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interview WARREN G (September 2009) | Interview By: Jose Ho-Guanipa

   As we approach the release of Warren G's upcoming album The G Files we are pleased to give you an in depth video interview with the man himself as he discusses
his favorite producers, rappers, his new album, Nate Dogg & Detox. We also have exclusive performance footage of Warren rapping some of his new songs off The G Files.


As ever, you can read this exclusive interview below and we urge you to leave feedback on our forums or email them to jose@dubcnn.com.


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Interview was conducted in September 2009
 
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Related Media & Links
Warren G - 100 Miles and Runnin' (Feat. Raekwon & Nate Dogg)
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Warren G // Exclusive Video Interview // Dubcnn
Download The Video Interview Windows Media
Download The Dubcnn Drop Windows Media

Press Play to stream footage (Fast Connections Recommended) 
..........................................................................................

(Music playing)

Warren G: I don’t wanna hear what the fuck these motherfuckers got to say. They say I’m using old shit and this. Suicide, yeah the motherfucker’s tight as fuck, but if it ain’t broke, you can’t fix it, motherfuckers. I’m ‘bout to go hard. I’m not gonna make this guy a superstar. Warren G. Let me reiterate this. One love, Dubcnn, I get down with y’all, that’s west coast baby. Y’all puttin’ it down for the West, for real. I’m just talkin’ about all the suckas that be hatin’. Be a fan and stop hatin’. Listen to the real shit, you got to do it, shit. Pull this motherfucker back for y’all one more time. This just that soulful shit, this is what I do. Don’t get mad at me, I wanna say your name, but I ain’t gonna do that. One love y’all to people that got love for Warren G.

(Music playing)

Dubcnn exclusive, Warren G, putting it down. G Files, September 29th.

Dubcnn: What’s up y’all this is Jose with Dubcnn. I’m here with Warren G, you all know him, and here he is. What’s up man?

Warren G: Just chillin’, doing my thing. Workin’ on the G Files, tourin’, having a good time. Just want everybody to come see this show and see the good music that I’m bringin’.

Dubcnn: So you got the album coming out soon, it’s coming out in the end of September right?

Warren G: The album is coming out September 29th. It’s a great record it’s got, not a lot of features, just a few. We got Snoop Dogg, Raekwon, Nate Dogg, RBX, Travis Barker. And I got a lot of up and coming guys that’s gettin’ down. Halla, Black Nicc, Bad Lucc, Junie Boy R&B, BJ R&B, Trevor Westley R&B. Just a bunch of artists that’s talented and I love what they do.

Dubcnn: Most of your albums you produce the entire thing. Are there any producers you want to work with and put in the mix?

Warren G: I like Hi-Tek, I think he’s a great producer. I like the kid, it may be more than one, whoever did the Drake track, the first single. The guy that did that track, that was a great track, ‘cause that sounds like some shit that I’d do. All the producers that’s puttin’ it down I respect them and I love their work. There’s a lot of good music out there, I respect everybody and I love what they do.

Dubcnn: On the other side of that, you as a producer, which artists would you like to produce for?

Warren G: I’m way out, people might be trippin’, but I wouldn’t mind doing something for Goapele. And that’s ‘cause I’m a producer, I’m not just into rap. I get down with R&B, jazz, whatever. In hip-hop, I like the kid Drake ‘cause he reminds me of myself when I was doing my thing, and I’m still doing my thing, don’t get it twisted. I like Raekwon, he’s nice. I like Jay-Z, he’s nice. I like Outkast, even though they don’t have records out now. Snoop, that’s a must, I’ll work with him anytime. I like Lupe Fiasco. It’s tons of guys out there that I like that’s putting out good music, but it’s a lot of people trying to rap and trying to produce just because it’s so easy to get into right now, but in a minute that’s gon’ change once that real music comes back and people understand what’s really going on. I know I went somewhere else but hey.

Dubcnn: You’re putting out the record on TTL Records. This is your second independent release. How do you like that when you compare it to your major label releases?

Warren G: I mean independent is a little harder than being on a major label. You gotta be hands on. I wasn’t hip to that, I thought I was still gonna have people to do things for me. But you get a chance to really see what’s going on and really know who got your back and who don’t got your back in the business. I’mma put it to you like this. When I was with a major, crackin’, everything crackin’. I made a lot of people, a lot of behind the scenes people rich. But now that I’m doing independent records and I have to get at the same people that made it pop for me back then it’s a problem. I mean that as far as, “What you don’t think the record is dope?” 'Cause I’m not gonna do a bullshit records. “What is it?” We all know what it is. It can still go down like that. It’s just a different way as far as showing that support. I mean I support everybody on the West Coast, I support everybody on the East Coast, Down South. It’s just gotta be a mutual thing, especially here where I’m from. Everybody out here, all the DJs, all the clubs, everybody gotta ride and look out for each other. I’ve been to clubs where I’ve seen artists that’s from here at the door, and they like, “Nuh uh” and they let artists from somewhere else right in. We gotta have more unity and that’s what we missin’ from the game. The talent is there, the music is there, the unity is the key.

Dubcnn: On your new record, you’re messing with a lot of old school cats but you’re also messing with a lot of new guys. How did you hook up with these younger rappers and this part of the new generation of rap?

Warren G: first of all the guys on this record ain’t old school. Old School is Run DMC and NWA. Eazy E. That’s old school to us. I’m still a young buck in the game. I always thought Bad Lucc was a bad artists. I heard him on a bunch of records before and I was like, “He tight”. From me working with Bad Lucc brought Halla. Halla’s a great writer, a great artist, he like a West Coast Kanye West to me. Black Nicc is just so versatile. He’s hood but he’ll give it to you in a different way but he still keeps it hood. Black Nicc is incredible. Junie who sings is incredible, very soulful and one of the most talented guys I’ve run across. BJ another cat, incredible vocals. He like the next best thing that’s gonna crack as far as himself and doing hooks. But he can make his own records and really do a song. Trevor Westley, he’s a very incredible soulful artist. I think he’s on the level of a, what’s the cat that Interscope had? He’s wait, what’s the cat name? Robin Thicke, he’s on that level. Those are the guys that I worked with on this record, along with the people that I named, but other than that I’m just doing me. I got something I wanna say, you ready. I read the forum on Dubcnn, I be checkin’ out a lot of the things a lot of the people say. Some of it, it don’t bother me but it’s just like, “What more do you want a motherfucker to do. If you ridin’ with Warren G, you ridin’ with Warren G whatever he does.” I don’t need people to comment in a negative way on what I do. I make great records, the records I got on this record are incredible. Period. I make hits; that’s what I do. I had to clear that up. For those that is on Dubcnn and show that love I’mma keep it 100 with y’all. I’m not a hater, I’m not gonna comment on somebody else’s thing or what they got going on. It is what it is.

Dubcnn: Tell me how you got together with Travis Barker, the dude from Blink 182, and Ray J too.

Warren G: Travis Barker and DJ AM had hit me, and they was like, “We want you to come out and perform with our set.” So I was like, “Damn, okay, Blink 182, Travis is crackin’, AM is an incredible DJ. Lemme see what’s up.” So I went and we really connected and had a chemistry going and it just grew and grew and we kept doing show after show and people kept loving it. As far as Ray J, we always seen each other, ever since he was a young buck, and we always use to say we gonna do a song together. So I found the right record that he could really get down on, and I brought him in and he really got down and nailed it and that was good lookin’. I wanna say rest in peace to DJ AM, it’s much love man, he was a real cat, kept it real with me, kept it 100. Shit we going to keep it pushin’ for him.

Dubcnn: Tell us about writing on the album and all the different writers you worked with.

Warren G: I worked with Black Nicc, I worked with Bad Lucc, he wrote on the album. Halla wrote on the album, Mark Spitz, I called him Perfect, he wrote for me, he wrote a record called True Star. I mean it’s a lot of great cats working with me that can write. I do what I do as far as the production but I also write, let's not get it twisted, but if somebody write a record for me that I think is a great record I use it. It’s not like I can’t write, everything I’ve done I’ve wrote it. I mean that’s what it is I got a lot of people on it. Black Nicc he’s a great writer. All these guys are talented and I think that we could be a hell of a team to take it to the next level as far as writing R&B and producing tracks and stuff like that, we could be like 1500 or Nothing, we could be a crew like that.

Dubcnn: Tell us about the viral video you had for Crash. How did you guys decide to do that and are you guys gonna shoot any other more traditional music videos?

Warren: Yeah we’re gonna shoot more videos, it’s all on the record company. We shooting for 100 Miles and Runnin' which is me and Raekwon. Doing that puttin’ it down and letting people get a glimpse of that. The West Coast with New York, I always got love for New York, just like Down South. I got family in all places so I can’t have tunnel vision. That’s how you survive in the game, you can’t have tunnel vision.

Dubcnn: I heard that 100 Miles and Runnin' was originally gonna be a Black Nicc song, tell us about that.

Warren G: I did the song with him, that’s what that was. But records change. A lot of records I could tell you about right now that had other people on them from a lot of artists that you know has changed. Just like on the Tha Dogg Pound’s album “Let’s Play House”. I was on that song originally. So records change, that record changed, put Raekwon on it, it was a good feel for him so that’s what it was.

Dubcnn: On another note have you been working with Dre on Detox recently?

Warren: In the beginning, sort of the beginning, I was over there with Dre and the rest of the fellas going through the records and marking off ideas for him to hear. That’s all I did so far but we talked about doing a collaboration on the Detox so I’m looking forward to that. So when he calls me and says, “Warren we gotta do this.” I’m on my way.

Dubcnn: So you did some TV appearances since your last album. How did that come about and how did they approach you and what was your first thought?

Warren G: Well I did the Celebrity Fit Club. I didn’t want to do it at first because I thought it was like that Surreal Life type shit. So I was like, “Damn, I’m not old, I ain’t played out. I’m still a youngster.” I told ‘em no, but then the producer Rich called me and said, “Lemme take you out to lunch”. So I had lunch with him and he explained to me what the show was about and what was going on as far as showing me how to eat better and showing me how to exercise their way. I said, “So y’all gonna pay me to exercise and eat right?” So I was like, “Shit let’s go.” And I did that and I’mma do more of those type of shows. On the big screen, as far as movies, sitcoms, all of that, I’mma do it all. It’s just showing versatility and by the way I’ve been easing over into scoring. I scored the BET show Harlem Heights. I don’t even know if a lot of people know that but I scored that show, it was a great show. So I’m doing a lot of things. I’m easing my way into being behind the scenes ‘cause that’s what I really love. I’m still a motherfuckin’ rap artist period. I do that. But you grow and you have to change and I’m just changing and I’m looking for the next motherfucker who can shock the world. A lot of motherfuckers can rap and they do that all day but I’m looking for a person that has a story about themselves, something that can captivate the world, not just your hood. And that’s what I like about Nipsey Hussle, is he got a story and he tellin’ these motherfuckers, “This is what it’s like with me and where I’m from. This is what it’s like and this is how we gon’ give it to you. He got a story about it and you rarely find artists that really give you that story and that realness. But I’m pretty sure it’s coming, and I’mma be looking, ‘cause I am a producer, G Funk Entertainment.

Dubcnn: We’re about to wrap up but before that tell us what kind of vibe people are gonna expect on the album.

Warren G: You can expect a lot of records that’s got a soulful feel, a lot of records that’s like more on the groove tip. I ain’t really goin’ hard on the record, like Suicide, that’s talking to everybody from a motherfucker on Dubcnn hatin’ to a motherfuckin’ A&R person at the biggest record company in the game. I’m just sayin’ a little something to ‘em. I got records that talk about a few things as far as Hold On, I got a song called Hold On, that’s really telling everybody out there, “Even though we going through what we going through keep your head up. I know it’s hard. I know a lot of y’all do have to serve to make it, but in the end you get caught up. Then what you gon’ do? You caught up but still keep your head up and know that this thing’ll pass through. God know what’s up. You strugglin’ trying to help your family.” And What’s Wrong is a record that I put down that talks to the people that I look up to when I was growin’ up and just sayin’ to ‘em, those were the people that I looked up to when I was growin’ up. I didn’t get caught up in that path but I still respect them and that’s what I was really likin’ but I knew it was wrong so that’s why I had to shift gears.

Dubcnn: Can you tell us about Nate Dogg, obviously everyone’s hoping that he gets better. Just give us an update on his condition.

Warren G: First of all it’s gonna be a long recovery, but he is recovering great. He’s just mellow, being Nate. He chillin’ but he’s gonna be alright real soon and that’s what it is, that’s my dawg. He ain’t going nowhere.

Dubcnn: Tell us about 213, you had that whole situation with the label going bankrupt, are you guys ever gonna get back together and drop another record?

Warren G: That’s all day that can happen tomorrow. We could do a record right now, ‘cause I still got tracks with Nate that I had forever, a bunch of ‘em. But I’d rather just wait for him to recover fully so we can get the new raw Nate, but if it takes longer than we expect me and Snoop could still do the record and we could dedicate the record to Nate and still have him involved with the records that I’ve done that I do have him on.

Dubcnn: Before we leave do you have any closing comments about anything?

Warren G: All I have to say is whatever you want to do in life keep your mind to it. If it don’t jump off at first don’t get frustrated, even though we do get frustrated. Just keep pushin’ and don’t let nothin’ hold you down. And keep faith in God and know that it’s gonna be alright. And for the motherfuckers that be hatin’ on Dubcnn church. Kiss my motherfuckin’ ass, ‘cause you can’t hold me down.









 


..........................................................................................
Related Media & Links
Warren G - 100 Miles and Runnin' (Feat. Raekwon & Nate Dogg)
..........................................................................................
Warren G // Exclusive Video Interview // Dubcnn
Download The Video Interview Windows Media
Download The Dubcnn Drop Windows Media

Press Play to stream footage (Fast Connections Recommended) 
..........................................................................................


 
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