Kuruption!

by Alex HendersonKurupt is an example of a hardcore rapper who has one foot on the East Coast and the other on the West Coast. The MC grew up in north Philadelphia, but after moving to L.A., he became associated with Death Row Records and worked with the Dr. Dre/Snoop Doggy Dogg/Warren G crowd. When Death Row fell apart and Death Row's infamous Suge Knight was serving hard time in prison, Kurupt resurfaced with his A&M-distributed ANTRA label. The first ANTRA release was Kuruption, a two-CD set that contains a "West Coast Disc" and an "East Coast Disc." While the West Coast disc has more of a G-funk flavor, it isn't devoid of East Coast influences. Kurupt may have been influenced by the California rappers he hung out with, but he never abandoned the type of tongue-twisting complexity that has often characterized New York rappers. The East Coast disc, meanwhile, lives up to its title -- tunes like "No Feelings," "Light Shit Up," and "The Life" emphasize verbal technique and provide tongue twister after tongue twister. Kurupt's rapping skills are strong, but in terms of subject matter, he's rather limited and unfocused. Most of the time, he's content to simply boast about his rapping skills and hurl profanity at other MCs. The end result is a release that is uneven and not remarkable, but does have its moments.