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Tag: <span>Snoop Dogg</span>

Regulator

INTERVIEW: Warren G on His YouTube Original Documentary ‘G-Funk’ & His Influence on Rap: ‘I’m the G-Funk Era’

Originally posted on Billboard 7/31/2018

When you think of the pioneers of West Coast rap, there are a handful of names that come to mind: Dr. Dre, Ice Cube, 2Pac, Eazy-E, Snoop Dogg, E-40, Too $hort. Arguably the most deserving name, however, is consistently glossed over. Warren G, as both an artist and producer, is one of the most important names to the culture, and you might not even know why.

The pioneer of the G-funk era not only ushered in a new musical subgenre, but was personally responsible for introducing Snoop Dogg, Kurupt and Daz Dillinger to Dr. Dre, along with being instrumental in helping to shape the sound of Dre’s first solo album, The Chronic.

Billboard was able to sit down with the Regulator to discuss his YouTube Originals documentary G-Funk and his influence on rap.

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Warren G

MOVIE REVIEW: Warren G’s Brilliance Revealed In YouTube’s ‘G-Funk’ Documentary

Originally posted on Vibe 7/25/2018

In the 1990s, three best friends at Long Beach’s renowned Polytechnic High School polished a new sound at the intersection of funk and rap music. Warren G, with the help of Snoop Dogg and Nate Dogg, ushered in what will be forever known as the g-funk era. While the three didn’t create the musical subgenre, they built on the foundation created by the West Coast rap quintet Above The Law and took the sound worldwide. YouTube Originals partnered with Warren G to create G-Funk, telling the untold tales of arguably hip-hop’s most underrated legend.

The full-length documentary starts off in Long Beach, Calif. as we’re introduced to a young Warren G and Snoop Dogg. “Every time you seen Warren, you seen Snoop,” Warren recalls as he and Snoop trade stories of their early LBC experiences. They would later meet Nate Dogg at Long Beach Polytechnic High School and form the group 213.

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Jimmy Duval

INTERVIEW: Producer Jimmy Duval on Creating XXXTentaction’s ‘Look at Me!’ & Expanding Outside of Rap

Originally posted on Billboard 7/17/2018

It’s not everyday that you wake up to your song hitting one million streams online and without even realizing it. For Jimmy Duval, that hard-to-believe scenario about producing his first hit almost never happened. “Look at Me!,” the track that took Florida rapper XXXTentacion from SoundCloud to RIAA Certified Platinum was a beat that was never meant to land in XXX’s lap.

If left up to his late collaborator, the success of the record was also never meant for Jimmy to enjoy. Initially released on SoundCloud by Rojas, a former associate of Jimmy’s, the song not only left him off the credits, but he didn’t even know it existed until his manager happened to stumble upon the track.

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Boomiverse

ALBUM REVIEW: No Oomph In Big Boi’s “Boomiverse”

Originally posted on HipHopDX 6/26/2017

For a legend that helped usher in an entire city and region to prominence, Big Boi is comfortably perched within the lexicon of Hip Hop icons. There’s no denying Daddy Fat Sax’s dominance and confidence throughout his career. Unfortunately, the ATLien’s solo game hasn’t paralleled his tenure within the mighty Outkast and his fourth (if you rightfully count the Grammy Award-winning Speakerboxxx) solo effort in Boomiverse isn’t going to change that. 

Sonically, Boomiverse traverses through a landscape of overused synths to force a cosmic, universal theme devoid of the “boom” the title alludes to. What should have been a blockbuster affair with all-star Hip Hop production courtesy of Organized Noize, DJ’s Dahi and DJ Khalil, Scott Storch, and Mannie Fresh largely comes up short in an attempt to incorporate too many musical genres into one singular product. The finished result is a clusterfuck of inconsistent harmonies, which will surely bring out the Nick Young puzzled faces.

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