Regulate (song)

"Regulate"
Single by Warren G featuring Nate Dogg
from the album Regulate...G Funk Era & Above the Rim soundtrack
Released April 28, 1994
Format
Recorded 1993
Genre
Length 4:11
Label
Writer(s)
  • Nate Dogg
  • Warren G
Producer(s) Warren G
Certification Platinum (RIAA)
Warren G chronology
"Regulate"
(1994)		 "This D.J."
(1994)
Nate Dogg chronology
"Indo Smoke" by Mista Grimm
(1993)		 "Regulate"
(1994)		 "One More Day"
(1994)

"Regulate" is a song performed by Warren G and Nate Dogg. Released in the summer of 1994, the track appears on the soundtrack to the film Above the Rim and later Warren G.'s album Regulate...G Funk Era. The song reached #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart[1] and #8 on the R&B/Hip-Hop chart.[2] It is considered the breakout single for both artists.

The track makes heavy use of a four-bar sample of the rhythm of Michael McDonald's song "I Keep Forgettin' (Every Time You're Near)".[3] It also samples "Sign of the Times" by Bob James and "Let Me Ride" by Dr. Dre. One mix of the song is referred to as "I Keep Forgettin' to Regulate".

The music video featured scenes from Above the Rim, including an appearance by Tupac Shakur.

It was number 98 on VH1's 100 Greatest Songs of Hip Hop[4] and number 108 on Pitchfork Media's Top 200 Tracks of the 90s.[5]

Synopsis

Warren G is driving alone through Eastside, Long Beach, California at night, looking for women. He finds a group of men playing dice and tries to join them, but they pull out their guns and rob him instead. Thinking he's about to die, Warren G sings out, "if I had wings I would fly"; one critic describes this moment as "the hook" of the song.[6][7]

Meanwhile, Nate Dogg is looking for Warren G. He passes a car full of women, who are so fixated on him that they crash their car. He finds Warren G and shoots at the robbers, dispersing them. The two friends then return to the women and ride away with them.[7]

In the third verse, Warren and Nate explain their G-funk musical style; the song "constructs itself as inaugurating a new era".[8]

Track listing

Regulate was released as a maxi single by Interscope, catalog number 6544-95917-0 (12-inch vinyl)[9] and 6544-95917-2 (CD),[10] along with three other tracks.

  1. "Regulate" - Warren G (feat. Nate Dogg)
  2. "Pain" - 2Pac (feat. Stretch)
  3. "Mi Monie Rite" - Lord G
  4. "Loyal to the Game" - 2Pac (feat. Treach, Riddler)

Impact and analysis

"Regulate" became Def Jam's biggest single.[11]

During much of the summer of 1994, the video stayed number one on the MTV charts.[12] In the video as played on MTV, the lyrics are censored with the word "cold" being blanked from the line "Nate Dogg is about to make some bodies turn cold"; an action that Spin equated with racism because more explicit songs by white artists like Johnny Cash were not being censored.[13] The video contained "everyday footage" from the film Above the Rim, as well as new footage,[12] although guest vocalist Nate Dogg did not appear due to conflict between Suge Knight and Def Jam.[14]

The lyrics have been described as "a surreal pastiche of half-sung lyrics about fighting and fucking".[15] Craig Marks recommended "Regulate" for its "lite rock synth lines and rippling bass" but thought that Warren G's rapping abilities were "average".[13]

Awards and nominations

1995 MTV Movie Awards

1995 Grammy Awards

Charts and certifications

Peak positions

Chart (1994–95) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[16] 16
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[17] 19
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[18] 10
Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[19] 13
France (SNEP)[20] 7
Germany (Official German Charts)[21] 7
Ireland (IRMA) 5
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[22] 7
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[23] 5
Norway (VG-lista)[24] 4
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[25] 4
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[26] 5
UK Singles (The Official Charts Company) 5
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 2
U.S. Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks 7
U.S. Billboard Hot Rap Singles 1
Chart (2011) Position
United Kingdom (The Official Charts Company) 45

End of year charts

End of year chart (1994) Position
U.S. Billboard Hot 100[27] 22

Certifications

Region Certification Sales/shipments
Australia (ARIA)[28] Gold 35,000^
Germany (BVMI)[29] Gold 250,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[30] Gold 400,000^
United States (RIAA)[31] Platinum 1,000,000[32]

^shipments figures based on certification alone

Remixes and covers

References

  1. ↑ "Hot 100". Billboard. 1994-07-02. Retrieved 2010-08-02.
  2. ↑ "R&B/Hip-Hop". Billboard. 1994-06-25. Retrieved 2010-08-02.
  3. ↑ Miller, Michael (October 1994). "G Whiz". SPIN magazine.
  4. ↑ "100 Greatest Hip Hop Songs". The Greatest. Episode 186. 2008-09-28. MTV Networks. VH1.
  5. ↑ Pitchfork Top 200 Tracks of the 90s
  6. ↑ Weisbard, Eric (September 1994), "Platter du Jour: WARREN G. / Refulate...G Funk Era / Violator/RAL", Spin, retrieved 9 April 2012
  7. 1 2 "Regulate Lyrics - Warren G". Lyricsfreak.com. Retrieved 2010-08-19.
  8. ↑ Quinn, Eithne (2004) [1999], "Chapter 7, "It's a Doggy-Dogg World": Black Cultural Politics, Gangsta Rap and the "Post-Soul Man"", in Peter John Ling, Sharon Monteith, Gangsta Rap and Cultural Politics (1st paperback ed.), p. 205, ISBN 0-8135-3438-0
  9. ↑ http://www.discogs.com/Warren-G-Nate-Dogg-Regulate/release/1099058
  10. ↑ http://www.discogs.com/Warren-G-Nate-Dogg-Regulate/release/1637727
  11. ↑ Life and Def: sex, drugs, money, and God by Russell Simmons, Nelson George
  12. 1 2 Experiencing music video: aesthetics and cultural context by Carol Vernallis
  13. 1 2 "Platter du jour" SPIN Sep 1994
  14. ↑ The Big Payback: The History of the Business of Hip-Hop by Dan Charnas
  15. ↑ SPIN Dec 1994
  16. ↑ "Australian-charts.com – Warren G & Nate Dogg – Regulate". ARIA Top 50 Singles.
  17. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Warren G & Nate Dogg – Regulate" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
  18. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Warren G & Nate Dogg – Regulate" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
  19. ↑ Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin - levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Tammi. ISBN 978-951-1-21053-5.
  20. ↑ "Lescharts.com – Warren G & Nate Dogg – Regulate" (in French). Les classement single.
  21. ↑ "Musicline.de – Warren G & Nate Dogg Single-Chartverfolgung" (in German). Media Control Charts. PhonoNet GmbH.
  22. ↑ "Nederlandse Top 40 – Warren G & Nate Dogg search results" (in Dutch) Dutch Top 40.
  23. ↑ "Charts.org.nz – Warren G & Nate Dogg – Regulate". Top 40 Singles.
  24. ↑ "Norwegiancharts.com – Warren G & Nate Dogg – Regulate". VG-lista.
  25. ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – Warren G & Nate Dogg – Regulate". Singles Top 100.
  26. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Warren G & Nate Dogg – Regulate". Swiss Singles Chart.
  27. ↑ "Billboard Top 100 - 1994". Retrieved 2010-08-27.
  28. ↑ Kent, David (2006). Australian Chart Book 1993-2005. St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-45889-2.
  29. ↑ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Warren G. & Nate Dogg; 'Regulate')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie.
  30. ↑ "British single certifications – Warren G & Nate Dogg – Regulate". British Phonographic Industry. Enter Regulate in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select single in the field By Format. Select Gold in the field By Award. Click Search
  31. ↑ "American single certifications – Warren G and Nate Dogg – Regulate". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Single, then click SEARCH
  32. ↑ "Best-Selling Records of 1994". Billboard (BPI Communications) 107 (3): 57. January 21, 1995. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved May 5, 2015.
  33. ↑ "Georgia Theatre Athens, GA 2/28/2007". Umphrey's McGee. 2007-02-28. Retrieved 2010-08-02.

External links

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