Tha Dogg Pound
15th April 2018
The Studio, Auckland, New Zealand.
Review & Photography by Sarah Kidd.
Sunday night in Auckland saw a bonafide piece of hip-hop history take to the stage in the form of West Coast duo Tha Dogg Pound; and their fans both young and old turned out in force to bear witness. Last here in 2014, these stalwarts of their craft promised to bring with them a plethora of hits spanning both their career as a duo and as individual artists in their own right.
But before the legends themselves made their appearance, some solid New Zealand supports kept the crowd bouncing; one in particular making one hell of an impression. Swade Wallace may only be twenty-two years old, but he performs like a master. With one album already under his belt – the slick First Impressions released in May last year – he is already working on his second. Part of the OCFB Record Label, this resident of Castlecliff, Whanganui has already stated that he “will not compromise” his morals and integrity while in pursuit of his dream, preferring to let his music speak for itself, a refreshing statement to hear. And it shows in his performance, his on stage persona and lyrics coming from a place of honesty and driven determinedness.
Dressed in black and grey he paced back and forth with an assuredness that belied his young age, tracks such as ‘Saucy’ and ‘Werk It’ (check out the video) soon had the crowd’s undivided attention; his impassioned chant of “When I say DP – you say G!” seeing the fans answer him loudly. Speaking of how Tha Dogg Pound is one of the biggest artists that he has ever performed for, there is genuine gratitude in his voice as he thanks the crowd for supporting his set, stating that he doesn’t get to come to the big city very often. It was an inspired choice then to follow up with his track ‘Where I Came From’ before dropping his dedication to the old school legends of the game, Wallace imploring the audience to really listen to the words to understand where he was coming from. A cheeky Snapchat with the audience and his set was over, sadly a little too soon. Swade Wallace has a natural talent for spitting rhymes, so hopefully Auckland has many more opportunities to see him live.
Auckland DJ Tommy Gee kept the hits rollin between sets, tracks such as ‘Lean Back’ by Terror Squad, OutKast’s ‘Miss Jackson’ and ‘Candy Shop’ by 50 Cent ensuring the crowd were thoroughly entertained, interjections of work from Snoop Dogg and Missy Elliot (who doesn’t love ‘Work It?) seeing drinks raised in the air.
But the time had arrived for the main act of the night to make their entrance, hundreds of fans cheering in unison as Dogg Pound Gangsta DJ Salam Wreck (brother of famed West Coast producer Fred Wreck) arrived first and took up his place behind the decks. A celebrity in his own right, DJ Salam has toured with such artists as The Dirty Dozen as well as fellow Shady Records members Eminem and Obie Trice. Add to this the fact that he has produced for DMX, D12, and B-Real of Cypress Hill as well as Daz Dillinger himself and you could not ask for a better accompaniment for Tha Dogg Pound duo.
After expertly hyping the crowd up just that little bit more, Daz Dillinger and Kurupt took the stage amid a sea of hollas and illuminated cell phones. Both wearing sunglasses, Daz exhaled a cloud of smoke before turning around to show off the back of his crisp white jacket, the words ‘DPGC 4 LIFE’ embroided in white satin. With a nod to a fallen comrade, the duo dropped a double header of Nate Dogg’s ‘Nobody Does It Better’ featuring Warren G followed by Warren G’s ‘Regulate’ featuring of course Nate Dogg [RIP] – both artists part of the supergroup trio from Long Beach California 213 that included Snoop Dogg. Continuing to puff smoke Daz eyed the audience, “We love you guys over here – we love your beautiful weed!” Laughing they joked of how they would like to take four people back to LA with them before asking for volunteers, hundreds of hands shooting into the air.
‘Let’s Play House’ was the audiences first opportunity of the night to really hear Kurupt in his glory as he delivered his verse acapella style, the ferocity in his voice having lost nothing over the years, his relaxed on stage demeanour making his vocal performance even that more impressive. The evening was an outstanding roller coaster of hits of the ages; Dr Dre’s ‘Bitches Ain’t Shit’ seeing the crowd join the duo on all the words, while Snoop Dogg’s ‘For All My Niggaz and Bitches’ easily brought the house down; hundreds of fans stepping forward to be as close to the stage as possible while bouncing in unison. Following ‘Serial Killer’ the duo requested a selfie with the fans, “This is a beautiful ass crowd” before jumping straight back into it, determined to not let either themselves or the audience rest for more than a moment. ‘Doggy Dogg World’ saw the entire crowd following the chant of “Ain’t No Party Like A Dogg Pound Party Cause A Dogg Pound Party Don’t Stop!” proving that Tha Dogg Pound’s music truly is timeless.
Daz and Kurupt’s (sometimes tumultuous) relationship is one of musical genius, both their collective work and solo albums producing dozens of tracks that are staples of any true fans playlists. While their earlier work encompasses that historical West Coast sound that could never be truly replicated – their recent pieces show that they can also evolve with the times while staying true to their roots, a difficult balance yet they pull it off with ease. Heading towards the middle of the set and the duo drop a couple of big hitters much to the fans delight; the familiar sound of Dr Dre’s beat on ‘The Next Episode’ immediately working the crowd up while Snoop Dogg’s ‘Ain’t No Fun (If The Homies Can’t Have None)’ once again seeing the audience chant the lines. Taking a trip right back in time and DPG remind the audience again just how much they like to smoke weed with ‘Let’s Get High’, Daz leaning into the audience to accept a joint from a fan; while their preference of colour was demonstrated with Kurupt’s ‘C-Walk’.
Winding the clock all the way back to their 1995 debut album Dogg Food – often cited as a sheer masterpiece of precision rapping and hypnotic beats that defined the West Coast sound – the duo delivered ‘Do What I Feel’, ‘On Some Real Shit’ and one for the ladies ‘Some Bomb Ass Pussy’ with gusto, the tracks still just as striking as they were over twenty years ago. Heading into their end of their set and the duo performed yet another anthem of the hip-hop genre, ‘What Would You Do’ seeing even the bar staff and security nodding in time to the classic beat; while ‘Real Soon’ was both a nod to those of the pack who had left this mortal coil and to the fans themselves as the duo soon had to inevitably leave. But not before showing the fans that as artists Daz Dillinger and Kurupt ain’t no heritage act – DJ Salam Wreck reminding the crowd that Daz recently released his epic thirty track album entitled Dazamataz just this year, while Kurupt’s album MoonRock would soon be forthcoming, a follow up to his mixtape of the same name. Even more excitingly he spoke of a new Tha Dogg Pound album to be released this year, undoubtedly a record that will truly define their place in today’s scene.
To finish, a couple more from days gone by; with an earlier shout out to 2Pac it seemed fitting that the duo served up the 2003 track ‘Don’t Try To Play Me Homey’ written for the soundtrack of the movie Gridlock’d in which 2Pac starred. And ensuring that everyone knew that no one messes with the Dogg Pound crew, Kurupt dropped ‘Callin Out Names’, his deliverance still having razor-sharp teeth despite its nearly twenty years of age. With a final shout out to the fans, and a thanks for the weed, Daz waving a sandwich bag in the air with a grin a mile wide, the duo made their way off the stage following a blistering just over ninety minute set.
Proving once and for all that there really is no party like a Dogg Pound Party.
Were you there at The Studio for this brilliant old school Hip Hop gig? Or have you seen Tha Dogg Pound perform live somewhere else before? Tell us about it in the comments below!