In Long Beach in the late 80s, there were three kids from the same block - Nathaniel Hale, Calvin Broadus, and Warren Griffin. Warren was Dr. Dre's step-brother. Nathaniel had just come back from three years in the Marines, could sing like a church choir by himself, but talked with that low, gravelly Long Beach drawl. One night Warren played a tape for Dre - it was Nathaniel singing over Snoop rapping on a little 4-track in the garage. Dre stopped the tape and said, "Who's the singer?" That was Nate Dogg. He never wanted to be the frontman. He didn't want to dance, he didn't want to do the interviews. What he did was make every song feel bigger. Dre would have a hard, cold West Coast beat. Snoop would have a slick verse. Then Nate would come in on the hook - that deep, melodic, almost mournful voice - and suddenly it wasn't just a rap song, it was a hymn. From '92 on, if you heard "hold up" or "bow wow wow" in that voice, you knew it was a hit. "Regulate" with Warren G, "The Next Episode" with Dre and Snoop, "21 Questions" with 50 Cent, "Shake That" with Eminem. He sang on over 60 charting songs without ever trying to be the star. He once said he didn't write hooks, he just felt them. He'd hear a track once, go in the booth, and lay it in one take. No writing, no auto-tune. Nate Dogg - August 19, 1969 - March 15, 2011 - didn't need a whole verse to steal the whole song. Just 8 bars and that voice, and you knew exactly where you were: lowrider music, late night in California. Rest in peace to GDOO7. FOLLOW FOR MORE HIP-HOP STORIES. #natedogg #80s #90s #westcoast #georgedaniel007 - @gdmagaveli01