Sporting one of the most instantly recognizable voices in rap history, Kurupt is an MC so central to Los Angeles hip-hop that he has become inextricable from his adopted home’s musical legacy despite not moving there until the age of 16. Born Ricardo Brown in 1972 and raised in greater Philadelphia, Kurupt needed only a couple of years out west before he landed a deal with the then-fledgling Death Row Records. Alongside Snoop Dogg’s younger cousin Daz Dillinger, he formed a duo called Tha Dogg Pound, whose debut LP, 1995’s Dogg Food, was a critical darling and surprise commercial phenomenon, topping the Billboard 200. As Kurupt embarked on a solo career, it became clear that his ability to fit jagged edges into silk-smooth L.A. textures would allow him to be menacing or optimistic at a moment’s notice, making him one of the most magnetic rappers of his—or any—generation.