If there's a voice box for the G-Funk era, it is undebatably the smooth baritone hook-factory of
Nate Dogg. Appearing on early-'90s
Death Row productions as the R&B crooner that iced the cake of
Dre's hard-edged beats,
Dogg was a constant presence as smooth cameo vocalist in various hip-hop and R&B joints up to his untimely passing in 2011.
1969-2011 is a greatest-hits collection of sorts, presented in the form of a continuous mix by
DJ White Owl. Starting with his style-defining contribution to
Warren G's 1994
Michael McDonald-sampling hit "Regulators" and flowing in a partying swerve through
Dogg-heavy tracks by rap megastars
Snoop Dogg,
Dr. Dre, and
50 Cent, this collection is all about
Dogg as a hit-maker. Every track is not just supported by his silky, thuggish verses, but really becomes centered around them.
Xzibit's yawn-worthy "Say My Name" is made interesting only by
Dogg's eerie, double-tracked choruses. Continuous mixing keeps the high points coming one after another, making this collection less stoic and more of the kind of party the late
Nate Dogg was known to inspire. ~ Fred Thomas
