How Daz Dillinger, Kurupt & Snoop Dogg Made Peace To Drop New Dogg Pound Album

Daz Dillinger and Kurupt—collectively known as Tha Dogg Pound—were somewhere in Canada mid-tour with Snoop Dogg when they hopped on Zoom. With weed smoke wafting through the air, the longtime duo chopped it up about their new album, W.A.W.G. (We All We Got), their first release on Death Row Records since their 1995 debut, Dogg Food, and their ever-evolving relationship with Snoop Dogg.

The 14-track project, which boasts eight collaborations with Snoop Dogg in addition to guest verses from RBX, The Lady of Rage, Butch Cassidy, DaBaby and more, bumps with nostalgia while simultaneously ushering in another chapter for the bona fide OGs.

Now in their 50s, both Daz and Kurupt know how fortunate they are to still be doing what they love, especially in an era of microwave rap. In fact, Kurupt admitted he’s somewhat surprised by the positive feedback they’re getting on the project.

“I was pretty shocked at the response,” Kurupt told AllHipHop. “Being in our 50s and people still appreciating our music is great. We love the love. We love the people. We love the fact that they still riding with us.”

Daz Dillinger and Kurupt said it took just four days to complete the album, a miraculous feat in itself considering Snoop Dogg is a modern day renaissance man, who seems to be everywhere at once.

“When Snoop said go, it was a solid go,” Daz said. “He was fitting it in his schedule. And once he got around us, he wouldn’t let us go. The chemistry never left.” Kurupt added, “We was knocking down 45 records a day! Dogg has this aura about him. We Snoop’s first group ever, Tha Dogg Pound, so Dogg already knows where to go with us. All he asked was for us to just follow his lead.

“Daz ain’t produce a record on there, and that was very difficult for Daz ’cause he’s a producer. This is what he does. And Daz said, ‘I’m following your lead, Dogg.’ I’m very proud of Daz for doing that right there ’cause he never gives up that position, but he did for the Champ and for the team. And the Champ led us to the championship. He had ideas, he’d lay ’em and me and Daz executed them.”

Daz and Kurupt have come a long way since their early days at Death Row. After Dogg Food debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, Tha Dogg Pound were featured on 2Pac’s Death Row debut, All Eyez on Me. Kurupt appeared on “Got My Mind Made Up” and “Check Out Time,” while Daz produced “2 of Amerikaz Most Wanted,” “Ambitionz az a Ridah” and “I Ain’t Mad at Cha.” They also made an appearance on Snoop Dogg’s album Tha Doggfather. But amid mounting tensions within the label, Daz and Kurupt wound up leaving on their own accord in 1998.

Unexpectedly, Kurupt took an executive producer role at Death Row four years later, which Daz, Snoop Dogg and the rest of the DPGC viewed as a betrayal. From roughly 2003-2005, Daz and Kurupt routinely traded shots on wax. Daz took aim at Kurupt and Death Row on “U Ain’t S###” and “I Don’t Give a Fucc,” while Kurupt brought the heat throughout his 2005 Originals album, including the bonus track “Eat a Dicc (Fucc Daz).”

Fast forward to 2024 and Daz had nearly given up on rap. “I was doing construction. I was going to retire from rap. We reached the pinnacle of rap. What more could I do?” But in March, Kurupt swung by Snoop’s studio and noticed a guy sitting in the corner with his hat down low. He went to say what’s up and didn’t initially realize it was Daz. Needless to say, he was shocked to see him there.

“I said, ‘You big head muthafucka, what the s###!?” Kurupt said. “I look at Dogg, he on the board. He just turned around and smiled. All we did was smoke up. Dogg said, ‘It’s DPGC time.’”

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Ultimately, everybody was able to make peace. As Daz explained, “It was up and down at first, but then we got it together. We’d been feuding for a little bit, but we back—you know, family s###. Me and Snoop are first cousins, so it’s up and down. We’ve been doing this s### every day for the last 15 years. But we through with it now. We just continue to mash. We see where we’re going. We see what the people is. And hey, the money flowing over here at Death Row and opportunity flowing.”

Daz did admit, “I was anti-Snoop at one time, so if you looked at him or breathed on him or anything, I would block your ass. I looked at it like it was a distraction.”

But Kurupt quickly concluded, “That’s where the family come in at, because we all butt heads. If we was just friends, it could be broken, but family will always get over the hump.”

W.A.W.G. (We All We Got) was released as a Gala Music exclusive and is currently available on all DSPs. Highlights include the title track, “Favorite Color Blue” and “House Party.”

Find it above.