Kuruption!

Kuruption!
Studio album by Kurupt
Released	September 1, 1998
Recorded	1997–1998
Genre	(West Coast CD)• West Coast Hip Hop Gangsta Rap G-funk (East Coast CD)• East Coast Hip Hop Hardcore Rap
Length	123:28 (including both CDs)
Label	Antra/A&M
Producer	Daz Dillinger, Storm, Studio Ton, MED, Battlecat, Dr. Dre, Warren G, Soopafly, Easy Mo Bee, DeVante Swing
Kurupt chronology
Kuruption! (1998) Tha Streetz Iz a Mutha (1999)Tha Streetz Iz a Mutha1999

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]
Los Angeles Times	[2]
Rolling Stone	[3]
The Source	[4]
USA Today	[5]
Vibe	(critical) [6]

Kuruption! is the debut studio album by rapper Kurupt. It was released on Antra Records, a label formed after Kurupt left Death Row Records. It was released as a double album. Originally scheduled for release on September 1, 1998, with the album cover even announcing that date, the album was pushed back to October 6, 1998.^[7][8] Disc one is labeled as "West Coast" and disc two is labeled as "East Coast". It peaked at #8 on the Billboard 200 on October 24, 1998.^[9] The album features "Ask Yourself a Question" featuring Dr. Dre, who also appeared in the video, and the single "We Can Freak It". Initially, the album was supposed to feature a song with Snoop Dogg, titled "Gangsta Shit", but it did not make it to the album due to label politics, between Kurupt's label Antra/A&M, and Snoop's label Priority/No Limit at the time.

Another single released from this album was "Gimmewhutchagot" off of the East Coast disc. The low budget video for the song featured Kurupt performing on stage and walking through a shabby warehouse-style nightclub.

Commercials for the album appeared regularly on Rap City for around a month leading up to the album's release. The commercials had news theme of THIS WEEK IN KURUPTION NEWS with Kurupt walking down the street when gunshots went off and a news reporter dropping info about the upcoming album.

Kurupt was getting into the business side of rap at the time. He appeared as a guest on Rap City before the albums released, and when asked about his advice to viewers he said two things, "Patience, and Good Business". However the patience did not appear to pay off for Kurupt. As the album fell well short of lofty expectations he had garnered from his albums and record sales in the mid-90's at Death Row Records.

Delaying the album's release also allowed Kurupt to record with Dr. Dre. In order to make the album's final cut, the Dre-produced "Ask Yourself A Question" was flown by private jet from California to a pressing plant in North Carolina at 3 a.m. on a Monday morning.^[10] After the album's release, Kurupt was so pleased with Dr. Dre's addition to the album with "Questions" that he wanted Dre to do all of his next album (he was quoted as saying Dre would do so in an interview yet it never came to be) and a mini-movie was filmed for the song. Yet, the mini-movie was never released, and instead it was all condensed into a music video for the song.

Kuruption also contained an East Coast remix to the single "We Can Freek It". The song featured Noreaga, who Kurupt had previously held beef with in his "New York, New York" days, with Noreaga responding with the "LA LA" track. However, the "We Can Freek It" remix made little mention of their history as rivals.

Another standout cut on the East Coast disc was "The Life" which featured El-Drex and was produced by Moet. This song offers a rare glimpse into Kurupt's early teenage years, most likely when he was still living in Philadelphia; as Kurupt reminisces fondly upon his first experiences running the streets and getting high on drugs an alcohol. A fair portion of the lyrics on this track Kurupt lifted from a previous unreleased track he did for Warren G called "What We Go Through". The song was on Warren G's Take A Look Over Your Shoulder album, but Daz and Kurupts part was taken off of it because supposedly Suge/Death Row wouldn't approve their appearance on Warren's album.

The West Coast album contained a track called "Ho's a Housewife" that was remixed later that year by Dr. Dre & Mel-Man. The remix eventually ended up on Dr. Dre's "2001" album and then Kurupt's "Tha Streetz Iz A Mutha" album. The song featured the same first verse from Kurupt with another verse by Dr. Dre & Hittman respectively. This time the track would receive greater critical appeal and mainstream attention.

Track listing

Chart history

References