TMB-Music.com: Nate Dogg: The Originator of the Gangsta Hook

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Nate Dogg: The Originator of the Gangsta Hook

Before R. Kelly was writing songs to his dead homies...
Before T-Pain was so hood...
Before Auto-tune had every rapper believing they could sing...

There was Nate Dogg.

Nathaniel Hale aka "Nate Dogg" is the man who made gangsta hooks hot. In the early 90s, he linked up with Warren G and Snoop Dogg to form 213 and started a new movement. Previously a rapper would do his own hook or chorus for a song and if the song did feature a singer, the singer was usually a female. Nate Dogg came through with something new to offer: a distinct soulful voice and hooks that boasted about life in a way that really wasn't heard of before. Not only did he sing about how thugged out he was and how he "can't be faded...", he did it with so much heart and soul that one couldn't help but to believe that Nate Dogg was one of the realest street dudes in Long Beach. He sang about shooting people and drugs, how much realer could you get?

Throughout the late 90s and early 2000s, Nate Dogg was featured on various artists singles. If you wanted a hot song, Nate Dogg was who you wanted on your record. No one else sounded like him and no one else had his cool demeanor. He was never a braggard and preferred to play the low. While he released three studio albums, very rarely would one hear a solo song from Nate Dogg. He found a niche and filled it perfectly.

As fate would have it, Nate Dogg suffered a stroke in 2007. After his stroke, it was reported that he was depressed and he became some what of a recluse. In 2008, he suffered another stroke which left him partially paralyzed. Any hopes of him resuming his singing career quietly faded.

On March 15, 2011, Nate Dogg passed away at the young age of 41. The cause of his death is currently unknown. While Nate Dogg is now gone, his music lives on and his hooks are still the club's favorites. Need proof? Go in a club and drop Dr. Dre's "The Next Episode". Then wait. If the DJ dares to cut off Nate's outro at the end, there will be a riot. Everyone (even those who don't smoke weed) eagerly waits to hear Nate's voice at the end..."Hey Hey Hey Hey, Smoke Weed Everyday."

R.I.P. Nate Dogg. You will be missed.