Finally bastards! But they had the balls to ask the question everyone wonders but never asks! How come he can't produce at the level he once did since he left Death Row!



ThaFormula.com - So now let's talk about Tupac…how was your relationship with him?

Daz Dillinger - It was real cool. It's just like how me and Kurupt was. He's a Gemini, I'm a Gemini. I made beats and we lived right next door to each other so every mornin' that I go to the studio he's right there with me. First pick of the litter nah mean.

ThaFormula.com - It seemed like in the beginning there was a lot of Johnny J and Tupac, but towards the end it seemed like you and 'Pac were doing a lot of shit together?

Daz Dillinger - Johnny J was in the picture before he came to Death Row, but when he came to Death Row I was in charge and I was puttin' shit together and he was listening to how our shit was comin' out and he wanted and he wanted that shit so I gave him the "Ambitionz of a Ridah," "I Ain't Mad Atcha," and you know all that shit. I did a whole bunch of more shit, I just stole everything!

ThaFormula.com - Who out of all the artists you worked with was you're favorite to work with?

Daz Dillinger - I ain't got no favorites. Snoop, Tupac, that's the shit right there.

ThaFormula.com - Did Tupac really have hate for Biggie man?

Daz Dillinger - Shit, afterwards nah I mean. I remember when I was cool with Biggie and all. Back then Biggie came down and you know we used to kick it. I would do beats for Biggie. I got songs with Biggie. So you know when he used to come to the 92.3 The Beat (local Los Angeles radio station), uh when they would have their little location spots and shit, I would hear on the radio that he's right there, so I would go over there, we would talk. I'm like man what's up with That? He would just tell me "man that's bullshit." When Tupac got killed about a week later I was in the studio with Biggie after Pac got killed. I was with him and Mase when they was doing that song with Too $hort from "Life After Death."

ThaFormula.com - "The World is Filled?"

Daz Dillinger - Yeah, so me and Mase was cool too. I was sellin' weed back then so when I sell the weed to Mase, Biggie walks in the door. I give him a free ounce and all that shit.

ThaFormula.com - So you actually got tracks with Biggie?

Daz Dillinger - Yeah and I'm sellin them. I need a million dollars a track.

ThaFormula.com - You're a smart man Daz, you seem to know what you're doing...

Daz Dillinger - I'm trying to keep it going man. But you know money don't last forever man. You spend one dollar you ain't a millionaire no more.

ThaFormula.com - Do you ever laugh when you see all these major label artists frontin' in their videos but no really making any money while you are doing a lot better doing it the independent way?

Daz Dillinger - And I still wear Kmart clothes! But yeah I be trippin' off of them 'cause they spendin' more money on videos and shit so I'm like shit, when they go platinum I go 100,000 and I'm rich. I'm only trying to sell 15,000 to 30,000 if you really wanna know. So if I put ten projects out and sell 35,000, I'm cool (Laughs).

ThaFormula.com - So what's your relationship with Dre like now?

Daz Dillinger - Everything is cool. I let bygones be bygones. You do your thang I do my thang. He ain't reached out to me though.

ThaFormula.com - I remember you were on The Beat once and you were sayin' how you wanted to be down with the "Up In Smoke" Tour?

Daz Dillinger - Yeah, I wanted to get on there but they was rejecting me because uh, probably Kurupt was playa hatin' and stuff, you never know who was playa hatin'.

ThaFormula.com - It's too bad to 'cause a lot of people were hoping to see the Dogg Pound on stage together?

Daz Dillinger - Yeah, but it didn't so it was like damn, I took it hard you know what I mean? But that made me grind harder with "R.A.W." That's about the time "R.AW." came out.

ThaFormula.com - When you first decided to break from Death Row, how were you feelin' at that time Daz?

Daz Dillinger - When I left Death Row I was feuding with Snoop and I was feuding with Death Row. I was feuding with my own and Death Row so I couldn't really trust nobody. I had to go get my own crew. Some muthafuckas from out of town who they don't, know that was loony.

ThaFormula.com - So is that when you made you're trip to the Bay?

Daz Dillinger - Yep, cause wasn't no money in L.A., ain't no money in L.A., everybody wants shit on credit, it's corporate dollars so you waitin' a couple of weeks to get checks and it's just bullshit up there. So I go where they're payin' for verses at. In the Bay and the South.

ThaFormula.com - But what made you decide to just get up in leave. Who put you on to the Bay?

Daz Dillinger - My homie L Dog who used to be in the Dogg Pound. He died and he's restin' in peace right now, but he used to do our clothes and shit. He used to tell me about E-40 and them. We used to hear E-40's music but then he took us out there. I really learned the game from D-Shot 'cause he was trying to get us on some shit and then we did that song with me, 40, and the Dogg Pound. That was the first song and then I was learnin' the independent shit and I'm like, "damn these muthafuckas out here are rollin' Benzes, got houses and we sellin' all these muthafuckin' copies and ain't got shit!" We got houses but we just ain't spendin' like that. So then that's when I said "Fuck it ," and I made "RA.W." I Went in the studio took me my money and made me a whole album and then I learned some more shit from JT and I just started pressing up everything. Once I got hooked up with the man that pressed the records up, that's all I needed.

ThaFormula.com - So compared to what you would make on a major, what are you makin' independently off of a CD?

Daz Dillinger - Well, every hundred thousand is a million so add that up. So if I go platinum that's 10 million. I quit!! So it's like bam and you get all of it, ain't no recoup. So if I make a million, I don't owe nobody shit. That's why I produce and do all that shit. They handin' the check to one man and that's me.

ThaFormula.com - How did the last Dogg Pound album that you dropped do?

Daz Dillinger - It sold 200,000.

ThaFormula.com - Did Kurupt get any money off of that?

Daz Dillinger - Fuck nah!! See I had a deal with Stan and them OCS and that's who owns Antra. So when we told Kurupt we was gonna get him 25 percent, he wanna be like "nah you can keep that," Uncle Stan and muthafuckas took it like that and now he's sayin', "I didn't get no money off of it." 'Cause you a stupid ass and you gave the money back to Stan! Joe and them fucked all the money off so Antra went down the drain.

ThaFormula.com - What was the situation with Kurupt's album deal with Antra, 'cause I remember him sayin' on the Kuruption album that it was his new record label?

Daz Dillinger - Hell nah, he just lied. This is how it happened. He got off of Death Row right, when he left Death Row he went out there to Philly and the Outlaws was out there. Kurupt went to Jersey to fuck with them and got in to trouble and went to jail and one of his friends hooked him up with Joe Maroon. He was a criminal lawyer, but Joe is tied in nah mean, to the mafia. So he get him out of trouble and finds out who he is. And he like, "you sold all these records, been on all these records, and you ain't got no money? Oh we fittin' to sue these muthafuckas." Then he got off of Death Row. Then Joe and them signed him to his label and then Joe went to Stan and Stan fronted all the money, the big man, the Kingpin!! So you know then Joe started buyin' houses and fuckin' off the money.

ThaFormula.com - So Kurupt never saw a penny?

Daz Dillinger - Muthafucka kept rentin' Limos and shit like that. He would be havin' a Limo out side for two days waiting for him to wake up 'cause he's drunk. "I need to go to the store, call a limo!" I'm like man! When you say that Hollywood star shit, that's Kurupt 'cause he Hollywood. And I wanna say one thing else too, all these movies Kurupt is playin' in is wack! You know why? 'Cause every fuckin' movie he plays in, he's a fuckin' informant for the police. Don't you see that in every fuckin movie? In "Dark Blue" he's workin' for the cops killin' muthafuckas and at the end he's snitchin' to the police in front of the whole committee (Laughs). Then on "Hollywood Homicide," he doing the same thing. You know he's probably an informant for the police or workin' or the feds. You never know what the fuck. 'Cause everything Kurupt rapped in the past is bullshit. He never done none of that shit he talkin' about. In all the Dogg Pound albums all the guns he's bustin', and all that shit, Kurupt ain't never bust a gun in his muthafuckin life! Probably on Dark Blue though (Laughs)

ThaFormula.com - During the early days in Death Row it seemed like you and Kurupt had a lot of love for the music?

Daz Dillinger - Yeah, we had a lot of love for the music 'cause we was listening to Dr. Dre while they was doing the Chronic and that shit inspired me and I started makin' music and Kurupt never used to come around. He used to be hangin' with some wack muthafuckas.

ThaFormula.com - So you and Kurupt weren't really that tight from the get go?

Daz Dillinger - We would just see each other know what I mean? He would come by and kick it. He was Kurupt "The Kingpin" and I was "Dat Nigga Daz." I was solo and he was solo. Then when I found out Dr. Dre was only fuckin' with RBX and Snoop, I made the group the Dogg Pound up and told him let's put some shit together and I'ma produce it. I would sneak in the studio and Hot wire the muthafucka and go up to the third floor and tape over all the old whispers shit and put my shit on there.

ThaFormula.com - Now a lot of people have said this and I'm sure you have heard this before. How come Daz can't make the quality music that he made when he was workin with Dre and with Death Row?

Daz Dillinger - 'Cause they got all the big studios and shit. I can still make the music. See when everybody left, I didn't have no more people to give the music to. Everybody was gone so you know now I'm back producing and everything from then on I got right now and I'm fittin' to dish out to everybody. I just wasn't producing for nobody you know what I mean? All I knew was the people I produced for and that was Snoop, Dre and all them. So when they left I decided well hell I ain't got nobody else to produce for. Fuck it! I'm just gonna start rappin'. So I stopped producin' and started rappin'.

ThaFormula.com - So that's when you did the "Retaliation" LP, did that album do what you hoped it would have done?

Daz Dillinger - Nah, because we was feudin'. Me and Snoop was feudin'. Lots of shit had to do with Death Row trying to use me to discs Snoop and I wasn't going for it. Then you know we would get into it, so it's like fuck you Daz and you know, "oh, you don't wanna ride with death row! Then fuck you Daz." So I was like fuck you then, I'd rather have nothin'!

ThaFormula.com - So basically when you did the Retaliation LP you really were alone?

Daz Dillinger - It was just me and Soopafly. Then Soopafly left with Snoop and I was just by myself and then we was feudin', then just everybody started feudin'. I was by myself and I just started pressing my own records up with "R.A.W.," did the "DPG," and then I did "Streets is a Mutha." That's the hardest record Kurupt's gonna ever come with.

ThaFormula.com - I don't think anyone will argue that that was some of your best work if not your best. That was probably the best gangsta album of that year?

Daz Dillinger - Yeah because I was back producin' for the people who I love nah what I mean? And when I do this thing with Jermaine, me and him gonna sit down and make a whole Dogg Pound album the way it's supposed to be. 'Cause he a producer and he know how it's supposed to sound. We gonna get Snoop and all that and then me and Soopafly is gonna be the new group.

ThaFormula.com - So by getting with So So Def it also gives you a chance to get back into the big studios.

Daz Dillinger - Yeah, the big studios doing the corporate shit, ownin' my own shit with me and Jermaine and me doin' what I wanna do and they let me be me.

ThaFormula.com - Does it make a big difference being in those big multi-million dollar studios compared to what you're doing now?

Daz Dillinger - It's the same shit, it's shit that it's just a little bit tweeker. You got the big ass woofers and the speakers and shit and it's just a real studio. But hell yeah it does make a big difference. See the big studios is $3500 a day. I'd rather just go buy me some equipment for 10g's and call t a day.

ThaFormula.com - It seemed like something was missin' from your "R.A.W." album and I thought maybe it was that?

Daz Dillinger - I mixed that album in a big studio. The problem was that it didn't have Snoop on there. We was feudin' and it was underground. The crew wasn't together man. I'm dissin' Snoop on there, he makin' songs dissin' me. Him and Mack 10 did a song dissin' me but that muthafucka never will never come out.

ThaFormula.com - Why did everybody decide that they wanted to be solo artists instead of a dope ass group?

Daz Dillinger - Shit, everybody gots to get paper. We grown, we havin' kids and bills and shit man.

ThaFormula.com - But don't you think you guys could have made more money together?

Daz Dillinger - Not with Suge in the picture. 'Cause Suge is the devil man!

full of shiet part 2!

"When 2pac got killed about a week later I was in the studio with Biggie after Pac got killed" - and he talkin Bout Kurupt iz a trader?

"When 2pac got killed about a week later I was in the studio with Biggie after Pac got killed" - and he talkin Bout Kurupt iz a trader?

not really pac was making up the whole east/west beef w/biggie and that was bullshit!

Snoop & Daz were in the studio with Big a bit when he was makin Life after Death..

tight interview

Dope Interview

Kurupt is a better rapper than Daz and Snoop

DOGG POUND BACC ON DEATH ROW WITH DAZ PRODUCER FOR THEM. HAHAH AH HAHA SLOBKPOUND RECORD