G-Funk Page #8

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And it got full,

100% West Coast respect.

That's classic hip-hop.

That record goes down

in history.

And most people can say

that record word for word.

Chords strings

We brings melody

G-Funk

Where rhythm is life

And life is rhythm

There was no love lost

between Death Row and Def Jam.

Def Jam had Warren signed,

but Death Row had Nate.

You know what I mean?

And one can't can't do one

without the other.

Suge had a problem

with Nate Dogg

being on Warren G's sh*t

because he felt like Nate Dogg

was a part of Death Row,

but if Suge was

a great businessman,

he would've signed Warren G

the same day he signed me.

You allowed that to happen.

[Kurupt]

Warren wasn't goin' for it.

He wasn't scared of Suge.

So he was like,

"Man, f*** you,"

then he went and did

his own thing.

And, you know, Suge didn't like

none of that.

[Stewart]

At the end of the day,

everyone had

to kind of give in.

The song was featured on

the Above the Rim soundtrack,

which is an amazing soundtrack

on Death Row Records,

one the best soundtracks

ever made, and

was Warren's first single

from his album.

It was incredible to come out

on Death Row

and be the lead single

on a Def Jam record.

Speaks a lot

to what a great song it was

and how popular it was

at the time, too.

The phone is ringin'

And I'm in the Benz

I don't wanna answer

'Cause I know

It's some chickenhead

Sure enough

When I picked up my phone

Supid-ass b*tch

Wanted to come into my home

I'm contemplating now

Do I need to prove

[Warren G]

When I dropped my record

right before

the summer of '94,

it just took people by storm,

because they had never heard

nothin' like it.

["Do you See"

by Warren G playing]

[Stewart] I think one thing

about Warren's album was

you know, it had all

the great G-Funk elements,

but it was even more accessible

in some ways

than, like,

the Dre/Snoop stuff,

'cause it was more fun party,

less gangster.

Warren isn't

some big gangster,

and he kept it real

to who he is.

[Ice T] There's different levels

of gangster rap.

So Warren was more like,

"I'll shoot you if I have to"

type motherf***er, you dig?

Where a lot us were

"we're coming to get you"

type sh*t, you dig?

My reaction to hearin'

Warren G's debut album in '94

was classic because

Warren G wasn't a good rapper

as a kid to us.

We used to always clown,

'cause he used to take

all the Dr. Dre raps

before they came out

and be using those

and cheatin' and sh*t,

so when I heard him on there

rappin' and doing his sh*t,

his production was next level.

He was basically

on the same level as Dr. Dre.

Didn't use none of the sh*t

that I do, you know,

none of my sounds

or none of that sh*t.

He just came out

and did his own thing,

came up with his own sh*t,

which is dope.

[Stewart] His album was like

a runaway success.

It was very quickly

triple platinum.

This is Warren G,

you know what I'm sayin'?

[interviewer] Has it gone

platinum yet, Johnny?

It's platinum now.

- Almost double.

- Double.

It'll be double

by the end of next week.

[laughter]

I don't even think Russell

and Leore and them understood

what was really goin' on.

I'm an optimist,

so I thought we would survive

and we would grow and we would

do something innovative,

and, you know,

I didn't expect that deal

to go just the way it did.

Warren's music was worldwide

because the melody plays

no matter what the language.

He showed the pop potential

of hip-hop.

He saved Def Jam

with that record.

It was the biggest record

that they had

in a long time,

that's for sure.

[Simmons] Without Warren G,

we would've had

to sell the company,

we would've fell apart.

Without him, would we have

a Jay-Z or a Foxy Brown?

I don't know.

I don't think so.

We certainly wouldn't have

had the support

to go out

and build those acts.

[Snoop Dogg] I thought I was

like the biggest thing

in the world

when I went to Europe.

I performed for,

like, 50,000, 60,000,

Wembley Arena, you know

what I'm sayin', I'm popular.

So this time I go,

Warren G is already over there.

So I'm like,

"I got my homeboy in the house.

I'm gonna bring out

a special guest."

I bring this motherf***er

Warren G on stage.

What's up, man?

All 100,00 motherfuckers

stand up, lights.

I'm like, "This nigga

is Elvis over here."

[crowd screaming]

That's right.

All right. All right.

That's right.

I gotta give it up to

[indistinct]

[Warren G] I didn't really look

at myself as a superstar.

I didn't understand

what gold and platinum was.

And I was like, "This is what

I get for doin' music?"

Home videos, baby, yeah.

G-Funk rocks it every time.

Don't get it twisted, yeah.

Be-yotch.

The Lady of Rage,

Kurupt,

Daz and Snoop,

Nate Dogg and myself,

we loved it, loved it.

Bumped it and loved him

for doin' it.

But Suge reacted.

[Snoop Dogg] Suge Knight

was so f***ed up at the time,

well, he wouldn't even allow us

to do sh*t for Warren G

without him tryin' to get paid.

[rhythmic banging]

[announcer] The 1994 Billboard

Music Awards will continue.

The 1994 Billboard Awards,

they asked us to do "Regulate."

Suge told Nate

he couldn't perform with me.

Nobody asked me to call Suge

regarding Nate's performance.

That's what I was there for.

I would've called.

So I don't think Warren

was afraid of him either

at that time.

[Warren G]

I had my people there.

We wasn't trying trying to

be the aggressors, you know,

but at the same time wasn't

nothing gonna happen to Nate,

'cause that's my homeboy.

It was a clear black night

A clear white moon

Warren G is on the streets

Tryin' to consume

Some skirts for the eve

So I could get some funk

Rollin' in my ride,

Chillin' all alone

[Nate Dogg] I just hit

the east side of the LBC

On a mission

Tryin' to find Mr. Warren G

Seen a car full of girls

Ain't no need to tweak

All of you skirts know

What's up with 213

[Warren G] So I hooks a left

On 2-1 and Lewis

I just think Suge know

that he f***ed up

when he let Warren G go.

He always wanted to try

to get somethin'

off of the fact

that he coulda had Warren G.

[Stewart] It wasn't a good

reflection that this artist

who was part of his camp

and viewed as his camp

by almost everybody

left and kind of went

to this East Coast label

that he didn't like, Def Jam,

and had all this success.

You know, and we all know

how Suge deals with business

and negotiates.

Just throw your hands

In the air

And wave 'em like you

Just don't care

And if you're down

With Nate Dogg and Warren G

Somebody say oh yeah

[crowd]

Oh, yeah!

Oh, yeah!

[giggles]

Hello, Warren.

Hello, Patrick.

Just wanna say you guys...

you guys

know how to throw a party.

I just wanna say that...

that I'm having

a really good time

and that I'd like to play

a tune for you.

["Ain't No Fun"

by Snoop Dogg playing]

My nigga Warren, boy, this

the party of the year, nigga!

Gonna find Miss Tucker in here.

When I get married, I'm gonna

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