DOGG POUND  (April 2006) | Interview By: Lil Jay

      Your favorite website's favorite website is back again with yet another exclusive special. Once again Dubcnn hooked up with Daz Dillinger and Kurupt for another round in our infamous Dogg Pound interviews. To make it simple, they mainly focus on the new DPG album "Cali Iz Active" and break it down in details. The Dogg Pound Gangstas talk about the making of the album and how Snoop's guidance helped them put the project together.



Don't forget that the upcoming Dogg Pound album "Cali Iz Active" will be hitting stores June 27th.

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Huge thanks to Daz & Kurupt for taking the time out to answer the questions fans wanted to know! (Interview was done by phone in April 2006)


Questions Asked By: Lil Jay

Daz Dillinger Gave Dubcnn A Shoutout! Check That Here

Kurupt Gave Dubcnn A Shoutout! Check That Here

Full Interview In Audio: Here

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Dubcnn: What's been up with the Dogg Pound?

Daz: Oh you know man, grindin'. Trying to keep it balanced out between Koch and Virgin and Universal. You know what I'm saying?



Dubcnn: So you got the "Cali Iz Active" album ready to come out. Talk about it real quick.

Daz: Yeah, on June 27th. It's gonna sound like some West Coast original gangsta shit. We put the final touches together today, we're putting the album in sequence. And we got the Kurupt album dropping June 20th, the Young Gotti solo album. We got the video on d-p-g-c.com, on my website. So we're just trying to mash, I got the July 18th release date, for "So So Gangsta".


Kurupt: If you like that gangsta music, this is what you gotta have, this is a must get. It's gonna be some original G-Shit, new millenium Dogg Pound gangsta shit



Dubcnn: You released "The Saga Continuez" last year, and now we get 3 albums within a month. Did you have to rush to get these projects out?

Daz: Nah, it's not coming out in a rush. This album took a year, so it's gonna be great quality. When we made "The Saga Continuez" it was just songs we had made to put it together, cause everybody wanna do a mixtape, but we ain't really with doing no mixtapes. This album is for everybody. South, East, West.


Kurupt: We'll do records that take our time, and we do records that we put together and throw it to the game. But I don't really have an opinion, I'm too old man, I'm 33 years old. Like the fans with the 'tell me this, tell me that', I wanna give people the music I can, that's what Daz is gonna do. You know, we don't make mixtapes, but we'll take records that we made at the house and put them together and throw the to the game. It's for our fans, and it's also for ourselves, it's something that we wanna do. If the people don't like the record, hey what can I tell them. Don't buy the motherfucker, but I'm not finna debate with people and play that game. Dogg Pound Gangstas are legends. We're in our late 30's almost. We don't have the energy to play the 'This person thinks that about y'all, what do you think what they think?'. We gonna give the best music we can give you.

But the records that we just grabbed from the house and put them together and said 'Hey lets throw this out real quick before we drop the main record, that's what we feel like doing at the time, that's what we gonna do. It might not be for everybody, and we're not mad at that. That's their opinion, that's what they do! But it's not gonna stop us from throwing the records we wanna throw to the people. And as far as "Dillinger & Young Gotti 2", that wasn't a rush, that's underground. Actually it's classic cause it's the first record released with me and Daz getting back together. The first thing you know? So to us it's like 'Hey, get people something real cool, show them how we're just clowning out in the studio and having a ball, while we work on the record that Snoopy is overseeing for us. So you can love it or leave it alone. We don't really have opinions (laughs). But that's no disrespect to none of the fans.



Dubcnn: You always represent Long Beach and L.A. in your songs. How come you guys decided to rep for the whole state this time and call it "Cali Iz Active"?

Daz: "Cali Iz Active" period. We got the highway patrole out there, right? Cali Is active, cause I go from the Bay to L.A. I got homies up there and we do the same thang. They gangbang out there, but in different ways. So I'm about that paper, Cali is active all together. We're on a California movement right now.


Kurupt: L.A. isn't the only place that's active, Oakland is active, Richmond is active, San Francisco is active. My nigga Messy Marv is from Frisco, so how you gonna say San Francisco ain't active? So all of California is active. We say California is active, that connects to all of the different regions. Cause Hyphy is active, Oakland is being active. Every different part of California has a way that they get down. It's active on our streets in California, from Frisco to San Diego to San Jose to Oakland, to any part that we consider California. There's just no light part of California, nowadays even the white folks is active. Cali is active, it's self explanatory. And we gonna leave the parade on that.



Dubcnn: So can we expect to hear some Bay Area flavor on the album?

Daz: Yeah we got E-40 on a couple tracks.


Kurupt: Not on our album, he's gonna be on Snoop's album. The record we did, Snoop was just like 'Man this motherfucka is bangin'. We did a bunch of records with a lot of other artists, but definitely the one with E-40 is gonna be on Snoop's album "The Blue Carpet Treatment". We pretty much kept it normal Dogg Pound gangsta shit on this album. As far as the West Coast, we look at it as we are the West Coast. So we ain't really got any other West Coast artists, so we're the ones that's gonna represent the West Coast on this album. And then we got people from the East Coast and the South to come and be part of this gangsta era.



Dubcnn: Is Nate Dogg on the album?

Daz: Yeah Nate is on the album. B-Real is on the album, David Banner, Paul Wall, P. Diddy. Diddy is on a rap track and production.



Dubcnn: Snoop is bringing everybody together for this project. How was it recording this album with him overseeing it, compared to "The Saga Continuez"?

Kurupt: Ohh man, Snoopy is the head of our organization. Snoopy said he'll go and push it, and me and Daz was just ready for whatever Snoop wanted us to bring to the table. It's a lot more people involved in this "Cali Iz Active" album, it's more than just me and Daz. "The Saga Continuez" it was just me and Daz posted up at the house smokin', relaxing. That's why it's such a relaxing laid back record, it's the grown folks Dogg Pound sound. Just kickin' back, coolin' out and ridin' around and just smokin' out to it. And the "Cali Iz Active" is more the Dogg Pound involved. You got Nate involved, Snoop is overseeing the whole thing. We had a lot of people show support, like David Banner or Busta Rhymes came and showed us some love. So it's a total different caliber of an album. And really, it's for the the fans to pick it up, listen to the album, and tell us the difference (laughs).

Ain't no albums we've ever done without Snoopy being involved, or being some form of over sight in a situation. Even if we make the records and take them to him and ask him for advice 'What do you think about these records', 'You think this should be a single?'. So Snoop is always involved in the movement that we've been trying to do. But it was the greatest thing, and it feels good to have somebody who's part of your project who you look up to and trust their judgements, to allow somebody else to call the shots on your music. With Snoopy it feels good to be able have somebody that you trust that much. Snoopy made us, so it's really nothing, it's natural to us. So it was a great thing to have Snoopy even wanna be part of the project like that. A lot of people pay Snoopy 15 million dollars just to be involved in their projects. And we have him just outta love, so it's a great thing to us.


Daz: Yeah, you know he's kinda putting it together. So it's like whatever he wants, we gonna make it happen.


Dubcnn: How does the new album rank in your entire discography?

Daz: Oh you know, I'ma let the people judge that. The public gotta listen to it. It's hard for me to tell it cause I'm used to it.



Dubcnn: What was the deciding factor in putting out the record through Koch? Is it kinda to bridge the gap between indy's and majors?

Daz: Just to get the full fledged money out the situation, cause we can get solo deals for that one. The next Dogg Pound album me and Kurupt will do is called "Duets", so we gonna be doing songs with The Clipse, UGK. We gonna put out a whole album together with duo groups.



Dubcnn: The lead single sounds like it could have been a song on "Dillinger & Young Gotti". Are you sometimes trying to bring a certain sound back?

Daz: It depends what we're doing. We had different eras in time. If you want the music to sound this way, you gotta change up the sound. A lot of people talk about putting records out, but I don't see nobody put more records out than me. Cause I put one out and I put another one out, and they still on the first one. And it ain't nothing about rushing an album out, cause you gotta spend money to make an album. It's just that I know what I want when I'm laying it down. Some people don't know what they want, and they gotta get at other producers and all of that other shit to help them. I'm the one man band.



Dubcnn: So why did you get cats like Diddy and Swizz Beatz to produce the album, if you're the producer of the group?

Daz: I'ma wait to the next one, cause the next album is gonna be all me and Kurupt. They ain't having no money. Everything was spent, and a tight clean budget.



Dubcnn: So no free beats from Daz?

Daz: Nope!



Dubcnn: How come you're not working with Mike Dean anymore?

Daz: Ahh you know, different standards. We're still friends. But it's just new business people, new everything, you know?



Dubcnn: What kind of beats did you want to have for this project?

Kurupt: We wanted to keep it West Coast and G'd up, but we did wanna take it a step ahead in certain levels of music, and not just be regular on 'em. So I told Snoop I want some gangsta shit, just some shit I can bust on. He gave me what I wanted. Daz wanted to rock the party and keep it crackin', all gangsta'd up though, and Snoopy brought all those types of musical things to the table. Soopafly gave us one that's so Dogg Pound Gangsta'd up. So it ain't too much that we really wanted that we didn't get. Say, I'll take it back to the G-Shit, Snoop said cool, we got everything we need.



Dubcnn: I never expected to hear you spit over a Diddy beat.

Kurupt: Oh his beat is so vicious, that motherfucker bangin man! But that's what we wanted, we didn't wanna be what people expect. You gotta satisfy your basic fans that's been supporting you all these years, you have to handle them first. So we wanted to give what they would expect from us, but we still wanted to go to a different level and do things that people wouldn't expect. I wanted to do a record with Puffy for a long time, we always wanted. We never really was into that heat that got taken out of proportion back in the days, everything extended from there. But we always fucked with Puffy, and we finally got the opportunity. It was a big thing to us, especially with the heat this nigga got.



Dubcnn: With all these names on the album, what potential do you see for this album?

Kurupt: To expand the West Coast, to show that the West Coast ain't just about dropping a gang of West Coast type of beats. We open for this game, and we show that the West Coast is in collaboration with the East Coast, in collaboration with Down South. Like the one Swizz Beatz did for us is out of this fucking universe. It's like we wanna expand this whole Dogg Pound thing, give people what they don't expect. Like Kurupt & Daz on Swizz Beatz music, Kurupt & Daz on Puffy's music, Kurupt & Daz on Jazzy Phae's music, David Banner's music. As well as what they expect by dropping heat with Soopafly and the ones we did with Battlecat.

We'll give you that original gangsta shit, but we'll also twist it up with some of the shit that you won't expect to keep these things rollin' in here. It's all about unification in Hip Hop right now, all different genres getting together and putting their sounds together. The South, the East, the West, and up North. All getting together making albums with all of these sounds, all in one. That's how big Hip Hop is, bigger than just one person.



Dubcnn: Kurupt, what's the situation on the new solo album you got coming?

Kurupt: It's my independent album, "Underground Volume 1: Kurupt Young Gotti - Same Day, Different Shit". Daz produced the whole record right there. Then I have my solo album that I'm dropping in the major market that Snoop is executive producing. I'm working on that one right now. My underground album is done, me and Daz packaged it up. Right now I'm working on finishing the Dogg Pound album, finishing Daz's solo album, and finishing my Kurupt album that Snoopy is executive producing.

But that shit is off the meat rack! Oh my god! I tell you this much about that album. Starting off with that album, I did 3 records with Fredwreck, and 3 records with Mel-Man. Wow, I'm tryna tell ya man! Just to give you an idea where I'm headed. I'm headed to fucking Jupiter right now!



Dubcnn: Daz, you got the "So So Gangsta" album coming out. Was there ever a time when you had doubts of the album getting released?

Daz: Nah, I just left it to Jermaine Dupri, let him have it. But I produced 5 songs on my album though.



Dubcnn: You got 2 singles out right now, "Cali Iz Active" and "It's My Thng". What's the main focus right now?

Daz: Just the group period, cause we're on it. I'm working both of them. Both companies have their attitudes, 'do this', 'do that'. But I'm working with Virgin, Koch, I'm working with all of them. But it's our time, whatever we wanna do.



Dubcnn: On "Its My Thang" y'all used a classic Hip Hop sample, and "Cali Iz Active" is a straight West Coast beat. Is this an indication of how both albums are gonna sound completely different?

Daz: It's gonna be two different albums. The Dogg Pound album is West Coast. Jermaine's album is more like, you know... I let that album be in his hands, you know? The second album is mine.



Dubcnn: What's the status with DPG Recordz now?

Daz: Soopafly is next, his joint is coming out on Snoop's Dogg Pound Gangsta Inc.



Dubcnn: Daz are you gonna release the infamous 50 Cent diss track?

Daz: Oh "Banned" ? You know it's sittin' in the cut somewhere. I ain't gonna put it out. I ain't gonna give the nigga no shine.



Dubcnn: How did you end up jumpin' on that Ice Cube tour?

Kurupt: Cube and Snoop put that together. Snoopy put it together, he talked to Cube. It's about that unity thing, supporting eachother's hustle. It's that new West Coast we're talking about. You gonna see a lot of shit like this with this new West Coast move. That's that Western Conference thing, total unity man. Let's roll together as one! Snoopy talked to Cube about it, and Cube said he's in, which is a great thing. It's a big thing for the West Coast, to see these connections that you never seen before like this.



Dubcnn: Can we expect to see you battle on stage?

Kurupt: Battle? (laughs) I think I'm a little too old for battles man. I done ran my race man. There was one point in time when Kurupt was considered the greatest MC on earth. Now it's time for these youngsters to take it to the next level, the new generation. Like Glasses Malone, Bishop Lamont, Roscoe, and Y.A.. It's time for them to take it to that next level, and it's time for me to be that legend that I am. I done ran my race man.



Dubcnn: So you don't battle anymore at all?

Kurupt: That's not my thang man, nobody can never get passed Scodie! This nigga is a monster. Let me tell you something, there is two cats right now that I would put all the money in the world on, I don't know anybody that can see these two boys. It's my little brother Roscoe, and there's this cat in New York named Jae Millz. Fuckin outta here man! Him and Scodie man, that's dangerous! Cassidy is sick too, Bishop Lamont is outta here. But yeah, it's their time to put them little battle hats on, and bounce it all up!



Dubcnn: Sly Boogy is sick too.

Kurupt: Sly Boogy is sick too, yes he is, yes he is. We got a couple of them out there man! I like this nigga named Saigon too.



Dubcnn: Don't forget about Crooked.

Kurupt: Ahh Crook. You know he's in a class of his own man.



Dubcnn: How hard is it for new artists coming up to find the balance between doing straight battle raps and finding that whole package as a MC?

Kurupt: They gotta believe in themselves, and go out there in the battle fields and expierence battles. That's the best teacher to show you how to handle battles. They gotta get their feet wet, they gotta get their feed dirty. I used to battle entire malls in cities, I searched for them. I'd go to a mall and look for the best rapper and take their title, and wait till the entire city gets involved. Everybody else got they local group that think they can rhyme, I'd go from each place to each place, and eat people up and take their titles home. Now that's also a thing that's missing, if you gonna battle that's how you do it. I see Jae Millz doing it though, and I see Scodie doing it. I take Scodie everywhere!



Dubcnn: Do you still keep up with what's hot on the West?

Kurupt: Oh yeah, I got 2 favorites right now, to tell you the truth. Bishop Lamont and Glasses Malone. And another young cat named Mark Spitz. I got some cats out in the 909 that's kinda vicious too. The Zoo Babies, with my nigga 40 Glocc. Yeah they right!


Daz: Yeah, we're trying to put it together, but they gotta move with what we move with too. Everybody say they the New West, but they gotta get out there and get the New West money. You got the name, aight cool. You can be with the New West, cool. Keep reppin' it! Shit only grew around the corner. Go get the deal and put it out there. What movement is you making for the New West? Like when they see me, I'm West Coast. I may live out there in Georgia, but they know who got the best dough (laughs). I'm feelin anybody who's feeling my shit. I don't really keep up with this part and this part. I just keep on my grind, keep my shit going everyday. If I hear you on the radio, I hear you on the radio. If I hear you on the internet, good thang. Is you making money with it though? Or is the next man making money with it?

Dubcnn: How's the whole DPG Idols thing doing? Do you think people will support the final product?

Daz: Oh it's doing cool. You know we're just trying to put the team together. That's what it's about. It's like the new parts, and it's about what we do. We set the trends. I don't give a fuck about anybody else or how they think or feel. They can go home and take they shit and I'ma go home and take my shit. Do I got some good toilet paper or do you got some good toilet paper? That's all that counts. I don't really care what people say. They can say this and this, they got it. I got the money in my pocket, it's called hustlin. I don't care what anybody says, this album don't sounds like this, that album don't sound like that. I don't give a fuck, it's still Daz and Kurupt. If you wanna buy that album, I got another one that you can go buy and see if it sounds like that one. Everybody wanna say this and this, but shit... I don't see nobody in the studio making no good shit. As far as the fans, shit they can't pay they own fucking bills, they got cell phone bills to pay (laughs).