This week, the hip-hop nation mourns the death of Nate Dogg who passed away on Tuesday at 41. The cause of death is still unknown but it might be due to the strokes the rapper had suffered from in the recent years.

The Long Beach, California native was one of the best hip-hoppers in the industry and he played a major role in the rise of the West Coast G-Funk sound pioneered by Death Row Records in the early 1990s. Together with Snoop Dogg and Warren G, Nate Dogg formed the group called 213 that sparked Dr. Dre’s initial interest in Snoop. He was a critical participant in a number of major left-coast gangsta hits, including G’s “Regulate” (for which he received a Grammy award in 1995) and Dre’s iconic solo debut, 1992’s The Chronic. Besides, he received four nominations at the Grammy Awards and collected a second nod in 2001 for providing a hook to the Dre and Snoop’s tune “The Next Episode,” the third notice in 2002 for singing on Ludacris’ “Area Codes” and the last in 2007 for his work on Eminem’s “Shake That.”
He made himself loved by thousands of fans with his deep, melodic voice and smooth soul rumble and many wept when he became partially paralyzed after a massive stroke four years ago. “We lost a true legend n hip hop n rnb,” Snoop Dogg tweeted. “One of my best friends n a brother to me since 1986 when I was a sophomore at poly high where we met. I love u buddy luv. U will always b wit me 4ever n a day u put the g n g funk u put the 1 n 213 n u put yo stamp on evrybdy u ever didit wit … I miss u cuzz I am so sad but so happy I got to grow up wit u and I will c u again n heaven cuz u know d slogan. … All doggs go to heaven.”

DPG member Daz was also hit by this sad news and tweeted: “R.I.P. TO MY HOMEBOY NATE DOGG DPGC DOGG POUND GANGSTA 4 LIFE. ” And they are not the only rappers to express their condolences on Twitter. 50 Cent wrote “I just landed nate dog is dead damn. GOD BLESS HIM R.I.P he meant a lot to west coast hiphop. Iv always been a fan of it” and admitted he needed Nate to sing “21 Questions” from his debut album, Get Rich or Die Tryin’ because “He had a way of making everything feel hard.”
Among the others who weighed in on Twitter were Erykah Badu, West Coast rapper Xzibit, Ludacris, reclusive comedian Dave Chappelle, Bay Area slang master E-40, Murs, fellow Long Beach native Daz Dillinger, G-Unit’s Lloyd Banks, Obi Trice and producer Fred Wreck.

This entry was posted on Monday, March 21st, 2011 at 1:22 pm and is filed under News.