How did Nate's first album not even reach top 50 on Billboard?

[TraceOneInfinite]

I don't get how this classic album did not sell any more than it did.  I'm from the midwest and I still knew a lot of people that bought this album.  It was well advertised on BET and Nobody Does It Better charted well as a single.  The album was straight up classic shit and one of a kind.   It's a tragedy this album didn't sell more than it did.  I heard something like 150,000 was all it sold.  I wonder if Nate even made any money off this album.   

[BG Dresta]

it wasnt promoted enough..or probably "g funk" and the westcoast was fading out at the time, 97' right?..

[TraceOneInfinite]

it wasnt promoted enough..or probably "g funk" and the westcoast was fading out at the time, 97' right?..

Daz and Kurupt both charted top 10 on Billboard in 98', respectively.  Daz album may have been slightly better than Nate's but Kurupt's surely wasn't

[Russell Bell]

Advertising wasnt much if any.  I remember walking into the wherehouse and seeing it out of the blue when it first came out.

[acgrundy]

hardly any advertising for it. I don't know if I would call it a classic either...definitely some classic songs, but all around I wouldn't call the album a classic as a whole.

[soopa-man]

There was no official single really bubbling at the time the album dropped either, Nobody Does It Better had been out months and it was off the WOO soundtrack from early in the year. 
I would call it a personal classic for sure! It would have been IMO a great success had it been released in late 95/96 as planned, but some dated singles (Never Leave Me Alone) and no promotion, didnt help NAte and DPG going theyre ways and Snoop in NO Limit mode didnt help either

I read in The Source magazine that Nate actually bought "G-Funk Classiocs, Vol.1" from Death Row for a million dollars and he owned the masters to that album, and only released the dated album to get his work to the public as planned

[Sccit]

at first it was released as just volume 1, i believe.. on death row, if i'm not mistaking.....but it wasnt promoted, because nate had left the label by then. then nate bought the masters, and it was pulled from shelves and re-released as a double disc on a different label a year later. again, with limited promotion. i'd say, that first and foremost, his situation with death row was the reason for the lack of success behind the album. if he never had any problems with death row and released it with proper promotion when the label was at the top of its game, it woulda gone platinum, at the very least.

[caffeinefiend]

Promotion for sure. Never even knew the album existed before I read about it on the Internet years later.

[doggfather]

Promotion for sure.

[J$crILLa]

great album no advertising to me its a classic

[o g s u e s o n e]

The "Never Leave Me Alone" single was in the Billboard Top 40 if I remember right. So the Death Row album had a chance to run at least gold. But the reason the Breakaway/Navarre album flopped was in fact a lack of promotion.

[bouli77]

I heard something like 150,000 was all it sold.  I wonder if Nate even made any money off this album.  

sellin 150,000 indepently means you're eating good... and as far as i know it sold close to 250k, but i'm not sure. Nate was schooled by D-Shot & Big C Style on the independent game, so i'm pretty sure he made a nice profit.

from what i read, he sued Death Row to get his masters and be able to re-release the material from G-Funk Classics Vol. 1.

IMO, the reason it didn't go anywhere near gold or platinum was because of the G-Funk Classics Vol. 1 situation, and because he dropped it independently in 98 when the westcoast scene was losing momentum big time. aside from Snoop, Cube, Quik & E-40 (not counting 2pac) which where all major releases, nobody went gold or plat on the west. just like if it had not been pulled out of the shelves, G-FUnk CLassics wouldn't have sold much either, as soon as Suge went to jail, Death Row never really moved any units like that, it's a pity cause as it has been pointed out, Never Leave Me Alone was a top 40 hit. Nate & Rage were the biggest losers on Tha Row, if their albums had dropped during the label's heyday, they would have at least a plaque for their own albums.

[Black Excellence]

I heard something like 150,000 was all it sold.  I wonder if Nate even made any money off this album.  

sellin 150,000 indepently means you're eating good... and as far as i know it sold close to 250k, but i'm not sure. Nate was schooled by D-Shot & Big C Style on the independent game, so i'm pretty sure he made a nice profit.

from what i read, he sued Death Row to get his masters and be able to re-release the material from G-Funk Classics Vol. 1.

IMO, the reason it didn't go anywhere near gold or platinum was because of the G-Funk Classics Vol. 1 situation, and because he dropped it independently in 98 when the westcoast scene was losing momentum big time. aside from Snoop, Cube, Quik & E-40 (not counting 2pac) which where all major releases, nobody went gold or plat on the west. just like if it had not been pulled out of the shelves, G-FUnk CLassics wouldn't have sold much either, as soon as Suge went to jail, Death Row never really moved any units like that, it's a pity cause as it has been pointed out, Never Leave Me Alone was a top 40 hit. Nate & Rage were the biggest losers on Tha Row, if their albums had dropped during the label's heyday, they would have at least a plaque for their own albums.

the west was still doin' big numbers in '98, wc went gold, kurupt & mc ren sold well, mack 10 did well, e40 too and cube. snoop even went double patinum...quik did good too.

[TheTruNoLimit]

Not sure how long it was out before than, but Nobody Does it Better was I think #21 on the pop charts.  But even then, I remember seeing the video one time on MTV and thinking it was a new Warren G single ha ha.  The promotion for the album was awful. 

[Cordozzar Drakko]

Might also have to dop with the cold hard fact that although EVERYBODY wanted to have Nate on a hook, not many people would care to buy a WHOLE album of him.
& YES, he didn't have so many fans until he sadly passed. A lot of people won't want to hear or acknowledge it, but it's unfortunately true & we ALL know it.