Remembering Hip Hop Legend Nate Dogg On The 10th Anniversary of His Death

On this day in the Hip Hop history books, we salute and remember one of rap and R&B‘s GOAT’s, a pioneer of the “G Funk” sound and a man for whose honor many folks “smoke weed everyday”. On March 15, 2011, Nathaniel Hale a.k.a Nate Dogg passed away in his hometown of Long Beach, California. He was involved in a car accident in 2007, and had health issues ever since then. The exact cause is unknown, but in any case, the loss to his family, the Hip Hop and cannabis communities, and the entire world, is unmeasurable. 

It would be from that day forward that a cherished eternal legacy be preserved for generations to come, as there’s no question to the validity of Nate’s impact on music, pop culture, and undoubtedly the cannabis culture.

Nate Dog was known as the king of hooks, his lines on any rap song made the song a hit and  that was legendary. Many tried, but nobody put R&B into Hip Hop the way it was supposed to sound better than the late, great Nate Dogg of the legendary Dogg Pound. Cool mademoiselle would like to send him a posthumous shout in recognition of his contributions to the game.

Besides his obvious links to Snoop Dogg and the original Death Row Family, Nathaniel Hale, born on this date in Clarksdale, Mississippi, in 1969, Nate appeared alongside several iconic artists in the game, including 2Pac, 50 Cent, Eminem, Mary J. Blige, and Jay-Z. The world lost a talented singer, actor and musician when Nate succumbed to multiple strokes on March 15, 2011. He was 41 years old.

Unlike some of his peers, Nate Dogg was the real deal—he actually lived the life he described in his music. He had many brushes with the law and fathered many children to several women. While it might have been deemed cooler to sing about parties and how fly one looked, Nate Dogg was pushing the envelope by unapologetically belting out infectious melodies about busting off shots and toking the ganja. 

Nate, or “Buddy” as his family would call him, grew up on a farm in Mississippi with his father who was a pastor and his mother who was in charge of the children’s choir. His family was aware of his talent at a very young age, to the point of his mother placing him and his siblings in a singing group together called Pam, Buddy, and Sam. 

As a young teenager, his parents got divorced and he moved to Long Beach, California with his mother. This was a move that really changed things for Nate Dogg. Obviously the musical landscape was way different from Mississippi, but moreover, he attended Polytechnic High School in 1986 where he would befriend a classmate named Snoop Doggy Dogg—and the rest is history…sort of.

Nate actually ended up joining the US Marine Corps for a few years. Evidently, the military was not fit for the singing legend, who ultimately returned home a few times unauthorized and was consequently discharged. When he returned to the LBC, he reunited with his old friend Snoop, who introduced him to Warren G. This legendary linkup was the birth of their group, “213.”

The newly formed group was able to create demos at the recording studio located in the back of Long Beach landmark, VIP Records. These demos were the keys to Warren G opening the door to making music with his older step brother, Dr. Dre. By this time, Dre was a certified super- producer who had just cut ties with Eazy E and NWA to begin a new era with Suge Knight and Death Row Records. 

While Nate Dogg and Warren G weren’t signed to Death Row immediately, Nate was featured on Dr Dre’s, The Chronic, with a powerful performance on “Little Ghetto Boy.” However, it wasn’t until Warren G signed to Def Jam and released the Above The Rim soundtrack, that the world would properly get introduced to Nate Dogg. Their groundbreaking single, “Regulate,” which was essentially a detailed description of a robbery gone wrong, was so infectious, it topped the changed music forever

Nate Dogg was officially on the map, the song was a certified smash, but due to complications with the extremely controversial Death Row Records, it would be ages before Nate would actually release a debut album of his own. Ironically, it wasn’t until his departure from Death Row that tremendous career-boosting that would start happening.

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As soon as he was able to tap into the East Coast rap scene, he immediately began making anthemic hits with the kings of the underground, including Mos Def and Pharaohe Monch’s “Oh No” record. He and Fabolous brought all the women to the dance floor with “Can’t Deny It,” and also pretty much made grown men cry on 50 Cent’s “21 Questions.” Needless to say, money was rolling in, and Nate was getting the respect as an artist that he truly deserved.