Ricardo Emmanuel Brown (born November 23, 1972), better known by his stage name Kurupt, is an American rapper and record producer.

[3][4] Born and raised in Philadelphia, he formed Tha Dogg Pound in 1992 along with Daz Dillinger; the rap duo has released eight albums.

By 1996, the rap genre's East Coast–West Coast rivalry was escalating, spurred on by Death Row's CEO Suge and by rapper 2Pac, new to the label, who believed that a Bad Boy Records circle, in their hometown New York City, had fostered his November 1994 shooting there.

The duo's debut album, Dogg Food, produced by Daz and mixed by Dre, drew favorable reviews and good sales.

[13] During this time, he linked up with Ras Kass, Wu-Tang Clan-affiliate Killah Priest, and Canibus to form a new group, The HRSMN, although, despite promises of forthcoming material, has released only an unfinished white label.

[14] Kurupt's following solo album, Space Boogie: Smoke Oddessey, with production by Daz and by up-and-coming producer Fredwreck, and released by Artemis Records, fared better.

[15] In early 2002, an unofficial remix/compilation album titled 2002, by Tha Dogg Pound, provoked questions about the duo's relationship with Death Row.

While mentoring Death Row's new artists, including Spider Loc, Crooked I, and Eastwood, Kurupt began his next album, Against tha Grain.

Further, he formed a new group, The Riflemen,[19] consisting of Kurupt, Mobb Deep, Jayo Felony, 40 Glocc, and The Alchemist, although the likelihood of a record from this ensemble increasingly slimmed.

In 2004, after repeated delays of Kurupt's forthcoming solo album Originals, a bootleg version was released, alike those of Crooked I and other Death Row artists.

[26] In 2012, Kurupt announced plans to release the long anticipated HRSMN project, The Academy, a compilation of collaborations between various artists, and guest featured alongside Slaughterhouse and Big Dave on the single "Hey Girl" from Rocko's debut album Self Made.

Following the death of his son Tren's mother (Natina Reed of R&B girl group Blaque) in a car accident in Atlanta,[27] the planned release of the DJ Nik Bean-hosted mixtape, Money, Bitches, Power on November 7, 2012 was delayed.

Kurupt was featured on the track "Curse of Canaan" from Vinnie Paz's album Tortured in the Name of God's Unconditional Love in 2022.