We continue on with our “Remembering Nate Dogg” series on dubcnn. Yesterday we spoke to Battlecat (see the update below this one) and today we linked up with West Coast crooner Kokane aka Jerry B. Long, who for years was right behind Nate Dogg when it came to being the go-to artist for hooks. Check out his thoughts on Nate Dogg, their friendly competition, and why no one should be allowed to refer to themselves as the “hook king” ever again:
Kokane: “Nate Dogg was the heart of the soulful sound on the West Coast. Not just West Coast because we don’t want to subject him just to one region – he was global with it. I met the brother back in 1990, when him, Snoop and Warren G came up to the Above The Law studio on La Cienega.
The brother always had a soulful background and later I found out he came from a church background. We always compared notes and different other musical things, moving back up to 1999 when Dogg House was put together by Snoop. It was just magic, it was like we was always supposed to be together and have that chemistry. The brother was wonderful, he always had his head on his shoulders.
Out of the whole group, I would say he was the most mature person that you would meet. I know he’s up on heaven right now riding in that big limo and smiling because the brother ain’t gotta stress, he ain’t gotta worry about nothing no more. Being that this is a competitive industry, between me and him it was steel sharpens steel. You always try to take the good with the bad and leave it out of the studio and overtime we was in that studio, whether we did “Ghetto” or “Bottom Girl”, it was magic.
At one time, Snoop wanted us to do a record with me, Butch Cassidy and Nate Dogg. It did not happen, but I have a lifetime of memories of the brother, because he is truly, truly the hook king. There is nobody that’s been on as many hot singles as brother Nate Dogg across the range.
He is a real icon and he will dearly be missed. At the same time, as us as his fans are mourning, we also want to celebrate the legacy that that brother had to offer. If there was no Nate Dogg, the West Coast wouldn’t have pushed as far as it has been pushed. All the way from Dre, to Snoop to myself and the list goes on, Fabolous, Ludacris and all those people that he touched. He not only touched the soulful sound but the also pushed the boundaries on age limits. It can be a 60 year old grandma singing a Nate song just like a 9 year old girl. When you have somebody special like that, you put them along the lines of a Michael Jackson and Tupac and Eazy-E.
We lost a heavyweight in the game and my heart saddens. But at the same time, I celebrate him because from this point on, nobody can ever use the title of hook master or hook king, ever. That would be very insulting to use that, because that man paved the way for a lot of people. We were fans of each other and his legacy will continue to live on. I will do whatever part of helping the brother and his family in the best way I can and spreading the word and just remembering what he did. That is very important and imperative for us as fans and as comrades to do that.
I’m just happy that I had the chance to know Nate Dogg, Nathaniel, and when I got the news of his passing through my boy Pimpin’ Young who called me before the news was released, it just dropped my heart. I was rooting for him, just hoping for him to get betterﾅ I couldn’t wait, people would ask me and I’d always say he was gonna get better. He was always in my prayers and at the same time, I want people to understand what this man meant to the game, to the West Coast, to the global movement of our time of sound. There was nobody like Nate Dogg and never will be. From “Lay Low” to “Next Episode”, the list goes on. He was a real person, a solid friend and he will be dearly, dearly missed. Real talk.“
Related media:
Snoop Dogg Presents Tha Eastsidaz – Ghetto (ft. Nate Dogg, Kokane & Kam)
Check back with us tomorrow to hear from one of Nate Dogg’s good friends, Frank Nitty.
