Rating:
Genre:
Rap
Release Date: 06/07/1994
Anchored by the laid-back
G-funk anthem
"Regulate," Warren G's appropriately titled
Regulate...G Funk Era embodies the mid-'90s era of Cali sunshine, endless blunts, and switch-hittin' lowriders with a welcome and somewhat surprising sense of kind-heartedness. Unlike most of his West Coast
G-funk peers,
Warren doesn't celebrate drive-by gang-bangin', dirty-money stackin', nor G's-up, hoes-down pimpin'. Sure, he says the
F word once in a while and puffs on the cheeba-cheeba when it's passed his way, but he's essentially a good-natured, all-ages rapper, interested in nothing more than good ol'-fashioned
hip-hop. He professes his demeanor succinctly on the catchy hook to
"This DJ," the other era-defining highlight here: "It's kinda easy when you're listening to the G-ed-up sound/Pioneer speakers bumpin' as I smoke on a pound/I got the sound fo yo' ass and it's easy to see/That this DJ be
Warren G." Like his stepbrother
Dr. Dre,
Warren is a more talented producer than rapper, and it's his by-the-book
G-funk beat-making that truly shines here. For instance, another album highlight,
"Do You See," boasts an elastic bassline and whistling synth hook, capturing the essence of
G-funk as only
Dre himself could.
Warren further compensates for his middling rapping with a couple of guests, a few skits, and a brief running time. Even if
"Regulate" and
"This DJ" tower far above everything else here,
Regulate...G Funk Era is nonetheless a minor gem among the myriad
G-funk albums of the mid-'90s, and
Warren embodies the style itself here with a precision perhaps second only to his older brother and does so with a refreshing air of harmlessness.
~Jason Birchmeier, All Music Guide
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