Happy Birthday, Kurupt!

The West Coast runs deep with hip-hop legends, and Kurupt is undeniably one of them. The former Death Row rhymer turns 45 years old today (Nov. 23).

Kurupt is best known as one-half of Tha Dogg Pound, another act that put in work for the West Coast in the '90s. The duo got a huge boost from being featured on two of the genre's most revered albums: Dr. Dre's The Chronic and Snoop Doggy Dogg's Doggystyle.

It definitely helps to have your own album to stand on. Tha Dogg Pound's debut LP, Dogg Food, didn't sell as much or wasn't as highly regarded as the aforementioned two, but it's one of the last great releases to arrive from G-Funk or Death Row Records. The project also featured "New York, New York," the track that had a video that featured Snoop Dogg stepping on New York City buildings. The song only escalated the fatal East Coast-West Coast rivalry.

The rapper's output and acclaim died down as the new millennium kicked off. However, he's been cited as an influence by a few, including Kendrick Lamar. He also has the prestigious honor of being included on Eminem's Top 10 list of greatest MCs.

"It goes Reggie, Jay-Z, 2Pac and Biggie, Andre from OutKast, Jada, Kurupt, Nas and then me," he famously raps on "Till I Collapse."

Watch Kurupt's "We Can Freak It" Video

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