row and signed with Antra. However, this album is basically a next generation Death Row album with many former Death Row inmates such as Snoop, Dre, Tray Dee and Nate Dogg putting into guest appearances and well as many appearances by Kurupt’s Dogg Pound partner Daz Dillinger who was actually still signed to Death Row when this album was released. But could Kurupt produce an album which was able to do justice to his great talent, which is something that he certainly wasn’t able to manage with his first album?


I Call Shots (feat Roscoe) – after Snoop introduces the album we go straight into this track. This has quite a hard beat courtesy of Organised Noise, and features great lyrics from both Kurupt and young Roscoe. The hook is pretty good and overall this is a good start to the album. 4/5

Loose Cannons (feat Daz & Xzibit) – this is quite a short track, showcasing the lyrical ability of Kurupt and his guests Daz and Mr X to tha Z. The lyrics are great throughout, although the fact that their voices have been modified makes them sound a bit weird apart from Xzibit who stills comes off very tight. The beat is good and but the weird modification of the voices bring it down. 3.5/5

Who Ride Wit Us (feat Daz) – the Dogg Pound together bringing some more heat for all the fans out there. This is a typical up tempo, What Would You Do? type beat from Fred Wreck and Daz and Kurupt come off well together as ever. The hook is great and you can see why this was one of the singles released from the album because it is very catchy. This song features the first diss to DMX on the album, when somebody impersonates DMX on the radio and Kurupt says “get this bullshit off the goddamn radio”. 4.5/5

Represent Dat G.C (feat Daz, Snoop Dogg, Soopafly, Tray Dee, Jay-O, Butch) – this is basically a group track repping DPG, introduced by the legendary W Balls radio DJ. The beat is very catchy with a definite Gangsta edge, and everybody does their little bit of rapping, each rapper flowing into one another almost seamlessly. Everybody puts in a good performance especially Tray Dee and Snoop, who makes up for some other lazy guest appearances on this track. The hook is great and Butch’s singing at the end fits into the track perfectly. 5/5

Welcome Home (feat Latoya) – this track has a more laid back beat than the rest of the album so far and is basically repping L.A, assisted by a brilliant hook by Latoya. Kurupt comes off really well on one of the few rapping solos on the album, showing love to LA, DPG and everything else he loves. Great track. 4.5/5

Tequila (feat Niva, T-Moe, Daz) – this track is also very laid back, and features two artists who I really had not heard of before I heard this track. Kurupt and Daz come off very well lyrically, Niva does provide a good hook, but T-Moe who appears to be from the dirty south doesn’t really fit in particularly well with the other rappers or the beat. Because of that this track does lose a bit but his section is actually very small so it doesn’t spoil the track too much. 4/5

Trylogy – the beat on this track sounds really familiar, but there are no samples listed for the track so I suppose it must be original, and therefore much props to relatively unknown producer Bink Dogg for a dope beat. Kurupt provides a great performance on this track and overall it is a pretty dope track, although it is quite short. 3.5/5

Neva Gonna Give It Up (feat Warren G, Snoop Dogg, Nate Dogg, Tray Dee, Soopafly) – this is the second DPG group track on this album, and just like the first this is a classic track. The beat is great from Meech Wells, Nate Dogg provides a typically excellent hook, and all the rappers come off really well on this track. Nate’s singing verse on the track is also excellent and it is nice to see all these people back together again on one track, especially seeing Snoop, Nate and Warren G back together again. Snoop puts in another great performance and this track is pure quality. Perhaps the only thing this track is missing is a verse from Daz, but this doesn’t take the quality down. 5/5

Tha Streetz Iz A Mutha (feat Daz) – this track is basically a chronicle by Kurupt and Daz of life on the streets of LA, over a great laid back beat provided by Daz himself. The hook from Kurupt is great and instantly memorable and both him and Daz come off excellently on this track. This track is one of my favourites from the album and really is a class act. 5/5

Ya Can’t Trust Nobody (feat Daz) – this track has quite a bouncy beat from Daz and is typical Dogg Pound track. Daz kicks the track off with a good performance which really shows how his flow has been steadily improving over his career so far. Kurupt comes out with his normal great lyrical performance, and a good hook make this song pretty dope. 4/5

It Ain’t About U (feat Soopafly & Tray Dee) – this song starts with a phone conversation between Kurupt and Soopafly before the great beat provided by Soopa kicks in. Soopafly starts off with some great lyrics, which show his undeniable talent which thus far really has been slept on by the mass market. Kurupt and Tray Dee put down typical great lyrical performances, and a great hook make this a dope track. 4.5/5

Girls All Pause (feat Nate Dogg and Roscoe) – this track is the second produced by Bink Dogg and was the first single released from the album. I have to admit when I first heard this track I didn’t think that it was that good, but it really has grown on me the more that I have listened to it. The beat sounds reminiscent of the Game Don’t Wait Remix by Warren G and really is a great but simple gangsta beat. Nate provides some more legendary vocals amongst and around Kurupt and Roscoe’s great lyrics. Everybody flows together really well and overall this track is another dope track from the album. 4.5/5

Your Gyrlfriend (feat Daz) – this track really is probably my second favourite on the whole album. This is basically a track about bitches, which has a great beat courtesy of Daz, and some great lyrics by both the Dogg Pound members. The hook is really memorable and this track tells a great story about somebody not really that their girlfriend is a hoe, and that she has been around the block. The whole track really is pure brilliance. 5/5

Ho’s A Housewife (feat Dre and Hittman) – if you think that you have heard this track before then it could have been from Dr Dre’s 2001 version which does have a slightly different beat than this version, or even the version that appeared on Kurupt’s last album Kurruption. However, this track does still sound as good as ever with a great beat from Dre and good rapping from all three rappers. The originality factor is the only thing that really brings this track down, but other than that it’s a pretty dope track. 4/5

[On The Edge of Insanity]

I Ain’t Shit Without My Homeboyz (feat Daz, Crooked I, Baby S & Soopafly) – this track is jointly produced by Daz and Soopafly and is basically a song about always staying true to your closest homeboyz because without them you wouldn’t be shit. The beat is great, and all of the rappers bring great verses to the table about their homies, especially Crooked I who really shows his lyrical ability on this track. This is basically a laid back contemplation track which works really well. 4.5/5

Step Up (feat Crooked I and Xzibit) – this track is basically a chance for three of the best MC’s on the west coast to show their lyrical ability on a track. Daz provides a very hard beat for the rappers to flow over, and boy do they flow! Crooked I provides a verse even better than his performance on the last track which really is saying something, Kurupt provides some great lyrics and bizarre rhymes to show his obvious abilty, and Xzibit brings one of his normal brilliant lyrical performances. Battlecat plays the role of mix tape DJ shouting out each rapper before they start their verse in such a way that you wish he produced most of the mixtapes out instead of all the annoying DJ’s such as Clue and Kay Slay who spend half their time bigging up their homies. Overall this track has a great beat and high quality lyrics, and what more do you really need on a song. 5/5

Live On The Mic (feat Krs One) – Kurupt describes doing a track with Krs One as being the point when you know you are highly respected in the game. The beat is good if a little strange from Soopafly, but unfortunately this track isn’t really that good. The rappers each put in good performances but they certainly aren’t on top of their form, and the fact that their voices seem to be mixed in too quietly doesn’t really help matters. 3/5

Calling Out Names (feat Xzibit) – this is another bonus track which isn’t mentioned in the booklet for the album. This is basically a diss to DMX, Ja Rule and all the other people Kurupt has beef with. The beat provided by Fred Wreck is totally brilliant and has to be his best work behind the boards. Kurupt comes out with some quality disses towards DMX and the others, and makes it clear that he doesn’t have a problem with New York and some New York rappers, but that some of the rappers who represent NY really are bitches. It really is a great lyrical performance from him. Xzibit comes in for the hook to the track which comes in brilliantly after a little bridge with spaced out voices which contrast perfectly with Xzibit’s hard voice. This really is an almost perfect track, which is certainly my favourite on the whole album, and if only there had been a verse from Xzibit on this track as well as his hook then it could have probably been in my top ten songs ever. 5/5

Overall Kurupt certainly provided a great response to all the critics who were saying that he was finished after the disappointing release that was Kuruption. This album really is straight DPG with great guest appearances from the whole of DPG, and great west coast funk beats from Daz, Fred Wreck, Meech and others. The album is full of  great tracks and there are some definite classic tracks on here like the two DPG group cuts, Your Gyrlfriend and Calling Out Names. Basically if you like Kurupt or the Dogg Pound then you must own this album, no two ways about it. This is by far Kurupt’s best work, and I actually prefer this album to Dr Dre’s 2001 which was released around the same time.

Overall: 9/10

[West Coast Veteran]

When this album first dropped I slept on it for about three months since 2001 dropped on the same day and that was the only album I listened to for those three months. After I had enough of 2001 I copped Tha Eastsidaz debut and Tha Streetz Iz A Mutha. I was definitely happy to buy both these albums on the same day. Anyways Tha Streetz Iz A Mutha was the best D.P.G. release since Dogg Food. Every song was tight and Kurupt spit fury on the mic. I definitely agree with your rating and I think it's a classic as well.

[LAZY]

yeah tite reveiw itz tite but id give it a 8.5.... and id give trylogy  5/5 yes itz short but i think kurupt put amost hiz all n this song at the end he soundz like he did when he started

[Twentytwofifty]

Trylogy is amazin', Kurupt rips it over a tight beat, check the lyrics:

Rainstorm the back of the bank, bustin loose like Muggsy
Typhoons, Kurupt Calhoun
with a platoon of backwards ass buffoons
Ready to shoot anything that moves
Load to tunes from "The Blue Lagoon"
Mask on, khakis, ounced on house shoes
So I'ma start it off skitzin on the first nigga
Saul hit the stack, heard me, hear me?
Heard that, word don't pass the front do'
before you gotta show em your heart and soul and Desert Eagle fo'
Explode then watch em fold, the other niggaz froze
He knew better, mask in an all blue sweater
Two pumps ready for a riot
Full Baretta, six hostages with a loss of oxygen
Wet as a river, sixteen bricks to flip
After I flip these bitch niggaz for they shit
I been down with the twist since eighty-six
Hyperactive with a automatic, snappin reaction
I'm sick of waitin, a thirty-eight, I'm jackin for Daytons
Kick the door in for sure, double four's rammin
Hollow bandit, ready to knock him off if he standin
Position the cannons, telegraph the whole parameter
Paralyze anything that walks through perimeter
Cervical veins lacerated lost to missiles
Interrogated and I paraded posted with pistols
Time for war this is when the heart's exposed
Change up the game, cockin and sparks explode
I'm a marksman, touch of death, ten steps to draw
And that's all, end to anything before
In a world war, off like a Concorde jet
But fool, D.P.G.'s the set
In a world war, this is when the heart's exposed
Change up the game, cock, sparks explode
Manic-depressive panic and then start skitzin
Not givin a fuck while all y'all bitchin
Dis is for all my G's, my ho-mies
Flippin birds and servin ki's
I'm with King T and Tha Liks, Alkahol-ed it up
like BITCH, get the fuck off my dick!
I got pistols, pills, acid, bomb, crank
Crystallized coke and limes, I don't give a fuck!

Oh My God

[Pillow]

best album from kurupt yet.....

[KVB]

Pretty dope album... it ain't classic though, I would say 7/10.
Good review BTW.

[Smooth]

Dope album... I wouldn't say classic, but def Kurupt's best album... my favourite tracks are "Welcome Home" "Neva  Gonna give it up" "Step up" and "Calling out names"... overall id give it an 8.5

[verbalassaulta]

besides dre's 2001...this to me is the best post death row album from anyone...9/10

[Sikotic™]

I agreee with everything except the overall rating. It was more like a 7 out of 10 but that's just me.

Great review. I loved the detail.

[PLANT]

besides dre's 2001...this to me is the best post death row album from anyone...9/10

yea i agree there...Kurupt really put it down and represented to the fulllest on this album...

[teecee]

TIght review, i have heard and like most of the songs, byut i haven't bought it yet....i better buy it soon.  Oh ya, Xzibit ain't really featured on Callin out names, that is a sample...

[Kill]

It's much better than "Kuruption" and "Space Boogie", but it ain't classic to me...7.5/10

[On The Edge of Insanity]

Yeah I know it's ain't really featuring him, that's like a sample from an intro to a song off of 40 Dayz and 40 Nightz isn't it?, but it says featuring in the booklet so that's what I put.

Anyways to me this album is easily a 9/10, cause for me it really is the best post Death Row album from anybody who was on Tha Row, and really shows the talent that Kurupt obviously has. Like I said in the review, for me this is better than Dre's 2001, which I think was overrated, and is certainly a west coast classic.