Key Takeaways
- Kurupt says he nearly died from pancreatitis brought on by alcohol, tobacco, stress, and anxiety, and that his main motivation to recover was not wanting to die or "let God down" for giving him a second chance for his kids and family.
- Now completely sober, he explains that music is in his soul and something he'll do for the rest of his life, but emphasizes that his drive to get healthy was about staying alive more than getting back in the studio.
- Reflecting on his three-decade career, Kurupt calls Snoop Dogg's "Ain’t No Fun (If the Homies Can’t Have None)" his most important record and shouts out Snoop, Nate Dogg, Warren G, and Dr. Dre for the camaraderie, while also crediting his solo single "We Can Freak It" with helping define who he is as an artist.
Kurupt has opened up about what it was that inspired him to fight through some serious health complications he found himself facing earlier this year.
In a recent interview with Big Boy, the West Coast icon revealed that the world almost lost him to pancreatitis, which he explained was caused by alcohol and tobacco consumption, as well as stress and anxiety.
On Friday (July 31), he celebrated the release of his new album, Tales From the Hood, a collaborative LP produced entirely by Battlecat. Speaking to Complex at the official Death Row Records launch party in Los Angeles, the Dogg Pound rapper, who is now completely sober, shared what was driving him to get through the ordeal.
"My inspiration was I didn't want to die," he explained. "That's the inspiration right there … God gave me that extra chance. You know? I got my children, I got my family. God gave me that second chance, and I wasn’t gonna let God down."
When asked whether getting back to making music played any role in his drive to recover, he said it was more so to do with just wanting to keep living, but added: "Music is just in my soul, my heart. It’s just something I'm gonna do for the rest of my life until I can't anymore."
Reflecting on his long career in music, which goes back over three decades, Kurupt shared that amongst all the classics in his discography, "Ain’t No Fun (If the Homies Can't Have None)" is his most important.
Explaining that although he's a battle rapper through and through, the Snoop Dogg track, which appears on 1993's Doggystyle, was "a different level of the game" for him.
"It was different age," he told Complex. "It's like, wow, I can make the people have fun. I can make the people dance. That was a great accomplishment for me to actually make a hit record like that. Be on that level rather than just be known for my lyrics and spitting. Now I'm known for rocking the party. It’s fun."
Young Gotti proceeded to shout out everyone who featured on the track — Snoop, Nate Dogg, Warren G, and Dr. Dre — pointing to the "camaraderie" and how much he enjoyed that part of it.
"That's my favorite record of all time that I made. Every time I rock it, it shuts down the houses," he added, before also highlighting his first solo single, "We Can Freak It." "They made me who I am," he said.
Kurupt and Battlecat's Tales From the Hood is out now via Death Row Records/gamma. Stream it here.
