Kurupt (born Ricardo Emmanuel Brown on November 23, 1972) is an American rapper, songwriter, and record producer associated with the West Coast hip-hop movement. Born in Philadelphia and raised in Hawthorne, California, he became known for a technically sharp, aggressive style that combined dense rhyme patterns with the hard-edged sound of gangsta rap and G-funk.
Kurupt entered the music business through Death Row Records, appearing on Dr. Dre's landmark album The Chronic in 1992. He also contributed to Snoop Dogg's Doggystyle (1993), a defining release of the early 1990s West Coast scene. His rapid delivery and forceful presence made him a prominent supporting voice within the Death Row circle, even before he established himself as a solo artist.
His most important early partnership was with Daz Dillinger. Together they formed Tha Dogg Pound, a duo that became an integral part of Death Row's expanding roster. Tha Dogg Pound's debut album, Dogg Food (1995), benefited from the commercial strength of the label and the popularity of Snoop Dogg's early work. The album produced the singles "Let's Play House" and "New York, New York," and helped define the confrontational, street-oriented character of mid-1990s West Coast rap. Kurupt and Daz remained collaborators throughout their careers, sometimes recording as Tha Dogg Pound and at other times issuing projects under their individual names.
Kurupt began his solo career with Kuruption! (1998), an ambitious double album released through Antra and A&M. Its two-disc format presented different sides of his musical identity, balancing West Coast gangsta rap with influences associated with the East Coast. Although the album received attention, it did not match the commercial impact of the Death Row projects. He followed it with Tha Streetz Iz a Mutha (1999) and Space Boogie: Smoke Oddessey (2001), records that demonstrated his lyrical ability while revealing the difficulty he faced in translating his strong guest appearances into sustained mainstream success.
During the 2000s, Kurupt moved between independent releases, Death Row projects, and collaborations. He returned to the label for Against tha Grain (2005), then continued working with Daz on releases including Dillinger & Young Gotti II: The Saga Continuez and later Tha Dogg Pound projects. He also recorded with his brother Roscoe on The Frank and Jess Story (2008) and issued Streetlights (2010), maintaining a steady presence even as the West Coast rap industry changed around him.
A notable later collaboration was BlaQKout (2009), a full-length album with DJ Quik. The project reunited Kurupt's tightly controlled, hard-hitting delivery with Quik's layered production and funk-oriented arrangements. It was received as a strong example of veteran West Coast artists adapting their established sound without abandoning it.
Kurupt's reputation rests less on a long run of major solo hits than on the consistency of his verses, his role in Tha Dogg Pound, and his contributions to the wider Death Row legacy. His work helped connect the label's most commercially successful artists, while his intricate flows and uncompromising delivery earned him lasting respect among rap audiences and fellow MCs. He has continued to record and perform through the 2020s, remaining linked to Tha Dogg Pound, DPGC, and a broad network of West Coast collaborators.