Fila Fresh Crew In 1987, Fila Fresh Crew had four songs featured on the compilation album
N.W.A and the Posse which featured various other artists; the same four tracks would later appear on the group's album
Tuffest Man Alive, which was released in 1988. Though the album would produce three singles, the group disbanded not long after its release. By this point, Curry had moved to
Los Angeles and become acquainted with members of
N.W.A and
Ruthless Records.
Ruthless Records and No One Can Do It Better Curry began using the name the D.O.C. after he was signed to
Eazy-E's
Ruthless Records. The D.O.C. contributed lyrics to
N.W.A's first album,
Straight Outta Compton, and performed the opening verse on "Parental Discretion Iz Advised". Curry also wrote for Eazy-E's first album,
Eazy-Duz-It and co-wrote "Keep Watchin'" from
Michel'le's debut album ''
Michel'le''. In 1989, the D.O.C. released his solo debut, the
Dr. Dre–produced
No One Can Do It Better. The album was very well received by critics, and sold well, peaking at no. 20 on the
Billboard 200 for two consecutive weeks; by 1994, the album reached Platinum status.
Allmusic gives the album a five-star rating and describes it as "an early landmark of West Coast Rap" as well as "an undeniable masterpiece".
No One Can Do It Better produced five singles and five music videos.
Automobile crash and move to Death Row On November 14, 1989, five months after the release of
No One Can Do It Better, Curry was involved in a near-fatal car crash. Driving home from a party, he
fell asleep at the wheel and his car veered off the freeway. Curry, who was not wearing a
seat belt, was thrown out the rear window, slamming face-first into a tree. His injuries required 21 hours of plastic surgery, and he spent 2½ weeks in the hospital. He could not speak for about a month, and he was left with a different, raspier voice. In a 2015 interview with
DJ Vlad, Curry stated that he was under the influence of alcohol and cannabis and was actually pulled over before the accident but the police let him go. The D.O.C. continued to write for N.W.A and contributed lyrics and minor vocals to their 1990 EP ''
100 Miles and Runnin', for which he co-wrote many of the songs. He co-wrote songs for their final album, Niggaz4Life''. In 1991, the D.O.C. left Ruthless Records along with Dr. Dre and Michel'le to sign with newly founded
Death Row Records. The D.O.C. was one of the writers for Dr. Dre's first solo album
The Chronic, contributing to the tracks "
Nuthin' but a G Thang", "Lil' Ghetto Boy", "A Nigga Witta Gun", "Lyrical Gangbang" and "
Bitches Ain't Shit". He also appeared on the skit track "The $20 Sack Pyramid". He is referenced by name in "
Nuthin' but a G Thang", and appears in the song's video. The liner notes to
The Chronic say, "I want to give a special shout out to The D.O.C. for talking me into doin' this album." His name is mentioned by
Snoop Dogg in the intro of the album. ("Peace to da D.O.C., still makin' it funky enough"). The D.O.C. worked on Snoop Dogg's first album
Doggystyle, and added some vocals on the song "Serial Killa". The D.O.C. continued to be a
ghostwriter for various songs on Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg albums. "
Real Muthaphuckkin G's", from
Eazy-E's 1993 extended play ''
It's On (Dr. Dre) 187um Killa'', includes lyrics sampled from "
It's Funky Enough" in the song's hook.
Feud with Dr. Dre and Helter Skelter In 1996, the D.O.C. attempted a comeback following the car crash which severely damaged his vocal cords. The album, titled
Helter Skelter, produced two singles with music videos.
Helter Skelter was widely ignored and even somewhat discredited by the D.O.C. himself. The name of the album is a reference to
Charles Manson's idea of
the Beatles' "
Helter Skelter" prophesying the end of the world. The title and concept behind this album were originally developed by Dr. Dre as a collaborative effort between him and
Ice Cube, titled
Heltah Skeltah. In late 1994, D.O.C. left Death Row for
Atlanta. Taking lyrics he had already written for
Heltah Skeltah, he recorded
Helter Skelter, keeping the name to spite Dre. The D.O.C. introduced Dallas rapper 6Two to Dre, who featured him on his 1999 comeback album
2001; Curry also provided lyrics for the album. On July 20, 2000, the D.O.C. appeared on stage with Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg at
The Centrum in
Worcester, Massachusetts during the
Up in Smoke Tour. In 2003, the D.O.C. released his third album entitled
Deuce on Silverback Records. The album was originally meant to be a 6Two album, completely produced by Dr. Dre and released through
Aftermath Entertainment. However, D.O.C. and Dre argued over whether D.O.C. should be rapping on the album. The D.O.C.'s presence on this album is minimal however, making an appearance to introduce tracks or perform in skits such as "My Prayer" and "Souliloquy". The only single released from
Deuce was "
The Shit", which features former-
N.W.A members
MC Ren and
Ice Cube, along with Snoop Dogg and 6Two.
Deuce focuses primarily on showcasing other artists on D.O.C.'s Silverback Records label, including U.P.-T.I.G.H.T., El Dorado, and in particular, 6Two.
Later career The D.O.C. wrote lyrics for Snoop Dogg's album
Tha Blue Carpet Treatment. In December 2006, the D.O.C. revealed that he was working on his fourth album, entitled
Voices Through Hot Vessels, and stated that it would be released after Dr. Dre's then-upcoming third album
Detox, which was eventually scrapped in favor of 2015's
Compton. In a May 2008 interview, the D.O.C. stated that he and Dre were working on the album, explaining "There is an album, and you got the title, but that's also because that's the title Dre likes. Dre and I decided to do another D.O.C. album after this
Detox record. We decided to do one more together and end our story the right way." After the release of the biopic
Straight Outta Compton, the D.O.C. revealed that his natural voice had returned if he had concentrated, and that he recorded new music, although he was not ready to release anything yet. Although he is not mentioned in the songwriting credits, the D.O.C. claimed that he helped write Dr. Dre's third album
Compton. In 2022, he collaborated with Codefendants, a new
Punk Rap group formed by
Ceschi, Sam King (
Get Dead), and
Fat Mike (
NOFX) on a track called "The Fast Ones", which was featured on their debut album,
This Is Crime Wave. This marked the first new recording featuring D.O.C. in 19 years. == Media appearances ==