27-35 Music Listings 4119.Indd

MUSIC march 11–17 S ORD EC R AM THE REGULATOR INT J M R E PP RAPPERS AGE, BUT WARREN G’S “I didn’t know it’d still be playing 21 E years later now,” says Griffin, 44. “That’s 21-YEAR-OLD GANGSTA CLASSIC IS a good thing, man. It just lets me know OF P TIMELESS. what I did was timeless. I’m seeing artists esy these days in for like five, six months, and OURT C BY MATTHEW SINGER [email protected] the next thing you know, they’re gone. You don’t hear nothing from them. A lot of In most situations, jumping into a back-alley them, I see them and I’m like, ‘Let’s work dice game with a bunch of strangers is a spec- together.’ And a lot of them be kind of tacularly bad idea. But for Warren G, it turned turning their nose up and shit, like, ‘He’s out to be the best decision of his career. old.’ I ain’t old! I’ll still eat your ass up! And For a generation of rap fans, “Regulate,” I still make better music than a lot of you the Long Beach, Calif., rapper-producer motherfuckers. Good music don’t have an born Warren Griffin III’s 1994 megahit, age. Wackness has an age.” is stored in the part of the brain that also contains “Nuthin’ but a G Thang,” “It Was WW: What are the origins of a Good Day,” the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air “Regulate”? theme, and several childhood nursery Warren G: I went record shopping and got rhymes. No matter how long it’s been, the the record [Michael McDonald’s “I Keep now, but 10 times worse. parts for you?” I was like, “Shit, Cee Lo? moment you hear that whistled melody Forgettin’”], and I was like, “Dang, this I also like Miguel.” But Cee Lo was out of and Young Guns snippet, every word comes is a record I used to listen to as a kid. My It’s interesting that you let Nate Dogg be town, and Miguel just didn’t do it. So I said, flooding back to memory. parents used to play this, so this would be the hero, while you’re the victim. “You know what, I’m gonna make this into Over a smooth Michael McDonald sam- dope to put some lyrics over.” We had this Because that’s my homeboy. It’s really something.” I told Kenny, “We’re gonna ple, Griffin recounts a night of skirt-chasing phrase we were using at the time, when- about two best friends having each other’s try something different here. I want you gone awry, in which a foolish detour into ever we wanted to get something done. If backs—no matter if it’s music, no matter to play your saxophone up under Nate’s street-corner gambling gets him robbed we were doing a new track, we’d be like, if it’s women or if it’s street shit. No mat- parts, as if you’re Nate Dogg.” And this was and nearly killed—until his best friend, the “We need to regulate that.” And this is ter what it is in life, we were having each last minute. I structured it right when it late singer Nate Dogg, appears from the before I had even put the Young Guns shit other’s backs in those times. was time to rehearse, because from what shadows as a gat-toting guardian angel. on there. I saw Young Guns, and the one cat I understand they wanted him to come in Not a lot of rappers would play the victim said, “Regulators—we regulate any stealing Is it hard performing that song without after “Regulate” to do a solo. I gave him on their own track, and allow the guest star of property, and we damn good, too.” And I Nate around? the track, he took it and listened to it, and to be the hero, but that’s part of the reason said, “Oh my God, we’ve got to sample this I look at it like, my homeboy will always live we did the show maybe an hour and a half why the song endures: It might end with and put it on the beginning of our record.” through me. Me doing our song is keeping later. When it was time to get busy, he was a pile of cold bodies and an impromptu And the whole concept of the song turned his spirit alive. I’m gonna always do that, on point. It turned out to be better than orgy at the Eastside Motel, but at its core, out to be on point. until I stop doing music, which I don’t plan having someone try to sing Nate’s parts. “Regulate” is about brotherhood. on doing. Hopefully, Jimmy Kimmel will hire me as Griffin has had other successes, and he Was the story in “Regulate” based on a their music supervisor. I’ll make sure they continues to make records, but “Regulate,” specific incident? You recently performed “Regulate” have some tight shit. and the multiplatinum album of the same All that shit is real-life shit. All of it. It was with Kenny G on Jimmy Kimmel Live. name, secured his place among the West just how things went in our neighborhood. How did that come about? SEE IT: Warren G plays Crystal Ballroom, 1332 W Burnside St., with Young Eastlin, Coast gangsta elite. And if it looms so large It was Compton, Long Beach, Watts, South I got a call that Jimmy Kimmel wanted to on Wednesday, March 11. 9 pm. $22 that it eclipses his other accomplishments, Central L.A., Carson—all that was the Maad do a mash-up of “Regulate.” At first, they advance, $25 day of show. All ages. he’s mostly fine with that. Circle. It was kind of like how Chicago is said, “Who can you have come do Nate’s charting “reGULAte” bY MOOD “Some “I’m gettin’ “Warren G was on brothers jacked/I’m breakin’ the streets, trying shootin’ dice myself/I can’t so I said ‘Let’s believe they takin’ “If I had wings I “Back up, back to consume/Some would fly/Let me up/’Cause it’s on…” skirts for the eve…” do this…’” Warren’s wealth…” “I’m tweaking/Into a contemplate...” whole new era…”. :30 1:00 1:30 2:00 2:30 3:00 3:30 4:00 HORNY IMPULSIVE FEARFUL DESPERATE MURDEROUS POssiBLY HIGH DEFINITELY HIGH “Since these “Nate Dogg is about to “Now I’m switching “If you smoke like I girls peepin’ me make some bodies turn my mind back into smoke/Then you’re high I’ma glide and cold…” freak mode…” like every day...” swerve…” Willamette Week MARCH 11, 2015 wweek.com 27 .

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