In 1994, the legendary Def Jam label was saved by Warren G. At the least, that’s how hip-hop folklore likes to inform it. Initially based in 1984 out of a New York College school dorm room by Russell Simmons and Rick Rubin, Def Jam launched the world to an untouchable who’s who of golden period hip-hop royalty, headed up by Public Enemy’s abrasive polemics, LL COOL J’s cocksure braggadocio, and the Beastie Boys’s hell-raising punk bravado. However a decade after Def Jam launched, hip-hop’s business path had wandered from the label’s stripped-down uncompromising sonics in favor of extra tuneful radio-friendly sounds.
Take heed to Warren G’s Regulate… G Funk Period now.
Enter Warren G, an amiable laid again producer and MC who occurred to be Dr. Dre‘s step-brother. A resident of Long Beach, California, Warren G embraced the melodious synth-saturated menace of G-Funk – a gangsterized cousin of sorts to 1970s P-funk – and handed Def Jam a debut album, Regulate… G Funk Era, that was spearheaded by the crossover smash “Regulate.” The song tells the tale of Warren G and hip-hop crooner Nate Dogg cruising around the Eastside of Long Beach and becoming embroiled in a payback shootout to the accompaniment of production that calls on an extended sample of Michael McDonald’s emotionally overcast 1982 hit “I Keep Forgettin’ (Every Time You’re Near).” The success of “Regulate” helped propel Regulate… G Funk Period to eventual triple platinum standing and charted a brand new course for Def Jam.
Alongside classics from Dr Dre and Snoop Dogg, “Regulate” endures as one in all G-Funk’s most iconic songs – and the remainder of Warren G’s studio debut shows an identical dedication to the sub-genre’s credo. Fellow Lengthy Seaside representers The Twinz and The Dove Shack seem on the sinewey “Recognize” and sun-blissed “This Is The Shack” respectively, and Snoop Dogg seemingly penned the hook to the album’s second single, “This DJ,” which spotlights Warren G reminiscing about youthful days enjoying basketball with Snoop’s older brother.
Warren G’s means on the mic has usually been overshadowed by his harmonious manufacturing talents, however on Regulate… G Funk Period he proves to be a assured and genial rap raconteur. Working example: On “Do You See,” a bluesy spoken phrase snippet from Gil Scott-Heron prompts verses that highlight the MC reflecting on the ups and downs of his path to success in tandem with childhood pals Snoop and Nate Dogg. After recalling a dialog with an incarcerated Snoop, Warren G takes inventory of his personal life decisions: “Should I, A: Go back to slanging dope?/ Or should I, B: Maintain and try to cope?/ Or should I, C: Just get crazy and wild?/ But, no, I chose D: Create the G-Child.” It’s a savvy resolution that established Warren G’s musical profession.
Take heed to Warren G’s Regulate… G Funk Period now.
