Warren Griffin III

Warren Griffin III

Warren Griffin III (born November 10, 1970) is an American rapper, DJ, and producer known for his role in West Coast rap's 1990s ascent. A pioneer of G-funk, he attained mainstream success with the 1994 single "Regulate", a duet with Nate Dogg. He significantly helped Snoop Dogg's career during the latter's beginnings, also introducing him to Dr. Dre, who later signed Snoop Dogg. His debut album, Regulate... G Funk Era, debuted at #2 on the US Billboard 200 chart, selling 176,000 in its opening week. The album later went on the sell over 3 million copies in the US and was certified 3x multi-platinum. The single "Regulate" spent 18 weeks in the Top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100, with three weeks at No. 2, while "This D.J.", reached No. 9. Both songs earned Grammy nominations. Three songs from his second album, Take a Look Over Your Shoulder, reached the Top 40, as did his 1998 duet with Nate Dogg, "Nobody Does It Better". Both Take a Look Over Your Shoulder and his next album, I Want It All, were certified gold, the last of his albums to attain certification. His 2001 comeback attempt, The Return of the Regulator, failed to reach his earlier commercial heights. Along with longtime collaborators Snoop Dogg and Nate Dogg, he formed the hip-hop trio 213, named for Long Beach's area code, releasing in 2004 an album titled The Hard Way. His next two albums, 2005's In the Mid-Nite Hour and then 2009's The G Files, released independently, were self-produced. In the 2010s, he experienced a resurgence in popularity amid the digital age. In 2015, he released Regulate... G Funk Era, Part II, an EP featuring archived recordings of Nate Dogg, who died in 2011. In 2017, "Regulate", certified platinum in 1994, went multi-platinum, propelled by digital downloads.

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