If you didn’t know the G in G-funk stood for ‘Gangsta’, you might think it was a reference to Warren G. He was in an early group with pals Snoop Dogg and Nate Dogg, and introduced Snoop to Dr Dre – Warren’s half-brother. The rest, as they say, is history.
The group, 213, split up without releasing any material, but Snoop and Dre combined to build a west coast hip-hop empire on the G-funk sound pioneered on The Chronic (1992) and Doggystyle (1993); Warren G guested on both records. Def Jam snapped him up for a solo career, commenced with the release of "Regulate" with Nate Dogg in April 1994. The song was a massive hit, reaching No.2 on the Hot 100 and helping Warren G’s debut album Regulate... G Funk Era hit the same chart position on its way to triple platinum sales. "This DJ" also reached the Top 10 of the pop singles chart.
Take a Look Over Your Shoulder (1997) wasn’t so popular, but "I Shot the Sheriff" was a minor hit. I Want It All (1999) received better reviews, but wasn’t able to improve on Take a Look’s gold-selling success. The Return of the Regulator saw Warren G aiming to recapture the success of his debut, but was a flop. In 2003, Warren G, Snoop and Nate reconvened as 213 for the release of The Hard Way, which achieved gold sales despite mixed reviews. In the Mid-Nite Hour (2005) was released on an independent label, and wasn’t able to resurrect Warren G’s decade-old status as an important star in hip-hop.
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