Celeb Mashup: Warren G
Warren G's “Regulate” would not have been so successful without Nate Dogg joining him in the duet. Nate Dogg's silky, solid, velvety voice was an iconic background noise that serenaded the 90s and 2000s Americana-- a staple sugary ingredient, without which the recipe would be bland. Nate Dogg was a gospel singer before collaborating with rappers, and what is G-Funk if not cultural gospel in and of itself? If Shakespeare was alive today, I'll bet he would love G-Funk. Griffins, gospel, and gangsters have given the world so much to be thankful for musically. I began to cry in early 2011, as I drove down a Chicago highway on my early AM law office job commute, to hear on the radio that Nate Dogg had died. He's been one of my favorite singers ever since I heard him in “Bitch Please II” on The Marshal Mathers LP. I am also a huge fan of his underrated solo album, Music and Me.
I barely paid attention to Warren G during the 90s or early 2000s, and used to mistakenly call him “Loren G” during that time. I only put it together that he sang “Regulate” in early 2008, when a dancer played it on the Apple computer that we used in lieu of having a Loser DJ grifting from our youthful labour and naivete. I started drunkenly singing “Regulate” at karaoke bars and researching Warren G from thereon out. The world has a lot to thank Warren Griffin for, even if he isn't that great of a rapper by himself. Griffin found Snoop Dogg, and insisted on introducing him to his older step brother, Dr. Dre, who was struggling to survive as a producer at the time. The meeting was a tremendous success; Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg created some of the most iconic music of the century, and pioneered the exquisite art called G-Funk. I've been a Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg fan since the early 90s. “Ain't Nothin But a G Thang” was one of the first songs that I ever downloaded from Napster. Dr. Dre signed Eminem in the late 90s. The butterfly effect of Warren G's social networking cannot be emphasized enough.
Warren Griffin III performed at Larry Flynt's Hustler Club in Las Vegas during the Spring of 2015. Hustler had a communal hand washing station located outside of the men and women's restrooms. My first encounter with Warren G was prior to his performance, when I came out of the bathroom to see a completely normal looking middle aged man with glasses and a pot belly washing his hands next to me. Not recognizing that he was Warren G at first, I was just standing there wondering why a bunch of dudes were surrounding and staring at some guy washing his hands. The performance itself wasn't that exciting or remarkable. It would have been much better if Nate Dogg was there. Warren sang some of his songs, and solemnly gave a shout out to Nate Dogg.
After his performance, I joined two other dancers to take promo photos with Warren G and his group. I strongly dislike how I look in the pictures. My manager used my digital camera to take one for me to have, but the lighting didn't turn out very well. Warren barely acknowledged us strippers, and mostly kept posing for the cameras. I made sure to call him WARREN, not Loren, and told him that I am a fan. He exhibited a respectably aloof professionalism, although the general vibe surrounding me in the photos was one of discomfort. I disliked being up there. So much unpleasant shit was going on between me and Hustler by then, and it would only be a few more weeks until they fired me and I had them served with a multi-pronged labor lawsuit. One of my managers requested that us dancers turn around with our back sides facing the cameras during this photo taking event, while our faces were also smiling toward the cameras. We were looking like one of those rap guys' girlfriends. It put a whole new meaning to the lyrics “a clear black night, a clear white moon.”
I later saw on Warren's social media that his wife was about to have a baby at the time of his Hustler performance, which made me respect him even more for being aloof with us, rather than behaving like a disgusting player hitting on multiple other women while his wife was expecting. I'm pretty sure his son Royale was born on May 3rd in the Spring of 2015, a day after my 29th birthday.
All said, I don't like thinking much about G-Funk rappers these days, or anything associated with the casual misogyny from Warren Griffin's crowd. Appreciating the artistry of the songs isn't worth it to me anymore when I have to hear the lyrics. Snoop Dogg performed at Donald Trump's inauguration recently. Unable to produce another hit as successful as “Regulate,” Warren G is just a normal rich guy with a BBQ sauce business these days, occasionally singing his 90s hits at small venues like strip club stages. His friendship with Nate Dogg resulted in a comfortable life for many years to come. If only we all could be so blessed to have a regulator like Nate in the passenger seat.