Digital Smoke

Kurupt | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 5, 2007)
• Original Release Date: 2007
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Bonzi Records
• ASIN: B000Q364W4
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #306,355 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

About the Artist

In order for any art form to progress, its leaders have to encourage, cultivate and showcase emerging talent. Super OG lyrical great Kurupt of Tha Dogg Pound fame has just done that on Digital Smoke, his debut collaborative album with J. Wells, a producer and rapper primed for superstardom.

J. Wells, a member of the Likwit Crew (King Tee, Tha Alkaholiks, others), toured with Tha Alkaholiks in 2001. While on the road, he and Kurupt bonded over J. Wells' diverse production. The friendship and mutual respect resulted in what would become Digital Smoke (released on J. Wells' Bonzi Records, through Fontana), a well-rounded project that displays J. Wells' stellar production and vivid rhymes, as well as Kurupt's always potent rhymes. Impressed with J. Wells' sonic output and his work ethic, J-Ro offered him a place in the highly regarded Likwit Crew. J-Ro then enlisted J. Wells to compile a mixtape for his Wolfpac Records. That release, J. Wells Presents: The Wolfpac Mixtape, became one of the West Coast's most revered mixtapes of all time thanks to its fiery performance from Tha Liks, Kurupt, Roscoe and others.

By this time, Kurupt had long been established as one of the most important and respected rappers. His work with Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg helped usher in Death Row's music industry dominance in the early 1990s, and Tha Dogg Pound, his group with partner-in-rhyme Daz Dillinger, is regarded as one of the best groups in rap history.

So when J. Wells and Kurupt toured together, game recognized game and the two became quick friends and collaborators. In 2005, J. Wells enlisted Kurupt to appear on his highly regarded Digital Master album, a collection released on J. Wells' Bonzi Records that also featured Method Man, Aftermath Entertainment's Bishop Lamont and Tha Liks, among others. And now, with Digital Smoke, Kurupt and J. Wells have instantly established themselves as rap's next great one-two punch. "It's just a chemistry," Kurupt says. "J. Wells is my lil homie and I've been messing with him. He's got those hammer beats. He had an idea to do this album and I supported him. We made some good West Coast music."

Product Description

West Coast lyrical great Kurupt and his newest partner in musical crime J. Wells are no strangers to a group situation. Kurupt, best known as one-half of the multi-platinum rap group Tha Dogg Pound teams with artist/producer J. Wells, a member of LA's legendary Likwit crew (King Tee, Tha Alkaholiks, others) for their debut effort "Digital Smoke". In stores June 5, "Digital Smoke" pays homage to Kurupt and J. Wells' beloved city of Los Angeles with special guest appearances by Goodie Mob, Tha Alkaholiks, Kokane, Roscoe, James DeBarge and Kurupt's fiancée, Gail Gotti.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Distinctly West Coast sounds for the summer, June 6, 2007

By 

ctrx ('bout to show you how the EAST COAST rocks...) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Digital Smoke (Audio CD)

Kurupt's been a busy guy lately, and in the last year alone he's released one solo album, two Dogg Pound albums, and one Kurupt presents album just a week ago. "Digital Smoke" is his first collaboration with Alkaholiks affiliate J Wells, a west coast producer and rapper. J Wells assures good production throughout the album, his distinctly Los Angeles sound is very electronic (thus "Digital") and upbeat, bass heavy and funky. The production sounds pretty familiar, it's actually fairly similar to Dr. Dre's beats circa "2001". The beats aren't groundbreaking but are nice nonetheless. Kurupt and J Wells' lyrics don't do anything too out of the ordinary. More than anything else, they rap about smoking and laidback LA lifestyle. There are a whole lot of guests, as Roscoe, Gail Gotti, Goodie Mob, Y.A., Tha Liks, Kokane, Butch Cassidy, Knocturnal, Shorty, James Debarge, Tri-Star, and Styliztik Jones all appear, many multiple times. Kurupt's still not bringing the lyrics like he was in the late 90s, but he gets the job done, this is meant for more of a summertime release than a lyrical showcase. Almost every song is a collabo, and I feel this takes away from the overall product, a lot of these guys are easily outshined every time and don't add much on the lyrical tip. This album is fairly inconsistent, it contains a handful of really great summertime west coast anthems and a little filler too. For a Kurupt fan, the great songs might make it worth the purchase.

After a short intro, the album begins with its best song, "All We Smoke." This song has an absolutely excellent beat, beginning with a great piano line and filling in with upbeat strings and funky bass. This is a west coast anthem, Kurupt and J Wells rap about their California peers and smoking, it's a great start to the album. "I'm Just Sayin'" has a pretty good beat, Kurupt and guest Roscoe use a repetitive, conversational rapping style kind of like Juvenile often does. The raps about a party aren't too memorable, this song's overall pretty average. "Get It" features a nice, very west coast beat and appearances from the legendary Goodie Mob and Roscoe again. The Gail Gotti and Styliztik Jones collabo "I'm Too Gangsta" is utterly forgettable, skip material for me. The sunny and joyful "Summertime" is enjoyable. "Smokin'" would be okay if not for a terrible hook. The Butch Cassidy-aided "History" has a familiar feel but is a solid track. On "Los Angeles," Kurupt and J Wells rap about smoking, their coming up, but mostly just life in their hometown. Knocturnal guests on "Got Me Going" has a cool beat, I didn't really like the chorus though, it samples an old rock song and the singing isn't too appealing. "Itz Nothin" is repetitive and reminiscent of a P. Diddy track, Roscoe flows nicely though. "I Came in the Door" is a highlight, showcasing creative production and a great appearance by Kokane, who sings and raps. Tha Liks appear on "Let `Em Know," a bass-heavy and nice closer.

Overall, "Digital Smoke" is a pretty solid release of summertime west coast rap jams. If you haven't checked out the latest DPG release then I'd recommend that first, it's fairly similar and better than "Digital Smoke." But if you liked that album and are looking for some new west coast material to bump for the summer, this might be it. This album has absolutely zero promotion, so expect it to disappear as quickly as it showed up. Don't consider it a must have. But the few great tracks on "Digital Smoke" will stay in rotation during my summer months, as we await the next Kurupt project.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Need a lift?, November 7, 2007

By 

Anthony Rupert "shut up, Shut Up, SHUT UP!!!" (Milwaukee, WI) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Digital Smoke (Audio CD)

I said a while back that Kurupt really hasn't been that great since the Doggystyle days. This was especially evident when he released solo albums -- or maybe not, because I don't know anyone that picked up ANY of his solo albums. And after that disastrous Cali Iz Active album last year, Kurupt decided to get together with Liks affiliate J. Wells for a new offering, Digital Smoke.

If the album's title doesn't tip you off, this album is all about getting lifted. But things start to get so monotonous that you'll feel like directing them to the nearest NA meeting. This is especially obvious when looking at titles like "Weed Types", "All We Smoke" and "Smokin'". Actually, there's something else about the latter two tracks. "All We Smoke" IS pretty decent, but it's also confusing in that only the chorus is about getting high while the verses are about random stuff. And as for "Smokin'", one of the guys is talking about people ODing while the other one is suggesting that people KEEP on smoking. Which one is it?

Another thing that brings the album down is bad interpolations of classic songs during the choruses. "Got Me Going" uses the Kinks' "You Really Got Me"; and if you can't figure out what the inspiration is for "I Came in the Door", I'm not going to explain it to you. And the failed anthem "Summertime" borrows the Boys' "Dial My Heart", of all songs (but that honey singing the chorus doesn't have the greatest voice either).

Kurupt and Wells aren't that great when they change the subject either ("I'm Just Sayin", anyone?). I doubt many people have ever even heard of this album, but I'll just say that Digital Smoke should only be for digital download; you really don't need to buy it.

Anthony Rupert

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Bonzi J. Wells, June 20, 2007

By 

Jason Machen (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Digital Smoke (Audio CD)

It was just three years ago when I heard Goodie Mob's "Play Your Flutes," which is loved so much. Besides the great singing from Sleepy Brown, the beat soaked in my head. It was produced by J. Wells, who I didn't know who he was at the time. That same year he produced Planet Asia's "It's All Big." He's produced tracks before that time, but his name and beats began to grab my attention. So I pick up his Digital Master CD, and after a couple of listens, I felt he had potential to go a long way in the rap game. Plus he's been mentored by J-Ro, Battlecat and DJ Quik. He's close with west coast veteran Kurupt and legendary group, Goodie Mob. Now 2007 is here, and Digial Smoke has dropped. I highly anticipated this CD when I heard it was coming out, and I am not disappointed. J. Wells does a good job behind the boards because he has that true west coast sound especially tracks such as "I Came Tru The Door," "All We Smoke" and "Summertime." Kurupt does his thing also with his typical gangsta lyrics. J. Wells spits also, but he's not the best, but not the worse. In my opinion his voice and delivery saves him from being a garbage rapper. What makes this album successful is because it as that summertime feel, and June 5 was the right day to drop. So when I reflect on my summer, songs off of this CD will come in my head.