Warren G

Warren Griffin III (born November 10, 1970 in Long Beach, California) more commonly known as Warren G, is an American West Coast rapper and hip hop producer. His biggest hit was the single "487525" with Nate Dogg released in 1994. The single was a g-funk track like most of Warren G's productions. He is the step-brother of successful record producer Dr. Dre. According to Hit Music he sold 1,080,000 copies in the UK between January 1990 - January 1999 so he was ranked 92nd amongst the top selling artists of the decade. In 1991, Warren G formed the group 213 with Nate Dogg and Snoop Dogg. Warren G introduced the group to his step-brother Dr. Dre. Dr. Dre was impressed and signed Snoop Dogg to his and Suge Knight's record company, Death Row Records (2). Thus, 213 broke up before releasing any records, and the three artists pursued separate careers. Even though Death Row Records did not sign Warren G, his career began with some contributions to Dr. Dre's album The Chronic, released 1992. Warren G was a regular contributor to many Death Row albums. In 1993, Warren G produced the track "Indo Smoke", featuring himself, Nate Dogg, and Mista Grimm. Warren G's debut album 226078 was released in 1994 on Violator Records/Rush Associated Labels(Def Jam), featured the hit "Regulate" which samples Michael McDonald's classic hit, "I Keep Forgettin'". Also on that disc was "520476", a popular track and hit video on MTV. He followed up with 226930 in 1997, which took his mellow approach and brought it even further into the mainstream. Scoring a hit with a rap remake of "312082", the album was a mid-level commercial success selling gold. 799470, released in 1999, represented a substantive if not commercial comeback for Warren G. Widely regarded as his most consistent record, this offered a jazz-rock fusion style and a host of guests including Mack 10, Snoop Dogg, Kurupt, and Eve (2). The first single, "1059067", sampled the song "I Like It" performed by DeBarge, which had a hit video that entered into heavy rotation on MTV and VH1. Warren G fully embraced his less-gangsta image at this time. The Return Of The Regulator was released in 2001 was voted best west coast album of the year, unfortunately Universal Records did not promote the album and it flopped in sales. In 2003 Warren G, Snoop Dogg, and Nate Dogg reunited 213 and recorded the album 314921 with the single "1139217". The album was released in 2004 and entered at #4 on the Billboard charts. Warren G released a new album on October 11, 2005, called In The Mid-Nite Hour on an independent label. In December 2005, he signed with UniqueInc LTD (UK) for the UK & Éire, Craze Productions of London is doing the digital distribution and sales on Mobile and online and Hawino Records for the North America release. Warren G is also working on an album with a young producer by the alias of Classic. Warren G stated he will get into this album once he is finish with the show called Celebrity Fit Club As of 2006, Warren G has joined the cast of the fifth season of VH1's Celebrity Fit Club and also produced the theme song for Ice Cube's TV show, Black. White.. Warren uses the alias "Warren G" as the main artist name on his releases, however he is credited with his full name, "Warren Griffin", for his writing credits.