WARREN G

Warren G exploded out of the burgeoning Long Beach rap scene in 1994 with the smash single "Regulate," a duet with longtime friend Nate Dogg, and its accompanying album, Regulate...G Funk Era. G grew up in Long Beach listening to his parentsÕ extensive collection of jazz, soul and funk records, also frequently hanging out at the local V.I.P. record store. As a teenager, he and his friends Nate Dogg and future superstar Snoop Dogg formed a rap group called 213, after their area code. Eventually, the V.I.P. record store allowed the trio to practice and record in a back room. It was here that Snoop cut the demo "Super Duper Snooper," which G played for his half-brother Dr. Dre at a party. Dre invited all three to his studio and wound up collaborating with Snoop on The Chronic. While G also made several contributions, he opted to develop his talents mostly outside of DreÕs shadow. He honed his musical skills while producing such artists as MC Breed and 2Pac. A break came when his vocal collaboration with Mista Grimm, "Indo Smoke," appeared on the Poetic Justice soundtrack. Soon after that, G recorded his debut album. "Regulate" appeared on the Above the Rim soundtrack and was released as a single. It quickly became a massive hit, peaking at 2 on the Billboard charts and pushing the album up to the same position. The album eventually went triple platinum, with "This D.J." becoming his second Top 10 hit.