Wake that ass up in the morning.
Breakfast Club Morning.
Everybody is the j Envy just hilarious. Charlamagne the guy, we are the Breakfast Club. We got a special guest.
In the building.
Yes, indeed, we got a legend in here today, the legendary Warren G.
What's up. What's how you feeling, brother? I'm good man, feeling good? Yeah, yes, indeed, all right?
Does the East Coast time mess with you a little bit?
I know how to adapt. I've been in it so long, I know how to switch it up when Yeah, I'm good absolutely.
Straight off the BT Awards performing with Stoopid Tu, how was that?
It was fun? It was fun from the rehearsals all the way to doing the actual show, just vibing with everybody and you know, even seeing the other artists that was there. Just it was just good, a good vibe all the way around, just seeing everybody and having a good time, joking, talking, talking ship a little bit.
I want to got the phone call you was looking for.
I saw the interview that you did and you saying, how like, Yo, I just want Snoop and Drada holler at me.
Man, I don't want you know what I mean?
Ain't that didn't have nothing to do with nothing, none of that. Okay, okay, No, Well I got a call, you know, Uh, I got hit to you know that that that he wanted me to do do the uh the honor with him. So you know, that's my dog, you know what I mean. You know, anytime they need me, I'm there, man. Yes, indeed, I.
Think that conversation was good though, because you know, when you said that on it. I can't remember what he was interviewing with, but when you when you said that, it's like everybody started giving you your flowers. Everybody started talking about you know, what Warrent G Has contributed to hip hop, what he's contributed to the West Coast coaches. I think sometimes you got to speak up for yourself, man.
Yeah, yeah, you know, yeah, I mean, I mean a lot of people don't know about, you know, a lot of the things that I've did, you know, so I speak on it, you know, and interviews and just you know, just you know, trying to trying to let the new generation see you know what I've contributed to hip hop, you know, and not let it let let it get erased.
But let's let's let's go back there so so for people that don't know Warrengy, let's say right from the West Coast, you introduced Snoop.
To doctor Dre.
But before that, how did you get into the rap game? What made you get into rapping?
How did you.
Meet Dre? And and and I guess create that family.
Now, well, I've been I've been around Drey since I was probably about I say, maybe twelve eleven or twelve something like that. My father married his mother Vernon, and you know, I didn't have no no older brothers. I just had sisters. But my sisters was was you know my sisters was you know, they bodyguard hard. They wouldn't right, you know. And I mean that's where it started at,
uh your step brother, yeah yeah yeah. And then h Musically, my father I used to he would pick me up on the weekends, bring me to his house and play jazz all day. So I would listen to the jazz and just just fall in love with And to this day he still asked me, like, you remember Chuck Man J on the I'm like, yeah, I still got it. Daddy's in my playlist. And that's what instilled the the the good vibe as far as went in my music the way I like to have that good feeling music
that came from that. But as far as in the hip hop, it was just like all the groups run dmc h n W A uh, Easy, the Fat Boys is l L everybody that was in hip hop. You know, I wanted to be like them, you know, because that that's what was going around the neighborhoods and stuff like that. And then you know me being you know, around Dre and Tyree. You know that I had two big brothers, so.
Were y'all closer? Was it one of those things with step.
We was always close always, so just being you know, the young, the young, the young one around two older brothers. You want to follow what they do. So Dre was djaying with the with the not it wasn't the world class wreaking cruise, a high powered crew was Easy and Shane and and they're gonna get mad at me everybody. I couldn't mention everybody, but they had a crew. So I hear mixtapes all the time. So I fell in love with with with a lot of the music that
he was mixing and stuff in the room. So I asked him to show me how to how to do it one day and he showed me. So I fell in love with that. I was an athlete as well. I played football and just having somebody a bigger brother to look up to him and Tyree was just that was that was that was cool, you know what I mean? And uh, they taught me a lot. And you know I had to. I had to go through a gladiator school. Uh, from Long Beach to Compton, just back and forth. So
you know they had me right. They used to call me kibbles and bits because I used to get it in the.
District Long Beach and Compton. I mean not you know, we're not from out there, like different world.
It's pretty much the same. Only the only street that that uh, it's one street that separates it is called green Leaf. And uh, once you pass green Leaf, you and Compton, uh, or you go up Atlantic right before green Leaf. Everybody from Compton coming here. Every it's some it's it's all the same. And then you got Carson right next to us, and then you got Compton Linnwood, and then you got Watched. That's all. We call it the mass circle. Yeah, and it's it's real close, you know, everybody.
It's damn there. The sign.
You know, vent you introduced Snoop to Dre, But did you ever feel like you were also introducing Dre to the sound that you know him and Snoop was kind of about to define for a whole coast.
Not I was just trying to get us all put on. We didn't. We didn't know that that we was gonna uh you know, that they was gonna turn into what it turned into. But it all No, we didn't, We didn't. But what we did when we started working on the Chronic is we brought all the energy that we had and what we wanted to do, you know, and brought it in and put it into Dre to bring him back to where he should be, you know. So that's when we did the Chronic and we collaborated and made that a classic.
You celebrated thirty years of the regular album. How does that feel?
It feels good? You know still I still feel the same as I did back then. Uh, I really don't. I really don't be tripping that much. I just be wanting to keep working, like just just keep working, keep working. Uh. But it feels good, and you know, just to you know, see that my records is still spinning, uh, since like ninety two around that time, and uh, it's a it's a good feeling. And I just I just keep trying to creating.
You've been seeing that I don't keep up with a six But like it's a couple of your songs, like these kids are making like viral trends with it.
Yeah, so like it's that's that's what's happening.
Yeah, it's a trip. It's like it keeps starting over, like every generation, the new generation that comes, it starts over and then they fall in love with us. I'm down with that.
You know, you know, did when when you when you first Inju Snooped Dream and y'all was in the studio during the chronic did did he ever teach you anything about producing that you turned into your own style or did you always feel like you had a more distinct sound from.
His using live live musicians. I used to just sit there and watch and it. He actually taught me how to splice tape, put tape back together, and I.
Used to watch young kids know what you're talking about with that one.
But where it's where you cut the tape and you gotta you gotta actually piece it back together yourself with with alcohol and the tape, that special tape that it has with it. He taught me that. UH taught me how to EQ. I mean he taught me. He taught me, you know, sampling uh on the NPC sixty him and
called seven from above the law. I mean he showed me some things, but I pretty much, you know, learned the basics and then started doing my own style, you know, because I didn't want people to say, oh, well he just because he with Drake, because this is you know, that's why now I created my own you know ship over here. So do you feel like.
You missed the bus? I don't want to say miss the bus, because you didn't miss the bus. But when you were seventeen, you got locked up, right, and that's when Drake took off.
And I wasn't that locked.
I don't get long because.
That's what That's what you got your name from. Warrang and said you got your name in jail. No, no, I did get the name.
Warrang G Warren Griffin.
The name is Warren that they said, my first nick jail name A nigga in prison?
You name they said, that's what they said, They said, what that's why?
Uh No, I'm not. No, I ain't no like, I ain't.
No brutal like he thought was forgetting.
That's no it, Warren g that's that's a Griffin. No, I wasn't. I wasn't in the in and out of I mean, i've been, but you know I wasn't like like always going to jail. I was. I was cool. They called me sir cool.
Yeah, total opposite.
Yes, you know, I don't mean I won't get off on the motherfucker.
Don't say that in jail. You don't want to now on the outside.
Looking at it, to us, or at least to me, g Funk looked like it was created by you and doctor Dre.
But then when I you know, you do research, you hear names like big Hutch.
Yeah. But the law you'll call one eighty seven. But the law camg go Mac, total chaos, Laylaw, cocaine. They took me in when I was when I was a pupp I didn't I didn't, you know, I you know, really didn't have nowhere to go at the time, and Laylan and one eighty seven had had took me in and I started hanging with them, you know, And that's why I say that that one eight seven taught me a lot as far as the NPC sixty as well as Dre, but they made me G funk. You know,
they was already saying, uh, gangster Funk, g funk. So but what I did was I took, you know, the
my mop you know, for me being in it. I took and branched it off, and I said the g funk era, you know, just it's still this, but then I started my own sound within uh, the gangster Funk and made it the g funk era, and you know it's it's hey, those the guys that that put me in it, and I took it and made it worldwide, you know, for the world to know what g funk was about, along with Snoop and Dre everybody saying g funk as well.
So if G Funk had a mount Rushmore, who would be on it?
Like?
Who do people forget that? I guess what would be the Brothers, right?
Yeah, but the Law would definitely be on there ship.
Uh uh, you don't know.
I ain't that I'm saying I'll be on there too, uh uh. Laylaw because he he was he was the head head guy over everything. Recipes. Lay Law recipes go Mac. But he was the the head honcho of Gfunk And like I said, I got my branch and created uh, the Gfunk era, you know. And that's when I took took it worldwide. And but then was my guys they set it up. That's that's it right there.
When did they dog come into the picture.
They came in. Well, he was always in Loan Beach, But as far as when he came together with me and Snoop, we was me and Snoop was up already like up in North Long Beach. We was moving around doing little things here and there, trying to build our name. And they just popped up one day on the spot, you know, where we was hustling at and uh, and he had heard about us doing what we was doing. So he came up and just blended in with us,
and we started calling ourselves two one three. But as far as Nate a period, all of us knew each other from King's Park, from elementary school all the way up.
Did how was he received?
Though? Good?
Now he was all were rappless and he was singing.
So what do you remember the first time he said, Hey, this is what I do When he's.
Saying with you now Nate as Nate was in the church circus, so he was singing a lot. But it just happened, you know, when we when we would get in the room and we'll be freestyling and you know, be boxing, freestyling stuff, Native started just singing along, like while we busting. He just started singing some gangster shit. You know that's different than it wasn't like, you know, just like it wasn't normal. He was just it was kind of like a rap uh singing singing thing type
of vibe that he would do. And he was just saying some some real, real real things with it.
And how did how did the Deaf?
The Deaf?
Jmdal come about?
Death? Jam started with UH, let me see that wash I had a record. Actually I was at the studio once again, I'm moving at the studio. It was me, Snoop dre oli Us. They was working on UH. I think it was they were in the studio. They was working and Paul Stewart and John Singleton was there for Snoop to do the first single for the for the UH just a soundtrack. So I'm in there just hanging out. This is like later on when I was like, I was kind of by myself, but I still would come
to the studio and things like that. But so I asked John and Paul Paul Stewart, are they looking for any more songs? So they was like yeah. So I was like, can I play a record phase? So me and Paul walked to the car. I had a raggedy little rigo, jumped in the car, popped in the tape deck. It was a song called Indo Smoke with me and mister Graham. It went for about maybe like thirty seconds and he said stop. So I stopped and he was like, can I take the tape? I said yeah, just give
it back to me. Yeah, give it, yeah, give it back. So that that Monday, Monday two is whatever it was, I know, it was a weekend. We was working. But they called me and they was like, we want this to be the first single on the party, just a soundtrack. So I was like, are you serious? He was like yeah.
I was like, damn, And you weren't signed at the time at all.
I wasn't signed with nobody. So that whole thing went through. Uh Indoor Smoke blew up. Uh. It actually went gold. It was everywhere. It was going crazy, and so a bunch of companies was trying to find out, you know who the artist was. Yeah, who was these guys? So there was a lot of companies calling. So Paul hit me like, death Jam want to talk to you. So I'm thinking, like, ship, they ain't. They don't want to talk to me, They want mister Graham because mister Graham
was was dope dope as well. He that's who the record was for. And so we had uh got on the car. It was le Or, Chris Lighty and Tracy Waples they actually all flew out to as well. But so we on the car and I'm like, I can't believe this is death Jam on the phone with me. So that they was asking about the guys on the song. So they was like, okay, well who is the guy with the kind of like melody to what he's doing. So I'm like, damn, they must be talking. They talking
about mister Graham. So I was like, that's mister Graham. He wanted you know, that's one of the guys rapping on there. They was like to know the guy with the kind of like singing things. He said, you mean this little chant type of I said, that's me. So they was like, yeah, that's the guy we won't So I was like me, like shit, So we just from there. I had to decide, like because there was other companies coming in after that, you know, started piling up. I
guess the word got around. So I had to think about, you know, who would be best for hip hop? Right, So I had a flashback. I went all the way back to Crush Groove, the Beastie Boys, Fat Boys, Run DMC and Russell and Rick Rubin and I'm like, this is the lay and I started thinking about Slick Rick, Dougie Fresh, everybody, and uh, I was like shit, I'm ll cool J. I said, I'm I'm fucking with this right here. I'm with them. So I said, fuck everybody else.
I want to row with these people because they hip hop. This is huge and I'm a fan of Crush Groove and B Street and you know, like so I was like, you know that's that'll be different and signed and he.
Said, you saved the label. During that time, they said the label was going through a lot of yeah, of losing money and artists weren't selling. They said, you revitalized the label back then.
Yeah, yeah, I didn't know it. I didn't know it, and you know, until you know we started, you know, the record seal started going like every week, I was selling like two hundred and some thousand every week, so it started. It was huge, and but I didn't know. I didn't know they was in debt or anything like that. And then Leord told me one day, he was like, we use like credit cards and different things to get you this money. Wow, you know your advance. And I
was like wow, I couldn't believe it. But he was like you really, you really did? You know, it's a big favor and we had a big parties and you know all of that.
Yeah, that's cute, But where my money that far?
My mother fucking money?
Did you ever feel like they owed you more because of that? Like that should have been?
It was ah, a whiteboard in there and it said like how my album had made like a hundred million, So I'm like a hundred million dollars where my ship at let I didn't over recooped. They can't never say I ain't recoop And uh, I mean I made I made some money. I was. It wasn't like it should have been, but I made some pretty good bread. It wasn't like stupid money out of that hundred million, it wasn't. It wasn't a lot out of that.
Did you see at least ten from that?
No?
No, nowhere near what? Nowhere near it?
Does it bother you though? That when a lot of times they mentioned death jam Sometimes you don't hear Warren.
G they do, but it's quick, yes, brief.
That especially when when Lee telling yo, we was we was using credit cards to pay yourself and you helped. You know, we made a hundred millionaire in a time when it wasn't happening.
Does that bother you though? Yeah? It pissed me off of you know sometimes, but you know I charged it to the game. I'm like, look, I'm like, god damn. Uh. Yeah, you know, it ain't nothing I could do, you know what I mean, Ain't nothing I could do. But yeah, I get pissed off about it.
Were you supposed to see that white boy? Damn?
Just being you know in the office. I used to go, this was on very street out here. I just used to walk around the office, like walk around the whole building, and uh, I've seen that ship And I was like, God damn. Now and Leo Slawsi too. He'll tell you, yeah, this made this, made this much money. And then like man, I got you know, let's let's get it cracking. But anything I needed they would do it though I know that. You know I told him I needed I need this
house Da Boom, the same old record company. It was like Cadillac Records kind of uh where you you know I need this? Okay, they get it, but you know I made bread too. It wasn't nowhere near what you know that, but you know I'm at it.
How did you break the news, mister grim Ship It won't be not you?
Yeah, I mean that's that's just what it was, you know. But I still would would would uh bring Graham on on things. And Graham actually got signed. I think he had signed right with with Sony, but we were we was cool. I still was was pushing for him, you know, even though he hadn't I thought they wanted him, but never never went on, no big head should I still still fucked with him, and whatever he needed I was with him.
Why do you think you were never fully bought into the death row circle as far as like being signed, I don't.
Know, should uh.
Because I probably right?
Yeah? Well yeah, I was right or die. Uh.
The politics was your personality was somebody.
I think, you know what what what what kind of uh you know, had Shug pissed off at me? Was because I wasn't like one of those type of artists that had just signed any other fucking thing, and you know, and we was presented with contracts, so I told everybody, we need to get lawyers to look at these kinds tracks before we signed them. So, you know, the word that got back to him that I was trying to get a lawyer to look at the contracts. So he came out pissed off.
Because you was doing the right thing.
Because because I was doing that, nigga that exactly that nigga wouldn't have even had been doing the same shit. So I'm like, how can you get mad at me? So that's he's probably pissed off about that. And then you know, I just wasn't. I wasn't like, you know, with a lot of shit. I wasn't gonna just follow whatever everybody else was doing. I wanted to do my own shit. I ain't gonna you know, I you know,
they not like I always say, I ain't. I ain't really that he been knowing me since I was like fifteen, sixteen years old, you know. So it's just like I hadn't known this motherfucker all my life. I ain't even ready to be man, I'm cool. Uh, But that that's probably was that probably was one of the main things that that uh you know, had him pissed off. And then I used to get into it with with different guys around, but I just wasn't wasn't with the bullshit,
you know. And and he had talked shit about me here and there, and then I talked ship back just to let him know, like, but to be facts, you know, I ain't gonna say something that's a lie, you know. And but at the end of the day, I ain't. I ain't got nothing against that dude. He it is what it is. He do what he do. I just keep pushing and doing what I do, you know. And and and actually it was a blessing that I didn't go that route because it turned out even better for me.
You know.
I'm able to do whatever I want to do. I can go every wherever I want to go. And that's why I came to the East Coaches to be different, you know than the regular the same old, same old, just to get away, you know. And and and when I came over here, it was nothing beloved, you know, it was nothing beloved. Wasn't nobody talking at East Coast West coast shit. That wasn't no East Coast West coast thing that was beat That was cruise shit, this person,
these people against these people, none of that. Because I got I had love over here. I was in Brooklyn, the Bronx. I was everywhere like Harlem one hundred and forty six and Linux, uh everywhere, Queens, Jamaica, Queens Lell took me to Jamaica. Queens showed me his grandmother house where he did all his ship. I was blown away, like that shit was I even seen the sidekick that was in Tina got a big old but I was like, damn yeah.
Sure, you think being close to death Row but not actually being in it gave you a clearer lens on the chaos that was happening within depth Ro because.
He was on the outside looking.
I mean, shit, I was I used to be I used to be wild too, but I mean it it uh, it wasn't. I mean, it wasn't like a gang of just super duper crazy ass ship going on when I was around. I mean some of the things that that that that went on after I was gone, you know, I was like, damn, Like I said, it was a blessing to be away, you know, away from that ship. And I get caught up in that because it just it wasn't cool, you know. And but I still had to deal with it. Even though I wasn't signed to
death Row, this, that, and this. Everywhere I go, niggas was still tripping with me, like because they still I'm associated, So everywhere I went, I still had to deal with it, you know, even though I was with death Jam, I had to deal with that ship. Like on the from the street side.
I just wonder, how did it feel for you watching like the death Row story unfold right, Like, you know, they were growing and you know that you're sound helped build that house, but your name wasn't necessarily.
On the least sit Uh just pissed off, you know. I was pissed off at them, And I was pissed off with myself for not being more business savvy as far as knowing about publishing and contracts and this, that and this. I just wanted to uh help Dre. I just wanted to help him however I could, to help him get to where he needed to go and the company. You know, but I got one shout out, you know, Snoop gave it up for me on stranded on death Rod.
Do you ever wish you signed Snoop?
Like I said, if I, if I was business savvy, I could have Snoop signed and then signed him over there. But uh, yeah, I wish I would have signed him. You know, I wish I would have signed him. Uh.
How did you meet him?
Elementary school? I mean, and we that's me and Snoop's brother, Jerry. When when I say Snoop Dogg's big brother, call him dirty left and this DJ that's that Snoop's older brother. He just Jerry is just a year old. Uh, we're just a year older than Snoop. And uh we went to elementary school together. So Beverly would walk Jerry and
Snoop across the park. I would be coming up twenty I from I Bank, my right on Orange, but they would be walking across King Park and I'll be walking because we went to a school called Cis right there across the street from the park. So she would be walking in and We always used to just meet up in the park and then we'd go into the going to elementary school together and then Snoop ended up leaving Cis going to I forgot what what the name of
the other school. It wasn't Prisk. It was another school where they are swimming, they teach you tennis all kind of We wasn't getting that, so we were pretty we was upset because if they only chose a few kids to go to the school, so uh, Snoop got to go, we didn't get to go. And uh, but it was from elementary all the way up through Kinge Park, through youth sports, all the way into the to hustling.
How do you know he was high school because everybody I'm sure was rapping back then, right, I'm sure because it was a final How did you know now he got something special?
Ship he was He was just he was dope, just always always dope, and and funny. The motherfucker had you laughing, you know. Uh. He he just was always doping with
everywhere we went. You know, when we were just fucking around, I would I would be the guy we're around and I would point at something as soon as our point at his Snooper started rapping about it when he battling somebody I point at, like some roses or anything he had he had bust and then he had turned it say something about the roses, and then he had tear ass up at the same time while he's talking about whatever I pointed at. And that's when I knew he
was special. You know, I was like, this, dude, is he's special. I'm gonna push as hard as I can to try to help him, Me and Nate, all of us get on because we got something special here. And so that's what I kept doing. I just kept pushing for us, just non stop.
What was the version of Snoop that only only you know, like like way before the fame? And do you think that version of him still existed?
Uh? Ship, he's still the same. Ain't nothing changed. Uh let me see. Uh well he he he Uh. He gets a lot more serious uh than he did. Uh when we when we was coming up, he more serious. He'll snap on the motherfucker fast. Now. He wasn't like that. Uh you know when we was coming up, he was more calm.
And uh he got on dre aid bt was immediately when when he says, yeah, I wrote a deep covered for you and immediately immediately did you beat that?
Yeah? Yeah, I was just like damn, I said, Ship. I thought it was part of the script.
And when you're gonna do that one, when you're gonna say I really produced that.
Man's always the room of the room is that there's records on the chronic and doggy style that you never got credited for.
But I ain't. I ain't never taking nothing away from Dray. He's an incredible producer the whole nine I was. I was the guy that used to go out. I would bring all of the ideas, so I would bring the samples and I would sample it and I played for Drake like listen to this, and he'd be like that
ship is dope. And then he would take it and add his parts to it and and different things that he would do, Like I said, I you know, my, my, what I was trying to do is just give back to for you helping me learn this, that and that and this. Now look what I'm doing. I'm bringing this, that and this to you to help you, uh grow, And hell yeah, I did a lot of that Ship. No, I didn't get no credit. I didn't get no credit,
no nothing, the D the d's nuts skit. I did that ship that was off the off the down, turn the mic on, when got the phone, called my homegirl, put the mic up on the set the mic up, and just did the skip right then and there.
So these nuts, you invented that.
I did it right there. I did that right there in the studio. I invented that right there.
That's live history, black history, American. Everybody does that.
Records like a lot of the records on there, like like let me Ride. That was a a uh we called him now, it wasn't back then. It was called a dove record. It wasn't a break record. It was a dove record, but I bought it from a break record store and it was a little I still got that record in my crates too. At in the studio. It was a little part on the on the on the on the record that and then it boom boom boom boom boom boom. Let beat ride boom boom boom.
So I let dra hear that ship. He took that motherfucker and turned it into some other ship, you know. So that that's what I used to do. I would bring records like that sometime I would sample him. Sometimes I just played a record like listen to this ship Drake and that record like even like the Little Ghetto Boy. That was a me and mister Graham record, and I gave it to him. They was like, we want to use this so because I had it just how Little Ghetto Boy sound, but I had the drums going boom
boom backs, boom boom boom backs. And then Drake took it and changed the drums and did it the way he wanted to make it feel. But that idea, all of the Rudy ray Moore stuff. I went and bought all those records from off of Mail Road Street, all black exploitation, UH soundtracks. I bought all of that stuff
and we would listen to him. The skit where from the Mac that was something how and I always say this this That's the way I was feeling when that that little skit, the way it it was talking, the way it was sounding, was like I was like, this is me and you. In order for to make this thing work, we got to get rid of the pimps, pushes and start all over again. You know. That's how I was feeling. So that skit was right on top.
So I said, listen to this, you know, and he used that skit just you know, I mean just as a doggie style. I didn't. I didn't do nothing on doggy style, you know, I wish I did.
Did you get compensated at all even though you weren't in the in the credit.
So I didn't get ship? Uh? And it ain't I ain't. You know, I ain't bitter about that. Uh, you know, because I went and did my own thing. You know, I saw ship six million records, eight million records all together on my own. Outside of that, I wasn't. I wasn't bitter pissed off. Yeah, because I didn't have my business mind together.
And you know that's why I think it is like cool that you are even donating pieces of your history to the Hip Hop Museum, you know what I mean, Like even that that what you just taught us, you know, the skip you're responsible for, Like are you going to put that type of stuff in there too?
Definitely? Yeah, all that I think I still got the shirt. I woren't regulate.
Are you donating pieces like that?
Yeah? I got some things that that I'm donate. I even got the mic I did the whole album. Yeah, I got all. I have every piece of equipment that I used, all the craze that I use, from the chronic to my records to even doing behind Bards for Slick Rick and pick it Up for red Man. People don't even know that pick it Up for red Man. I did the remix to pick it Up and just you know, you gotta get yours. I gotta get my tupac Breed did Breed's whole album. Worked with Michael Jackson,
did everybody. You know, I've worked with a lot of people, you know, so I wasn't tripping shit. I'm able to move and groove still.
Michael Jackson session like cool.
You know, he was cool with nah No, but he was like on some like regular like like when that's straight up, it's like, what's up man? Like that kind of ship.
Did he reach out to you or they reached.
Out to me him. It was Renee and Bruce at the time. They was producing for him, and they asked me if I could come meet him, you know, come over to the studio. He liked like your work, so he wanted you to come by the studio. So I came by. It was record one and ship I couldn't believe it. I was like, I like, God, damn, this is Michael motherfucking Jackson. I can't I can't believe this ship. I couldn't believe it. I thought I was in a dream. And we chopped it up and I produced some records
for him. He done, He done vocals on him, so they somewhere in that vault somewhere. But I did some good records for him too. They was dope, and was also at that time a lot of press was against him. So I was telling him to do a song to you know, express yourself about you know, because everybody was down, and I forgot what It wasn't not that stuff that came later on with the kids stuff. It wasn't none
of that stuff. It was some stuff before that. They was trying to criticize him over and I was telling him to fight back and talk about it, like express yourself about how you feel about how these people are attacking you.
Old when he used the Jewish slur, I think, I'm not sure.
I'm not sure, but he was. He was being attacked, and I just told him to just you know, express itself that way. You know.
I want to go back to the credit thing.
Do you think West Coast history would look different if the credits were truly accurate?
Yo, Yeah, it definitely would look good from my pocket. Nah, but uh uh uh yeah, I mean it it would. It would look different. You know, people people would you know, would would really be like damn. So you was really involved, you know, and know that I did have input, and I ain't trying to Like I said, I ain't never trying to take nothing away from Drake because he is He's that's my sense, you know what I mean. And he's one of the dopest producers in the game, you know.
But I did get down with him, you know, me and Snoop and rbx D as a corrupt We came and brought all our our and Nate Dog, we brought our energy in and we put it into him to blow him up. You know.
It's interesting people always ask all those questions. They don't never ask Dre But if as he probably would just tell you if you asked him, you know what I'm.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, I don't think the nigga do interviews that much.
Yeah, you know, but I mean it is what it is, uh you know, uh, was regulate your way of saying I don't need Dre, I don't need Sugar, I don't need Snoop, I don't need nobody to make a class.
No. That was just regularly was just just you know, just wanted to I just wanted to do ah, just be different, you know, I wanted to take a record something that that not that's not too hard and sounding too gangster, but having a good feeling but still telling the story on it. And then you know, mimic well, I'm not gonna lie. We mimicked uh what Snoop and dra did. We did it a little bit different, but we was doing the back and forth like they was doing.
So that was like how Snoop and Drake partnered it up. It was me and Nate. That was my partner, that was my my guy that you know, our chemistry was incredible like how Snoop and Dre's was. And so we just wanted to be different. But that at the same time ship, Hey, letting letting these niggas know ship. I could do my ship outside of y'all ship, you know, like you said, Hey, I'm dope too, So and I went and started doing my own thing, like fuck this ship, I'm gone you.
Think it would be easier to tell that story if Nate was still here.
It very easy, Yeah, very easy, boy Nate to be going in, he would go in. I actually tried to. I tried to sign Nate uh over at death Jam had a bag on the table for him, and sure got at him before I could. And so he went and did to deal with with uh with death row.
And then I told him what I had for him on the table, and he was like, nigga, what I said, Nigga, I've been trying to tell your motherfucking ass the whole time that this is on the table for you, but you wanted to go ahead and dip, so you know, but it's still worked out again because I would, I would involve him in a bunch of things that I was doing, like to nobody, No, nobody does it better. I was. That was like I did that for him
two to to build him up. And that's that became one of his biggest records that I produced.
How much how much of you left with?
How much I left with?
How much of you personally and professionally left when he left? I'm talking about that passed away?
Yeah, yeah, I mean a lot left that was my dog, you know, as far as just every day we talking on the phone or in the studio working, and uh we used to talk ship to each other. I ain't gonna lie. We would go at it, but you know he'd be like, fuck you are? He say, Nigga, you a bitch, you know, and I'll say, I'll get back at No, nigga, you a bitch, you know, back at it. We'll fight, squabble, you know all that. And the next
day he would call, like, what's up. So I'm like, motherfucker, why you calling me after all that bullshit that you talk to me? And uh ah, nigga, no, just what time we getting in the studio? And I'm like, nigga, what you mean what time we're getting in the studio three o'clock. Let's go.
But uh apologize, nigga, No we jump yeah.
Yeah, I should have been on him, but we had jumped right back in and uh now he he would uh was was was was my guy. So a lot left on the musical side because I don't I do music that some artists don't understand that. I know he had killed it and that shit had turned it too some classic ship. So I have to try to teach certain artists when when I do the music for him, like look, do this. You know, he knew what to do,
so I would try to. I try to school him and tell him, Okay, I want you to do it like this, and you know, sometime it works, sometimes I don't. But he knew exactly what to do.
I always wanted to hear you and Ti Dallas Signs work together because I feel.
Like I got a record. Actually I got a it didn't it didn't get out there. It didn't get out there. But I got a couple of records with Tie. I got records with with a Tie. I got records with Snoop. Uh. I did a record with Wiz that's me and Me and Wiz, got a smash, Come and call Mad at All That's That's That's a smash. Got a record with Wayne called All Alone. I got records. I got some really really really dope uh music that I've been putting together. Man, some really dope dope ship.
What a record with Tie never came up? Because I feel like Tie is fruit off the dogs.
Uh. I still got him, you know, I still got him. You know I'm made. I may drop it, you know, I got it, I may drop it on you know, the I got different projects that I'm working on, so I made it's probably I'm sure it's going. I'mna dropping on one of these uh EPs I'm doing. I don't want to do no full lengths, no more. I just I like the EP thing where I give him like eight here, eight here, eight there. I even got one with me and Nate, just me and him EP that
that IM have coming as well, unreleased. Yeah, we got some some dope ship. Uh people gonna be tripping like how dope he is. We did a lot of records. We was actually working on on the album right around when he passed away, so that that, you know, we had, we had at least we had about fifteen in the can already and we had other ideas as well. So I got I got a bunch of stuff that we did and we're gonna put together a warrant gy and they dog ep just me and him.
About the bad business back in the day. Did you own everything for regulators?
Is that all yours? Yeah?
Okay, so every time we hit sampled, every time it's in the movie, yeah, every time it's a TV commercial.
They got a class of publishing. Yeah. Yeah, yeah, that's why.
Your skin looks so good.
I ain't gonna lie. You know, it's still it's still uh it's I mean it's I still get traded good, you know, from doing that song and and and what. The thing I loved about it the most is being able to meet Michael McDonald at a concert and and him telling me how much he appreciate uh me doing the uh the redoing regularly, and he liked my son don't even like my version. He like your version better better than mine. So I was like, I was blown away.
I got I got it on video. I'm gonna put it in before did he bring up I was he I was sitting in the crowd and he was just, yeah, you know this, this this is a song that a guy you got name of Warren G. And uh by the way, Warren G is in the crowd down there, and was like and they shined the light and ship and uh but it was just cool just to get
that experiences. Me and my wife, we just we went up in there and uh, you know, just sat right up in the front and then they pulled us to the back and we chopped it up.
I know, you let him road checks even getting off regularly. Oh yeah, yeah, how much you have to pack this thing? Had to pay two grand a.
Day week every week. We got it split. Uh to where everybody when it's time, you know, quarterly when they come boom, they get there. Dooie brothers get there, Michael McDonald get his, and they stay, get his, and then I get mine.
You know how to make money other ways?
You the barbecue business now, yes, indeed yes, and you competing in the barbecue festival next?
Yes, and well actually, uh this weekend's a national barbecue festival and uh, god dog of this a long island. Uh, getting ready to get down. You know That's what I love to do outside of hip hop is is uh you know, cook? I love that. And I'm a pit mask, a mega chef. I'm a pit master, but all the chefs still call me a chef. They like, hey, chef. I'm like, god, damn okay, big big name still and I'm like damn, so I I created my own sauces
and rubs. I didn't have a brain for it. I ain't got my ships sitting on the gravebolt prier for you guys. I'm gonna get I'm a I can't believe God, I got this. I got in so early. It's all along. I got damn bus So.
That video wasn't no what video was you on the grilling? Yeah? Yeah, I was slipping.
Well now I was hanging. I was the pit lling it up. I've always been doing that though, from from day one, everything we've done, I've always would cook. And it just it came from my father, you know, just around family functions. When we would have functions, everybody having a good time, he'd be cooking on the grill, you know, motherfuckers, be drunk, you know, squabbing a little bit here and there, but just not serious, but just family reunion type stuff.
And it stuck with me. So I started doing it ever since I was probably like i'd say, about fourteen fifteen years old, just all just everywhere I went, even with hustling everything, I would always cook. And and to
where I got serious about it. I was grilling at first, and then I got into the smoke world and started learning that world from a bunch of differ and pit masters from like Austin, Texas and you know, from all over, and uh, they embraced me and showed me a lot so you know now now I got it, you know, not all the way down like some of them when I'm damn chauffeurs to try to kick some ass and and uh win it.
Well, congratulations on Snip and Griffin, Thank you Barbecue.
Just other other business vesus outside of hip hop. And I always like to tell the young world, you know, because dudes be walking having money. Stak this motherfucking what the fuck is you gonna just keep walking with money like yeah, that's why you hear about them getting ribbed and ship. Nigga, Go invest that ship, Go buy some land, go by, get into real estate, create you a business outside of hip hop, but use hip hop as a tool.
I love hip hop and i ain't gonna never stop doing it, but I'm gonna use that as a tool as well to push this and push that, just like the corporation dude. You know, So all these young guys out there flashing with that money, y'all go invest that ship because when it run out, then you're gonna be back to trying to do some ship that you don't want to do.
You know how you come with an icewear vesel.
Yeah, yeah, Actually, my cousin, one of my cousins out out of Chattanooga. Man, he had hit me. He was like, hey, cous you've seen this, and so he sent me the video. So I played and I was like damn. I was like, damn. Okay, he redid that's that?
Just sound hard?
Yeah, And then one of my other homies hit me because I'm an xbox head, so I'm on the Xbox. And then the party, one of my homeboys in the Xbox Party Mama hit me. He was like, one you heard that ice war vessel. I was like, damn, nigga, you said it. He said it. So I started listening again. I was like, this motherfucker is hard. And then Snoop posted it. I was like, damn, this ship is hard, and so I DMed him. I said, I said, look, send me an Open twelve. I'm a bust on that motherfucker.
So he sent it and I sent it back and he was like he was like, oh gee, this is this is I love it, this is this is a classic. He was like I'm gonna push this and I said, hey, it's all good, and he was like so he thinking that that I will be tripping because you know, he was like he didn't try to use so many different samples from other artists, and they like hell now you know they you know, meaning boy it. I was like, nigga,
use that, motherfucker. I don't care because it ain't nothing but recycling, you know, because you blow it up, then hey, that's even more that come in. You know, I don't want nothing. You ain't gotta pay me nothing, none of that. It'll it'll pay for its up, you know. So I said you could use anything I got, use it because it's gonna you know, it's gonna help you and it's gonna help bring in, keep keep the recycling going.
So you know, have you have you ever confronted anybody about not getting your flowers? Are you just to let the music in the work speak for yourself?
Take uh? I let the work and the music speak for itself. I don't want to get into that mod where I start tripping on foods because I get I go hard and I don't want to get there. You know, everybody else like, warn, you so nice, you so cool, But I get off of the motherfucker ass. I just don't choose to go that route. And I don't like to argue with motherfuckers. And you know, do all that extra shit. I'm just like, I'm gonna let this. I'm gonna let this do speak for me. Motherfuckers know though,
I mean, they know I ain't. I ain't gonna sit up there and play no motherfucking games. I'm uh, I'm cool. But and I should have I should have been more. I should have been more uh uh active, Yeah, vocal and active. But it's just like you know, I've I've seen so many people do foul ship to a lot of people, a lot of guys like you know, I didn't see motherfuckers talk shit about drag. Motherfucker's talk shit about Snoop and then they ass is right up under him.
You know, I ain't that type of motherfucker. I ain't gonna I ain't gonna talk about these motherfuckers and and and then get in their face. If I got something to say to him, I said to him, and yeah I did talk about the super Bowl ship. I was pissed off, you know, just it just wasn't cool, and you know, and I ain't. It wasn't like something that I just brought up and did this and did that. It was a whole story to it that led up to that and it was a witness there. One of
my guys, he uh, he would with our crew. He sat right next to me, and he was even tripping, and he got down there and went back there, and I'm still in the fucking crab wo But I just wanted to go back there and hang out, me and my son. That was it.
I don't know that you had a story and you understand how it is, and the fact that y'all were so close, and you understand why because people, I don't think a lot of people necessarily knew. Did you speak to Dre or Snoop? Well, of course you boke to Snoop. Did you speak the Dre after that?
I ain't talked to him. I haven't reached out to talk to him a few times, you know, but he always would be busy, you know. But I ain't. I mean, it ain't. It ain't. I ain't got nothing against him.
I don't know that was right there.
I didn't even sing, you know, I was. I was focused on doing what I had to do.
But y'all don't have the best relationship.
I don't even know what kind of relationship we have. I ain't seen him in a while. We ain't talked in a while or or hung out. You know, I ain't got nothing against him or not, but I don't know what if there is a problem or not, I don't know. I ain't never done huh.
Was there something that got y'all to this point?
Or I have no idea. I don't know what the fuck is going on, you know, I don't know if somebody might may have told him some shit or said some shit, because a lot of motherfuckers that do that just to get up under a person, you know, they'll say, well, he did something. I don't know, but and I ain't
tripping either. At the same time, you know, I ain't got nothing against him, you know, but that shit just was kind of weird, you know when I look up to you and you know, and you know that's my god steal, you know, Like I said, that's my sensey. And we could sit down and talk whenever, face to face, you know, and pull it, put it all out, put it all out there. And if it's something that I did and I was wrong, hey, it is what it is. Okay, I was wrong. If you don't want to fuck with
me no more, that's fine. Cool. But being in the blind and not knowing what's going on. I don't know, you know, but because that's what it seemed like it to me, it's seen like it it may be a problem by.
You know.
It just it just felt like a problem. You know. I'm my own boy. You know, I love that nigga to death. That's my dog. He said, I don't bring ship to work with me. This that's totally different that I don't I don't think he was talking Yeah, I don't think he I don't think he was talking about me as far as me being ship coming with him to uh go to the studio or wherever the work. Because that's all we ever did was get down and go to the studio together be you know, go up
there that we would we have fun. That's it. You know, it wasn't no you know, so you know, just just just clearing that, you know, Snooper is my homeboy. I have no problems with Dre. This is my best friend. You two guys, y'all you got y'all hang out. That's my best friend and this this is my brother. Uh it just be it just be weird. And I when I say weird, as far as it's like we don't
go out to eat together. No more. We don't do family ship when we get the kids out and do ship like that, go jet skin or go skin or it ain't about like some music ship or this, that and this. I just to hang out like we used to. I don't know nobody else. You are the motherfuckers I grew with in this industry. I ain't that that's that's it. It ain't that's it. Just it's hanging out Litsten, you know, like being being a crew again, a family again. You know, I ain't. I'm just that's it.
It's okay to say I miss you, my brother, I miss you, I miss you.
Okay. Niggas know that Snoop know that ship because I chime in with Snoop, you know, when we don't talk for a while, chime in with him, like nigga, just this want this g up. I'm checking in. You know, we ain't talked in a minute, so I'm checking in. I can't do that with Dragon, you know. You know, me and Snoop we talk all the time because recently, you know, we kind of like was distanced a little bit, and I'm like, I hear Snoop, like what's going on?
We ain't talking him in a while, you know, but not knowing that he was going through some things and as your best friend, you got to tell me that because I don't know if you don't tell me. So he had had, you know, like he mentioned, no, no, not with moms. He was like, you know, my my daughter, her daughter became premature, so you know, yeah, so and she's about to go home, like he said, she about to finally about to go home. I didn't know that,
so he wasn't trying to return to my car. So I was like, damn this nigga, snoop, ain't fucking with me. What's going on? And then he finally hit me and told me what was going on. So I was like, damn man, And so I told him, you know, I'm you know, I'm always praying for you and I'm always
there for you. Went like I have been through all the situations that he didn't been going through because I went through that same exact thing where I lost my grandmother, my mother, my mother in law, I lost my both aunties, my grandfather, I lost like all this shit was like in a row and now I was I was fucked up,
you know, so I've been through it. So that's why I was able to walk him through what he was going through with losing his mother because I lost mine too in ninety nine, so I've been motherless for a long time. Kids don't even know they grandmother, never met their grandmother. So mine's so just to be able there to tell him that you and understand that this is life. This is what we're gonna have to go through, and you just got to man up. You gotta understand that
this is life we're gonna have to go through. So our kids gonna have to go through that ship. So just understand that and you'll you'll be better about everything. You know, you'll feel better. You cry because I still cry, you know, Charlae, man, I cried now like you said, Like you said, just say, I miss you guys. You know what I mean. You know, I ain't. I mean that, that's it's it's just being a family again. It ain't. You know, I ain't. I ain't. You know, I ain't
tripping other than that. But if it is a problem, Nigga addressed the ship, tell me and then I'll be fine with that. You know, I ain't tripping the gat up.
Keep it moving, But y'all came up together, y'all created a community and just look at y'all survived. Yeah a lot, just sit around and kicking and just talking.
Yeah. You know, one I'm one thing that did have that that I was really crushed about. And I have said it before, was I It was a situation where I went into it. I was in a studio situation and uh, it was after dra left and I didn't know that he left, and I was mad at him because he didn't tell me that he had left Death Road. So I went to a studio session and and was was was you know, you know, people was trying to get at me, like you know, they was trying to
trying to whoop my ass up in that motherfucker. But you know, I got up out of the mix. But I was I was kind of pissed off about that right there. And you know I never got the call like don't go around that shit. Wow, you know. So and these niggas if they had the chance to crack
my head up, and they would have cracked it. You know, I was just able to get away and get out of that situation and and you know, you know the things that you know, I'm not gonna lie and I I had, I had, you know, I had, I was, I had, I was locked and loaded, but it just wasn't worth it too and everything I got going on right now for me cracking this motherfucker for snatching my chain. As the motherfucker snatched my chain. Then another guy came
in and caused a diversion. When he calls that diversion, I walked out. And when I walked out, it's when I got that was able to. I was able to get out and you know, get away, and and able to make my calls for my ship to come right back, and it came right back. And I still got it to this day. That sounded like Trump When I.
Said, did you talk to about that?
Ever?
Uh, we ain't never had, Like I said, we ain't talking alone.
Only talked to That's the nineties.
I mean, we see each other, you know, here and there. We just ain't talk, you know, I don't you know, I ain't no, ain't nothing. It ain't no like I said, it ain't no static. He just that's I guess that's just he just liked that. That's just how he is, you know. He just he just do his own thing. You know. But if it is a problem or something. I wish he would say it. I should have said it, but people who be around be like he always talking about you, saying this and that and this. You know,
good ship. Well we never talked, so hold on.
So since since aftermath, Eminem, we had we had we we around that time.
We used I used to be up at the studio. You know, we even went to the islands. He wasn't time we did up and small tour. Yeah it's just made forty five hundred show show swelling.
Guy, didst pay for your hotel and traveling over?
I had to pay for all that forty five all in? Yeah that Jesus. Yeah, yeah, this is this. I'm just saying. That's type of the type of stuff that I've been through. Uh you know, so that's why I kind of like be to myself and just away from everything. So I try to and try to do a lot of ship on my own because I you know, ship just you know. But it's a new day, a new time. Well, I was I was pretty rough. I ain't gonna lie I was. I was. I was a hard head. I was immature
back then. Uh, I was immature, just you know, I wasn't like just a mega fighting machine, but I was. I was down, uh and just doing stupid ship back then. But I was you still don't you know that's that that ain't got nothing to do because you grow with anything, because you grow in the business. And I've grown a whole lot from what I used to be. Getting caught with guns and shit, and you know, them giving me,
taking me, cuff me, pulling me. I was headed to do five years, and that motherfucker the judge went in the holding tank, pulled me back out the holding tank and told me, he said he's because he seen my son in the room. I just had a baby, and he said, I could. I'm gonna give you this chance. He said, you could go ahead and knock the five years out right now, or you can you can do joint suspension five years. I said, shit, I take the joint suspension. So he had them uncuffed me, take me out,
and let release me. Joint suspension five years. And I did that five years. Joint suspension didn't get no trouble. I did, but I didn't. They didn't know it, uh, And UH went clean. And from since the beginning of that that that five year joint suspension. I did do some stupid ship during that time. I just didn't get like I said, get caught up for a butt. After that, I have not been to date. I ain't been in no trouble since then from that from that point, but
not saying I like I said, I don't. I don't star ship with motherfuckers. I just I keep it pushing because it's just life is too short for that ship to be Oregon or or you know, motherfucker's trying to you know, all the talking, all that gang ship, that's that shit is just I'm I'm past all of that. I'm trying to create businesses and help people grow. Yeah, and just barbecue man and barbecue, that's what I love to do. And drink me a beer, smoke me a joint.
You know what. I want people to watch this interview and at the end of it, I want them to think to themselves. Warren G introduced Stoop to dre so West Coast Rap wouldn't exist the way it does without you and you save death Jam to the East Coast wouldn't.
Exist the way it does without you.
That hundred million dollars death Jam Man that they use that to invest into the next generation, the East Coast artists, Which.
That's what I'm saying, a pillar in hip hop justin be I like comic books.
I like the Marvel Universe, like you like Lowki holding a bunch of branches together, you know, in this thing called hip hop.
So man, they gotta give it up to you.
Man, Yeah, Ship, I think, what what?
What?
What would have been cool? What is cool? Even though I gotta wait like four more years. It's just if they gave me my masters back, that would be cool if I was if I was a company, I was like, damn, this motherfucker did all this boom. Let me let's give him this ship we got. We got jay Z, we got Kanye, we got all this ship, Drake, we got all these catalogs, and sit over here, we don't really need this.
Don't you get your masters back?
After I got four more years from you said, but ship funk all that.
We appreciate you for joining us.
Now, it's all good. Thank you.
Having man love to hear your story.
And I was getting ready to come in here. I was gonna say, I'm gonna get this ship started off right now. We finished. Hey, that was classic, I said, Nigga crazy man. When I say that ship, I was like, this ship is crazy.
Like the squabb but were glad we're not number thirty two.
So no, it's all good man. I ain't a rowdy, fighting ass motherfucker, but you know, I just I just be waring, you know that, Just be myself.
Thank you for joining us, ladies and gentlemen.
It's Warren G Much love you guys.
It's the Breakfast Club.
Good morning shot, wake that ass.
Up in the morning.
The Breakfast Club