R.I.P. Nate Dogg

I grew up listening to Hip-Hop/Rap music, more specifically West Coast Rap because quite frankly I enjoyed the vibe better than I did “east coast” rap music.  While my music taste has broadened I still enjoy west coast rap music.  Unfortunately, today we lost a legend, the King of Hooks, Nate Dogg or Nathanial Hale has passed away.  He was part of the Dogg Pound with Daz Dillinger and Kurupt, and is probably most famous for his work with Snoop Dogg and Warren G.  He wasn’t a rapper and instead a talented singer that most often sang the hooks on rap songs.  While he had some solo albums, he’ll always be known more for his work as The King of Hooks as far back as Regulate.

I’ve been listening to Nate Dogg since the Chronic era (1992) and was a huge fan of him right from the start.  I remember the first time I heard Regulate with Warren G, I was blown away.  Then came Ain’t No Fun (If The Homies Can’t Have None) with Snoop Dogg and I was hooked.  Nate went on to mostly do hook work for west coast artists until the late 1990’s and early 2000’s.  He then blew up and was all over the radio for pretty much every rap artist on the planet.  There wasn’t a song on the radio (for hip hop and r&b stations) that didn’t have Nate Dogg doing the hook.  To put it like Mack 10 said in the song “Gangsta Nation”, “it ain’t a hit until Nate Dogg spits on it.”

His solo work was always hit or miss to me but I enjoyed most of his albums.  Usually any and every hook he was on was a great song.  I can’t think of one song he didn’t make better because he was on the hook.  In 2004, the 213 (Snoop Dogg, Warren G & Nate Dogg) album hit and to me it was amazing.  Nate Dogg really shined and I hoped for more albums to come.  Unfortunately in 2007 he suffered a stroke and another one again in 2009.  He hasn’t been able to talk for almost 2 years now and from what I’ve heard is a shell of his former self.  The last song I heard from him was on the new Dogg Pound CD and was an unreleased hook that they used for one of their songs.  One of the best on the CD and hopefully there is still a good amount of unreleased gems out there so we can continue to enjoy Nate D, O, Double G for years to come.

Rest In Peace Nate Dogg…..Maybe it’s me but west coast rap music just won’t be the same without Nate Dogg.  We’ll miss your hooks Nate…