Warren G Pays Tribute To Nate Dogg With New Song
West Coast rapper Nate Dogg, born Nathaniel Hale, passed away in mid-March due to complications from multiple strokes and now his friend and collaborator Warren G plans to honor the late rapper in a new tribute track titled 'This is Dedicated To You.'
Nate Dogg was famously featured on Warren G's 1994 song 'Regulate,' which became his most popular single to date. On 'This is Dedicated To You,' Warren reminisces about the painful memories of seeing Nate Dogg in rehabilitation following his strokes, rhyming, "Life is such a trip, I know the world is full of madness/ Relearning how to walk and talk again, I can't imagine."
He also takes a jab at unnamed rappers who he feels have attempted to imitate Nate's unique style, adding, "What the hell is going on? N----s been biting songs/ Hell nah, that ain't Nate Dogg!" So far, Warren G has issued no official premiere date for the track, which is intended for a digital release.
Following Nate Dogg's death last month, Warren G revealed in an interview that the hit song 'Regulate' was actually recorded in a closet.
"I had an apartment on Long Beach Boulevard and San Antonio, and I didn't have no furniture," Warren G explained to DJ Skee. "I had dog s--t all over the floor, and I had two bedrooms. In one of my bedrooms, all I had was studio equipment. I did the sample, plugged in my VCR into the MPC60, sampled [the music], and after I finished it, I called Nate, and said 'Nate, I got a record I think we should do, and go back-and-forth on it. I think it'd be dope.' He came over, he heard it, and was like, 'Damn!' So from there, we hooked up a mic in the closet, and I called my engineer, Greg. He came over and recorded it, and there it is."
Warren G released his most recent album, 'The G-Files,' in 2009, and has not announced plans to release a follow-up as yet. He paid tribute to Nate Dogg during this year's SXSW Festival at the annual Respect the West party with Snoop Dogg.