Dogg Pound -1995-1996- Dogg Shit / West Coast Aftershock (Death Row Unreleased)

• 1995-1996 : sessions for a Dogg Pound second album
  
• The project of that second album evolved from "Dogg Shit" in late 1995 to "Thug Pound" in early 96, to "West Coast Aftershock" in summer of 96 and eventually to the first Daz solo album Retaliation, Revenge & Get Back in 97.
  
• These recordings were dispersed or remixed in various projects : soundtracks, Death Row compilations, Daz' Retaliation, Revenge & Get Back (1998), Daz' R.A.W. (2000), Don't Go 2 Sleep EP (2001), Dillinger & Young Gotti (2001), Tha Dogg Pound 2002 (2001), Tha Last of Tha Pound (2004), Doggy Bag (2012)...

fanmade cover for the DGC's bootleg

altered image of 2002

### The following tracklists are personal attempts to give an idea of these aborted Dogg Pound projects, in order to listen to some unreleased songs in the context of their creation. ### 

The closest thing that could approach the original Dogg Shit / West Coast Aftershock project is the WIDEawake compilation Doggy Bag. But like all releases from that label, the result is... far from satisfying. Songs were taken from various projects from 93 to 98... Finally, the underestimated Tha Last of Tha Pound presents a set of songs taken more or less from that era of recordings - 95 -, at a time the second Pound album was logically titled "Dogg Shit" (after the food they ate in first album...). Without the arrival of 2Pac at Death Row, we could imagine that Daz and Kurupt would have had a project ready to drop in mid '96.

Chapter 1 : Dogg Shit (1995 Sessions) Tha Last of Tha Pound - LISTEN

1. Don't Stop, Keep Going (Original) feat. Nas

2. It Ain't My Fault feat. Bad Azz

3. (I Don't Care) What The People Say

4. School Yard (DPGC High)

5. Got To Get It feat. Foxy Brown *

6. Some Likk Coochie and Some Likk Dick

7. Stories of Hoez We Know

8. Jack Move feat. Big Syke & Outlawz

9. We R Them Dogg Pound Gangstaz

10. Started

Extended :

11. Our Daily Bread (Original) feat. Lady of Rage & Prince Ital Joe

12. Tremendous Odds

13. Me In Your World (Original) feat. Lady Of Rage

14. I'll Do (Original) feat. Kausion **

15. Got My Mind Made Up (Original) feat. Lady of Rage 2Pac, Method Man, Redman & Inspectah Deck - unleaked / Inspectah's verse edited

* probably not recorded in 95 or beginning of 96 but more likely after summer of 96 or even in 97.

• "I'll Do" was released in a close mix in Supercop soundtrack (in June of 96), maybe to promote the forthcoming Dogg Pound album that Daz was still planning at that time. It features Gonzoe and his group Kausion. Gonzoe will record two or three other songs with Dogg Pound, Nutt-So and 2Pac in early 1996 for Dogg Pound/2Pac's project Thug Pound.
• "Don't Stop (Remix)" featuring 2Pac has been released in Dogg Pound's 2002 but was probably initially remixed for Thug Pound in early 96.
• Inspectah Deck's verse cut from "Got My Mind Made Up" has been leaked circa ~2010. It was at the end of the song, Inspectah kind of freestyling whereas the beat was finished (we can still hear the first words in the released song). It is said 2Pac replaced a Lady of Rage's verse when the song was given to him (Snoop and Daz pretend it was a Nas verse...) a few days after he obtained "California Love", "Can't C Me" (and an unleaked "Blunt Tyme") and he and the engineers chose to cut the song at the end of the beat for his All Eyez on Me version. There is also a rumor that RBX could be in the original too... but it would do a very very long song and RBX left the label in the end of 94... Maybe Lady of Rage was more in "Blunt Tyme" (that's why she showed that tape with the title of that song in a video).
  
• "Me In Your World (Original)" has been released in Doggy Bag (2012).
• Lady of Rage has been erased of 3 Dogg Pound songs : "Me In Your World" and "Our Daily Bread", "Got My Mind Made Up" !
  

 

 

In this second album, we can see that Dogg Pound initially wanted to create a bridge between L.A. and New-York. Unfortunately, the single "New York New York" (Sept. 17, 1995) created an inverted effect, started a huge feud, the biggest and the most violent Hip-Hop clash that ever occurred, just before Suge Knight went again to see 2Pac in prison and make him sign, a definite enemy of the East Coast... And that's why this original East-West album turned into a war album in late 95 early 96 before again becoming a full West Coast album (West Coast Aftershock).

 

Tha Dogg Pound erased the prints of that old east/west project starting in December of 95 by 2Pac recording with them in "NY 87", "Initiated", replacing Nas in "Don't Stop" and eventually "Got My Mind Made Up" (following what Daz and Snoop pretend). Of course, Foxy Brown, Nas friend and Kurupt's future girlfriend, also disappeared but that song is probably more from 96 (after Pac and Nas reconciled during August ?) or even 97 and it means they kept in mind the first idea of an East/West connection in their album.

 

Original photography that was used to make the cover of Tha Last of Tha Pound

Chapter 2 : West Coast Aftershock (2001) (96)

1. Intro (Original) : I Roc Mics

2. Roll Wit' Us - Cold 187um Remix *

3. Nothin' But The Cavi Hit feat. Mack 10 - Rhyme & Reason OST

4. Me In Your World ('96 Version) - Death Row Greatest Hits

5. Gangsta Rap (Original)

6. The Name And The Rep (by Daz)

7. Living Tha Gangsta Life feat. Xzibit *

8. Don't Stop ('96 Version) feat. 2Pac *

9. Because of You Girl feat. Storm, Edi & Kevin Vernado

10. Crip Wit' Us *

11. Everybody Needs To Slow Down (by Kurupt) **

12. Gigolo **

13. U Ain't Tha Homie feat. Crooked I & Jewell **

14. Gitta Strippin' (Original)

15. N.Y. '87 ('96 Version) feat. Deadly Threat & Soopafly (speaking) **

16. Every Single Day ('96 Version) feat. Snoop Dogg & Jewell *

* taken from Tha Dogg Pound 2002 (Death Row, 2001)

** taken from Doggy Bag (WIDEawake, 2012)

 

Other tracks : 

. It's Going ('96 Version) feat. Prince Ital Joe ==> Retaliation

. Our Daily Bread ('96 Version) feat. Prince Ital Joe ==> Retaliation

. Initiated feat. 2Pac & Outlawz ==> Retaliation

. Criminals (Original) feat. Tray Deee, Soopafly, Bad Azz & Techniec ==> Retaliation

. My System feat. Mactress ==> R.A.W.

. If You Want This Pussy (Interlude) ==> R.A.W.

. On Tha Grind ==> R.A.W.

. Daz - Don't Try To Play Me Homie ==> Gridlock'd OST 

. Kurupt - Locced Out Hood ==> Gridlock'd OST

. Kurupt - What Cha About - Cold 187um Remix 2002

. Kurupt - Way Too Often feat. Soopafly - Cold 187um Remix 2002

. Kurupt - Smoke feat. Snoop Dogg & The Relativez - Cold 187um Remix 2002

. Feels Good - Tha Dogg Pound 2002 

. Kurupt - Calling Us (Country Tides) feat. RAM Squad 

. Gangsta Walk feat. Snoop Dogg - Snoop's Dead Man Walking

. Don't Go 2 Sleep (Remix) feat. 2Pac - Makaveli & Dillinger EP

A break between two recording sessions

After the releases of All Eyez on Me, the abort of the first Thug Pound project (2Pac seeming to pass from one idea to another very quickly and was not clearly in it after Mopreme being left and Thug Life being ended), the beginning of intense work for Doggfather, after the exile of Kurupt in Philadelphia circa May-June, Dogg Pound started a whole new session in summer of '96, after the release of "I'll Do" in June that could mean a first promo single for the album or the burial of the old project. At the same time, Daz and Kurupt keep on reworking old tracks in order to release them like "NY 87", "Me In Your World", "Our Daily Bread", "It's Going", "Don't Stop"... Maybe Daz also worked on "Initiated" and "This Life I Lead" from Thug Pound... 

 

But like Kurupt said in an interview, Death Row was a question of timeline. When it was the time of Snoop, every produced songs, lyrics, efforts, were for him. Then, it was the Pound. Then 2Pac, then Snoop again... And so many Dogg Pound's efforts from that time were given apart, like for instance "Gigolo" more or less turned into "Groupie" for Snoop Dogg.

Tha Pound & Tha Thug

2Pac and Tha Dogg Pound is not a 1995-1996 story. In early 1993, 2Pac collaborated with Prince Ital Joe ("Thug Life"), Warren G ("My Definition of a Thug", "Lie 2 Kick It") and Nate Dogg ("How Long Will They Mourn Me") for the Original Thug Life project, delayed for sample issues, modified for having been leaked (Natasha Walker heard the Dogg Pound in the studio while recording Doggystyle album listening to her song "Is It Cool 2 Fuck" with 2Pac and Thug Life) and totally shelved because of 2Pac troubles with justice...

In late 93 - early 94, 2Pac gave three songs for Above The Rim soundtrack ("Pain", "Loyal 2 Tha Game" and "Pour Out A Little Liquor") where Dogg Pound also contributed with two of their most famous songs : "Big Pimpin" and "Dogg Pound 4 Life". In the middle of 94, Daz remixed the 2Pac song "Hard on a Nigga" for Murder Was The Case Soundtrack with Snoop giving backing vocals and 2Pac giving a new verse (song finally leftover and released only in 1997 in Gang Related OST). So 2Pac probably recorded directly with Daz and Snoop at that time.

Furthermore, 2Pac and Kurupt have in common to be originated from the East Coast and to have arrived in West Coast around 16, circa 1988. Before them, 2Pac tried to combine East and West in his projects like in his first Thug Life Original  double album concept (West / East) and then in Thug Life Volume One (cf. Volume One sessions) which kept a trace of it. Then like everybody knows, even a few days at the peak of the East-West war reached with his single "Hit 'Em Up", 2Pac started the project One Nation. Exactly at that time, Kurupt recorded his Philly sessions in Philadelphia and two years later he will drop a double album Kuruption ! with one disc subtitled "West Coast" and the other one "East Coast".

In addition to that, we can also notice the influence of 2Pac's style over Daz who progressively took that kind of energetic delivery with one word giving the impression to want to catch and crush the previous one.