Born Warren Griffin III, 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 parents'
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. Unfortunately, all three had brushes with the law
and spent time in jail, which motivated them to get jobs, also working
on their music on the side. 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 Dre's
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
for Death Row. "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.
Warren G took nearly three years to complete his second album, returning
in the spring of 1997 with Take
A Look Over Your Shoulder, which was greeted with decidedly
mixed reviews and weak sales. I
Want It All followed in 1999 with The
Return of the Regulator appearing two years later. In 2005 he signed
with Lightyear Enterntainment and released In
the Mid-Nite Hour.