As we continue mourning the loss of one of Hip-Hop’s greatest artists Nate Dogg, dubcnn is going continuing our “Remembering Nate Dogg” series.
Today we caught up with one of Nate’s most frequent collaborators, producer Fredwreck. From Nate’s solos, to collaborations on Snoop’s, Kurupt’s and many other projects, we often heard Nate’s soulful voice over Fred’s funky production. He talks to us about first being intimidated by Nate, why he was much more than just a hook master and special memories of working with Nate.
Fredwreck: “I tried to remember the first time I met Nate, but I could not remember for the life of me. But I will tell you this: the first time I met Nate, I was so intimidated, because he just had this aura to him. He never smiled and things like that. But after sitting with him and just connecting – I don’t even think it was over music, we were playing video games and cracking jokes. The hard shell went away and he was just a teddybear inside, you know what I mean?
That’s how I always remember him: the joking, funny Nate. Nate, not Nate Dogg. I know him as Nate. He was very quiet, he was very reserved but also very focused at all times. No matter what he was doing. When he would play basketball he would be focused, when he would play video games, he was focused, when he was writing he was focused. He had precision focus, I can’t explain it any other way.
Me and him would probably be together like four days a week, not just working but also hanging out. We tried to work as much as we could, whenever we felt like it we just did it. We didn’t work to work, we worked to have fun. It was having fun, he inspired me and I like to believe that I inspired him. One thing I learned from him is to not put myself in a box. A lot of people only know Nate Dogg for the music that was released, but they don’t know him for the music that wasn’t released, the type of things and talents he had as a songwriter.
They always tried to put Nate Dogg out as the hook master, the West Coast Hip-Hop this and West Coast Hip-Hop thatﾅ He was so much more than that! One day people will realize that he was a great songwriter and he was a great artist. He was so much bigger than being put in a box as just a West Coast hook master. He was an incredible songwriter. He was not just soul, he was everything and there is so much music that will come out that he has done and people will realize that this guy really could sing all sorts of stuff – whether it’s soul, funk or pop records. He could do it all. It’s easy to focus on his musical talents and things like that, but deep down inside he was just a good, funny person. He was hilarious.”
On making the song “Hardest Muthafuckas”: “Me and Kurupt were at Larrabee Studios with Ren and Xzibit. Nate Dogg came in and he was just like “I got a hook for it” He went in there and laid it straight down, it was just too easy for him. It was always too easy for him and that was the inspiring part about it. He made things so easy that you would look at it and be like “You know what? It doesn’t have to be that difficult, you don’t have to put that much thought into it.” That’s another thing that I learned from him: not to overthink things. When you overthink and overdo things, it’s too much! It was so easy for him, it was just inspiring.“
On Nate’s last days and his health process: “I would rather not speak about that. The guy has his family, it’s a private thing between him and his family. What he was going through was private, that’s why I never spoke about it and people that have spoken about it shouldn’t have been speaking about it. It wasn’t something for the people to know. I know everyone wants to know and people like to be on the gossip line, but the reason why I’ve never said anything is because it’s a private thing between him and his family. It has nothing to do with me, nothing to do with anybody. I was just hoping for the best, that’s all.”
Related media:
Kurupt – Hardest Muthafuckas (ft. Nate Dogg, MC Ren & Xzibit) (Prod. by Fredwreck)
Nate Dogg – Ditty Dum Ditty Doo (ft. Snoop Dogg & Tha Eastsidaz) (Prod. by Fredwreck)
