G Funk Classics, Vols. 1 & 2 [LP]

Personnel: Nate Dogg, Snoop Doggy Dogg, Daz Dillinger, Warren G, Danny 'Butch' Means, Barbara Wilson, Kurupt The Kingpin, Tray Dee, Big Chuck, Tupac Shakur, Pamela Hale, Issac Reese, Big Syke (vocals); Ricky Rose (guitar); Priest 'Soopafly' Brooks (vocals, keyboards); Tommy D. Daugherty (keyboards); Danny Green (bass); Butch Small (percussion); Nancy Fletcher, Six Feet Deep, Fuskee, The Lady Of Rage (background vocals).
Producers include: Nate Dogg, Snoop Doggy Dogg, Daz Dillinger, Warren G, Priest 'Soopafly' Brooks.
Recorded at Can-Am Studios, Reseda, California and Dogg Foundation Studios, Dogg Pound, California.
Over the course of these two discs, GHETTO PREACHER and THE PRODIGAL SON, the listener is given a tour of the hip-hop world as seen through the eyes of Nate Dogg, and it's an illuminating journey indeed. While Dogg doesn't shy away from the realities of the gangsta world in his lyrics, his rapping style is miles away from the in-your-face style of many of his peers. The arrangements are sparse and understated; there's no PE-style polyphony here, but there are precious few jeep-beats either. Nate Dogg's musical aesthetic is informed by old school soul and even a touch of jazz, making for some unassumingly seductive backdrops to his lyrical observations. It doesn't hurt that Dogg receives some assistance here from the likes of Snoop and Warren G, but ultimately, it's Dogg's own low-key style that makes his music signify.