Club Shay Shay - Warren G Part 1

Summary

Club Shay Shay – Warren G (Part 1)

Host: Shannon Sharpe
Guest: Warren G
Release Date: October 22, 2025

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Overview

In this two-hour episode, Shannon Sharpe sits down with hip hop legend Warren G for an in-depth conversation on his life, musical journey, and business ventures. The discussion seamlessly weaves between Warren G’s formative years in Long Beach, the rise of West Coast hip hop, financial lessons learned in the music industry, and his current pursuits—including his successful barbecue business. The episode is rich with storytelling, iconic anecdotes from Warren G’s career, and memorable moments showcasing both host and guest’s humor and candor.

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Key Topics & Discussion Points

Warren G's Early Hustle and Musical Origins

[02:35–07:00]

• Shannon Sharpe introduces Warren G with a rundown of his accolades, emphasizing his triple platinum status and role in Def Jam's revival.
• Warren G reminisces about growing up in Long Beach, playing football at Long Beach Poly, and his family's influence—especially the time spent with his father listening to jazz and the early bonding with Dr. Dre and Tyree.
• Quote:

  "My mother made me move with my dad to Compton, but even though I moved to Compton, I was still going back to Long Beach. She didn't know it, right? But that's when my relationship started with Dre and Tyree..." – Warren G [07:07]

Early Entrepreneurship: Candy Hustles

[09:50–11:41]

• Warren G and the Voltron Crew’s early business ventures selling candy mirrors his creative hustle—learning supply, distribution, and profit splits from a young age.
• Quote:

  "He was the supplier of the candy, he was pretty much like the... plug... he'd give us the bag, I mean, the sack, to go hustling." – Warren G [10:48]

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Song Breakdowns & Backstories

"This DJ"

[02:35–04:17]

• Warren G performs “This DJ” and recounts its origins—reflecting the journey of a young guy striving to find his path amid pitfalls.
• Reveals how Snoop sang the original hook, but label politics (Suge Knight vs. Def Jam) forced creative workarounds:

  "I made it what we call... the G Chow... makes you sound like a chipmunk. So I put that under Snoop. And they didn't even know it." – Warren G [04:25–05:27]

"I Want It All"

[11:41–14:14]

• The song expresses Warren G’s ambitions—not just material wealth but providing for family and friends.
• Quote:

  "I wanted to be able to put my mother in the house. I wanted to be able to help my sisters and help, you know, my friends and just do good things." – Warren G [12:03]

"Do You See"

[27:10–31:58]

• Sparked controversy in the Bible Belt but became one of his biggest hits.
• The lyrics reflect hardships before fame: jail, hustling, and the decision to pursue a regular job and hip hop.
• Quote:

  "We was just going through a whole bunch of, like, pitfalls, like, just back to back... then I said, let's just get regular jobs and try to see how that work out for us and still try to do our hip hop." – Warren G [29:35]

"Regulate"

[52:46–61:47]

• Legendary creation: sampled Michael McDonald’s “I Keep Forgettin’” after buying a crate of used records from a street vendor outside Roscoe’s Chicken and Waffles.
• Warren details piecing it together on an MPC60 and adding the iconic intro from “Young Guns.”
• Quote:

  "I didn't think that record was going to be this big... every generation is starting over and over again, and it's like, wow. And, hey, I love it." – Warren G [60:01]

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Financial Lessons & Industry Realities

[14:08–25:14]

• Reflects on early financial mistakes (spending lump sums on cars over real estate, letting an accountant with power of attorney siphon funds).
• Warned peers at Death Row to hire lawyers before signing contracts, which likely cost him favor with Suge Knight.
• Quote:

  "I found out that there was some crookedness. And from that point, I was just like, you know what? I'm not gonna ever do that again. I'll mail the checks to me, and I'll sign them, and I'll mail them back." – Warren G [24:37]

• Emphasizes the importance of publishing and masters:

  "I'm still owner of my master publishing... Which will be reverted back to me in the next four years..." – Warren G [67:55]

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Industry Relationships: Dre, Snoop, Nate Dogg

[18:46–42:21]

• Persistence was key—only got Dre's attention after a friend played their demo at a party.

  "Everybody was like, this is banging, okay?... I've been trying to tell you. And he was just like, you guys come to the studio on Monday." – Warren G [19:28]

• Loyalty remains, even when business drove them separate ways:

  "We was always two, one, three, no matter what right now, as... The record industry... determined that." – Warren G [37:48]

• Snoop’s stardom and Warren G’s pride in their journey.
• Not being taken on NWA/Death Row tours despite close relationships leaves lasting lessons about self-sufficiency.

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Surviving the Industry: Empowering Others & Standing Up to Suge Knight

[39:50–45:18]

• Encouraged others at Death Row to get legal counsel, drawing ire from Suge Knight in a face-to-face confrontation.

  "'Hey, Blood, where Warren at?' I took off. Soon as he said that shit took off..." – Warren G [44:33–45:11]

• The decision to separate from Death Row/Def Jam and its significance for Warren’s independence.

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Musical Mindset—Crafting Classics (Not Chasing “Thriller”)

[69:11–73:05]

• Avoided the psychological trap of trying to outdo his own classic hit “Regulate,” instead focusing on making every song a potential single.

  "I never tried to compete with it... I try to make every record I do a single. That was my formula..." – Warren G [70:44–73:05]

• Advice for longevity in music: stay consistent, don't let one record's success define the rest.

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Major Label vs. Independence, Streaming and Modern Marketing

[77:19–80:37]

• Warren G is now fully independent, utilizing platforms like TikTok and Instagram to market new music.
• Discusses challenges of streaming ("I can't really monitor those numbers... But it's the way of the game.") and plans to revive physical releases (CDs, vinyls) for true fans.

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New Music and Continuing the Hustle

[89:49–91:42]

• Upcoming records with Wiz Khalifa, Snoop, Corrupt, Lil Wayne, and unreleased material with Nate Dogg.
• Warren G remains heavily active in music and entrepreneurship.

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Beyond Music: The Hip Hop Pitmaster

[87:28–107:07]

• Warren describes his barbecue business, Sniffin Griffins BBQ, and his passion for cooking as a source of peace and post-music hustle.
• Detailed breakdown of his dry rubs, sauces, and the link between food, family, and community.
• Memorable live-tasting session with Shannon Sharpe, with great banter about Southern food traditions and barbecue preferences.

Notable Quote:

“Bite through, not fight through. That’s what I call it.” – Warren G on his barbecue philosophy [103:00]

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Notable Quotes & Moments with Timestamps

• Warren G on music business realities:

  “You don’t own your publishing... And that’s the main piece of being a musician, is to be able to... own it.” [42:50]

• On meeting Michael McDonald and clearing 'Regulate':

  “He was like, 'Man, you changed my life... My son, don’t even listen to my version. He in love with your version.'” [64:13]

• On the studio session for 'Ain't No Fun':

  “The concept... was like, ain’t no fun if the homies can’t have none. We just young teens... having a great time...” [82:03]

• On losing, then regaining, industry trust:

  "But I just... went ahead and just, you know, I was... messed up, you know, but I still came around and still show love." [42:02]

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Segment Highlights & Timestamps

• Candy hustle and Voltron Crew origins: [09:50–11:41]
• Origins of "This DJ" and Snoop's involvement: [02:35–05:27]
• First major tour and financial lessons/royalties: [14:42–16:05]
• Standing up to Suge Knight over artist rights: [44:33–45:17]
• Discovery of 'Regulate' sample at Roscoe’s: [52:46–53:17]
• Clearing “Regulate” with Michael McDonald: [63:33–64:13]
• Switching to independent business model: [77:52–80:37]
• Behind the scenes of BBQ business: [87:28–107:07]
• Favorite music video participation ('G Thang'): [87:59–89:49]

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Episode Tone & Style

The episode blends Warren G’s candid, calm West coast warmth with Shannon Sharpe’s energetic, inquisitive Southern charm. Both men indulge in storytelling, jokes, and friendly debate about food and life lessons, creating a welcoming “hangout” atmosphere—but without shying away from the hard truths and business lessons Warren G learned in his journey from the streets of Long Beach to global acclaim.

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Conclusion

Warren G’s Club Shay Shay interview (Part 1) is a masterclass in hip hop history and entrepreneurship, loaded with personal stories, industry insights, and genuine moments of humor and wisdom. Listeners gain not only a greater appreciation of Warren G’s influence but a deeper understanding of both the pitfalls and promise within music—and just how important it is to “grind all my life.”

To continue the story, listen to Part 2 on the Club Shay Shay podcast feed.

Transcript

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[Shannon Sharpe]

Reported that this album of yours helped get Def Jam out of debt. It made over $100 million. You like?

[Warren G]

Yeah. Damn, it made that much? 100 million. Where the is my money?

[Shannon Sharpe]

Yeah, where am I could have been.

[Warren G]

All my life Been grinding all my.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Life Sacrifice hustle, paid the price, wanna.

[Warren G]

Slice got to roll a dice that's why all my life I've been grinding all my life look all my life Been grinding all my life Sacrifice hustle, paid the price wanna slice, about to.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Roll a dice that's why all my.

[Warren G]

Life I've been grinding all my life.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Hello. Welcome to another episode of Club Shay Shay. I am your host, Shannon Sharp. I'm also the proprietor of Club Shay Shay. Stopping by for conversation on the Drink today. He's a music icon, a triple platinum selling rapper, a Grammy nominated songwriter, global and groundbreaking record producer, pioneer and west coast legend. He helped popularize west coast hip hop during the 1990s. He's had one of the best rap songs ever recorded with regulate selling over 10 million copies worldwide. He helped get Def Jam out of $20 million of debt. A cultural influencer, a pit master chef, a husband, father and a brother. All the way from the streets of Long beach, everybody say church. Here he is, ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Warren G. What's up man? How you doing man?

[Warren G]

I'm good, man.

[Shannon Sharpe]

What we've started doing, Warren, like when we have such as yourself, we ask him, not only can you sit down and have a conversation and share your story. Our audience really like to hear the performers perform, like to do the songs that that made them household names, that made them popular, that everybody knows who they are and then give the backdrop of how that story came to be.

[Warren G]

Definitely.

[Shannon Sharpe]

And that's what you're going to do today. So we going to start it off with this. We going to get started off with this dj.

[Warren G]

I was in Long Beach, California and this DJ was just a song, Pretty much like a young teen story of a young guy that just wanted to be something in life and wanted to go in the right direction. So it was a lot of pitfalls and things in a way, but was still able to manage to make my way and build right. It's kind of easy when you listen to the jita pioneer speakers bumping down the smoke on the pound I got the sound for your ass and it's easy to see that this DJ be Warren G. Can I get in where I fit in? Sit in, listen, let me compensate Better yet regulate shake the spot with my knot may fade Cause I don't like to dream about getting paid I played ball through the halls of CIS with Snoop Doggs big brother call him dirty left Rack em up, crack em up Stack em up against the gate the homies trying to catch me but they can't wa Damn. The street lights just came on and my mama's in the street telling me to come home I hit the gate and I hops on my schwinn and I tell my homies I thin yeah it's kinda easy when you listen to the G D up Sound pioneer speakers bumping that's a smoke on the pan I got the sound for your ass and it's easy to see that this DJ B Warren G is kinda easy when you listen to the G dub Sound pioneer speakers bumping There's a smoke on the panel I got the sound for your ass and it's easy to see that. Yes, indeed.

[Shannon Sharpe]

So was the original Hook song sung by Snoop? Actually?

[Warren G]

Yes. Yes indeed it was.

[Shannon Sharpe]

So what? So what happened?

[Warren G]

Well, he was signed to Death Row, I was signed to Def Jam. And you know, Suge didn't get along with Russell and Lior. He couldn't stand them. So that kind of like made it a conflict, you know, with getting the song cleared. So what I did, I was like, well, you know it. If you. If they gonna do that, let me figure out how I can still record with my friend and not get taxed for it or get sued for it. So what I did was I went ahead and I. I recorded, you know, the Hook. And I still kept Snoop up under me. Wow. Doing the back vocals. But what I did to his voice, because that's how it was anyway. What I did to his voice, I made it what we call. I call it the G Chow. It's an effect that I put on the voice, which make you sound like a chipmunk. So I put that under Snoop. And they didn't even know it. They didn't even know it.

[Shannon Sharpe]

They know it now.

[Warren G]

Now they do. That's. Hey, it's right now. Yes, indeed.

[Shannon Sharpe]

So, like, when you started, like, did you always want to be in the rap game? Was this something, or you just kind of, like, stumbled into it?

[Warren G]

Well, I started out in sports. I played football pretty much all my life, but I was still in love with music at the same time. I was in love with all the hip hop artists from the 80s, even, like, Jimmy Spicer, which you have to dig deep on that one. Jimmy Spicer is a real OG from New York, had a unique style that I fell in love with. So I was a huge fan of him. And just all of the, you know, like, the Grandmaster Flash, Furious 5, all NWA, Eazy, all of those. I was just.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Because you being from Long Beach, Louisiana, right up. Right up the road. And now, like you mentioned, you got nwa, you got Cube, you got Eazy, Dre, your big bro. Who we gonna talk about a little later? You got Snoop. So it's starting to. The west coast thing is starting to get really, really big now. Is that kind of what made you gravitate towards it? Because you mentioned Long. You flaying sports. Long beach of the football mecca. They got some athletes come up out of there.

[Warren G]

I play with Long Beach Poly. Yes, indeed. I played with a few of the. Few of the big dogs out of the lb. Yes, indeed. What really got me deep into music was my father. Okay? We used to sit.

[Shannon Sharpe]

My mom.

[Warren G]

I would go and stay with him on the weekends, and we would just sit and listen to jazz. Just listen to Chuck Mangione and a bunch of jazz artists all day. And, you know, he would. He would be choking on his little bud, and we would just sit there, you know, and he'd just be turning me on to different, you know, jazz and from there, you know, in. In the household. My mom made me move with my dad to Compton, but even though I moved to Compton, I was still going back to Long Beach. She didn't know it, right? But that's when my relationship started with Dre and Tyree and my little sister, Shamika, she was a baby then, and Verna, you know, that's where my relationship started there. And I was living with my dad. And, you know, me, Andre and Tyree, we all slept in the same room, And Dre was DJing he was a DJ. So, you know, we just. I'm around all the time and, you know, Tyree and Andre was my big brothers, because I didn't have no brothers. I only had my sisters, you know, Felicia, Tracy and Mitzi. And just being with Andre and Tyree, having big brothers, you know, I was inspired by that. Dre was a DJ around that time with the. I think it was the High Power Crew.

[Shannon Sharpe]

And so that was before the World Class Wrecking Crew.

[Warren G]

This was. It was right around. Right around in the same era. Actually. That was when he left the World Class Wrecking Crew. He got into the High Power Crew, which was him and Eazy and Shane and Donald and Kilo. It was a bunch of guys, him DJing. You know, I used to see it all day, all night. So I asked him to show me how, you know, one day. And he showed me, you know, put on the shaheem, I think that's what it was called, you know, the one that it's time. So he was showing me how to go back and forth with it's time, you know, DJing. And I fell in love with, you know, I fell in love with DJing. And that along with the jazz and then being around Snoop as a young kid and a lot of the Voltron Crew, which I talk about in this dj.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Absolutely.

[Warren G]

The twins and all of us just freestyling and rapping. That's what made me fall in love with the hip hop and with music, period. My dad, the Voltron Crew and Dre.

[Shannon Sharpe]

You mentioned the Voltron Crew and this DJ and how you guys were selling candy.

[Warren G]

Yes.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Did you make a lot of money selling candy?

[Warren G]

Yeah, we was making a little.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Because back then candy was only like feature set a bar.

[Warren G]

Yeah, it wasn't. It wasn't. You know, we would make like 50 bucks sometimes. Some people would make 100 and something bucks. And that was a lot.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Yeah.

[Warren G]

Yeah.

[Shannon Sharpe]

That's a lot of money.

[Warren G]

I mean, it was. It was. That's what we was. That was our hustle. And the crazy thing about it is we was doing that. I was doing it. My mother didn't even know it. You know what I mean? So when I came home late, that's why I was saying, when the street lights come on, you got to be home, gotta be in the house. So when I came in late, the extension cord came out, so I was like, wow.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Well, help me understand this one. How did y' all get the money to get the candy?

[Warren G]

What we did, it was a guy named Steve.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Okay.

[Warren G]

He was the supplier of the candy, he was pretty much like the. The big ho. He was the plug.

[Shannon Sharpe]

So you.

[Warren G]

Yeah, he was the plug. And he'd give us the bag, I mean, the sack, to go hustling.

[Shannon Sharpe]

So how much did you get? Let's just say for the sake of argument, you're selling, let's just say 50 cent. How much of that 50 cent did you get to keep from each bar or each piece of candy that you sold?

[Warren G]

Well, this is how we did it. At the end of the day, we bring back the money and we give it to him, and then he would break us off from there. If I made like 50 bucks, I probably would get like maybe 20, 25, something like that.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Okay, that's a nice look there. That's a nice little come up.

[Warren G]

Yeah, yeah. And then what we would do, we would play Quarters Get Like Me, you know, with Quarters Get Like Me. We playing that at McDonald's. That's when Big Mac value packs first came out. Yes, indeed.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Right. All right. The next song that we're gonna get, we're gonna hear is I want it all. So I want it all. I mean, a lot of times when people say they want it all, they want it all. They want the nice homes, they want the nice cars, they want to be on vacation, they want nice looking women or whatever the case may be. So what was the thought process behind I Want It All?

[Warren G]

That was it right there. I want it all was a record that, you know, I wanted it all. You know, I wanted to be successful. I wanted to be able to get brand new socks and drawers. I wanted to be able to get cars. I wanted to be able to put my mother in the house. I wanted to be able to help my sisters and help, you know, my friends and just do good things right. So getting it all I wanted it all so I could do those types of things. And like I say in the song, gold into champagne. Shit. Every damn thing I want it all Houses, expenses, my own business, a truck and a couple of Benzes I want it all Brand new socks and drawers and I'm balling every time I stop and talk to y' all I want it all, all, all, all I want it all, all, all, all they say they go Warren G with the envious stare Love this game too much I wish these haters wasn't here It's a shame we came too far to turn back It's a cold war to get so hard you learn that trying to walk from parlin Trying to hustle up from broke to ballin' and yeah, y' all in effect that's on me the Jigga Jeezy, all my people that keep it real and do it easy Believe me young fat meat is greasy and shit stank so if you plot a lick and hit a bank and get away or get careful the very next day don't cry hold your head up high and remember what you told yourself, homie I said remember what you told yourself, homie I said remember what you told yourself, homie I said remember what you told yourself I want it all Money, fast cars, dumb marines, gold chains and champagne shit, every damn thing I want it all Houses, expenses, my own business, a truck and a couple of benches I want it all Brand new socks and drawers and I'm balling every time I stop and talk to y' all I want it all, all, all, all I want it all, all, all, all, all.

[Shannon Sharpe]

In order to be successful, you first have to taste the feet.

[Warren G]

Yes.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Because there are very few instances where, you know, you, you take off and then you just ascend to a height and you never look back. And you have no stumbling, you have no obstacles, you have nothing you have to overcome. In the process of you wanting it all and achieving what you've been able to achieve, what were some of the things that you look back on like, damn, I didn't need to buy that. Damn, I made a mistake. I wish I had done this or I wish I had done that.

[Warren G]

I was on tour, it was my first tour. Came back home, it was the Bud Fest. It was Al Heyman Bud Fest and did the tour. It was like a three month tour. Came home. The thing about it is that I didn't really understand royalties back then. I was just going, just doing whatever I wanted to do. Never did like a pub deal or anything. And so everything was coming to me. So I was getting checks while I was on the road and the accountant I had was telling me, warren, this came in, this came in. So I'm like, damn, I like that. It made me go harder. So when I got off tour, came home and cash, got a 600, 600, 600 V12 Mercedes Benz, dang big box. Cashed it out. 120,000. Damn, like five. Right in, right in Long Beach. The Mercedes, Mercedes. The Mercedes store was right in Long Beach, California. And I walked right in there and dropped the cash right there. And now that I think about it, I could have been dropping that on something, real estate or something like that, you know, And. But you live and you learn. Yes, you live and you Learn and I'm more sharper now, right? Yes, indeed.

[Shannon Sharpe]

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[Warren G]

Uh, I mean, I mean it wasn't easy. I mean, well, I fell in love, right? I fell in love with, with DJing and want to be a producer and rapper. And I fell in love with all three. And it was just. It was just. It's pretty much in me already from, like I was saying, like, from my father with the jazz.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Right.

[Warren G]

It made it easier for my ear to understand how good music sounds.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Okay.

[Warren G]

And it. It was some. It was some. It was some hard steps there, too, with, you know, with. Even. With. With Dre just trying to let him hear me and Snoop as kids, trying to be like them. And that was hard because he wasn't trying to hear that, you know, you got the big. The big guy.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Like, so let me. So was it a situation where he felt that if he gave you that opportunity, people gonna say, well, this nepotism. I'm. He ain't really that good. And he. I. He just happens to be my brother. That's what I'm putting him on. And so he really wanted, like, I need someone else to say that my bro, my baby bro is really good before I give him that opportunity.

[Warren G]

Yeah. And that. That's what happened. That actually is right. What happened. One of his good friends named La Dre, Rest in Peace, heard our demo, 213demo. And he was like, have Dre heard this? And I was like, you know, no, I didn't play it for him. The reason why I was around him is because he was having a bachelor party. So I talked to Dre, and he was like, come on. Come up to the bachelor party. So I came, and music was being played, and it was kind of like the same thing being played. So I gave La Dre the tape. Like, man, play this. So he popped it in and played it, and everybody was like, this is banging, okay? So they was like. So he was like, if Dre heard this, he's like, dre, you heard this? And he was like, nah. To hear it. He was like, who was that? He was like, that's Warren and his homeboys. And he was like, that's y'. All. Like, I've been trying to tell you. It's Mason open night. I've been trying to tell you. And he was just like, you guys come to the studio on Monday. And Snoop didn't believe it, you know, and, you know, we was kind of beefing a little bit at that time.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Right?

[Warren G]

You know, But I didn't let that get in the way of us, you know, having a chance to be with Dre. So called him. He hung up on me. I'm like, come on, man. So I had to call him, keep calling him. Like, man, I talked to Dre. He want us to come to the studio, man. Let me call him on the three way. So I called him and Dre was like, yeah, this is. This is Dre. This is Andre and Snoop. Couldn't believe it. And that was like the kickoff to start, you know, the whole journey right there.

[Shannon Sharpe]

You mentioned that when you got up, you. You did your first tour. You're on tour for like 90 days, and the money is coming in, coming in, coming in. You get back home and you got this big old sum of money and coming from meager beginnings, you like, man, I want a whip. You go plunk down 120 bands on.

[Warren G]

A V12 and a 64 Chevy on gold days. Hey, I hit the corner on three wheels on it.

[Shannon Sharpe]

You had switches and everything with that thing.

[Warren G]

Everything.

[Shannon Sharpe]

So do you when you look back with that. And I. You said earlier, instead of plopping down 120 on a V12 or probably another 30 on. On a six fold, I probably could have take that, taking that, got a piece of property and that have been 10, 15, 20 times what. What it is right now, as opposed to a car that's a depreciating asset.

[Warren G]

Yes, indeed.

[Shannon Sharpe]

With that one. Was that probably some of. One of your worst purchases. Uh, I'm sure you bought some jewelry. You probably got. Got some rags.

[Warren G]

Yeah, I wasn't like. I wasn't really.

[Shannon Sharpe]

You weren't a clothes guy?

[Warren G]

No, I wasn't a real super clothes guy. Even Jerry, I don't. I didn't even buy a whole bunch of Jerry. I had G foam chains that I bought and passed those out to all my friends.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Right.

[Warren G]

But I say the Mercedes, I bought a bunch of cars. I bought the Mercedes, I bought Yukon. Trucks I bought. Had houses. Two houses. I bought just. I was just buying. Just buying and buying for no reason. For no reason. For no reason. You know, I should have took my time a little better. Not saying that I'm downhill now. It's just I'm more smarter now. And I understand more.

[Shannon Sharpe]

I was.

[Warren G]

I wasn't number, like 21 years old. 21, 22. So I was like.

[Shannon Sharpe]

And came into a lump sum of money. Never had that money. Had more money than I could even. Even in my dreams, I didn't have this kind of money.

[Warren G]

Yeah, yeah. And all the ladies. All of it.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Yeah.

[Warren G]

It was. It was. It was. It was lovely, man. You know, even with accountants, I even had a accountant mistake something out. Yeah. Where I was given the accountant power of attorney. Yeah, power of attorney to sign checks for me to do all this stuff. So I'm like, damn, why is my money going, like, leaving so fast? What's going on? Right? Oh, we had to put this over here for this much for taxes. So you guys taking 48, 49% of my money over here and putting it in this account, and I'm like, damn, half of everything I was making was going here. But I'm like, where's my money at? Like, my money is leaving, leaving, leaving. I'm like, so I found out that there was some crookedness. And from that point, I was just like, you know what? I'm not gonna ever do that again. I'll mail the checks to me, and I'll sign them, and I'll mail them back. So that's how it was going when I was on the road. It'd be sent right back. I sign everything, paying bills, and I mail it back.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Is it really hard to stay on top of that because you want to focus on making the music aspect. Aspect of it. You want to focus on being the producer. You want to focus on being creative.

[Warren G]

Yeah.

[Shannon Sharpe]

But in the meantime, if you're not careful and you turn over power of attorney, which can give someone the authority, they're basically warranty. Anything that he could have signed. They can sign any amount of money that Warren can take out the account. They can take out the account. How. How difficult was that to realize? Like, damn, I've been got. How soon did you find out that you had been got? And then what were the steps that you took to make sure that never happened again?

[Warren G]

It was just times where I was just, like, looking at my account. I would go to the bank and look like, damn, why is my money leaving? Like, I ain't been spending money like that. So I started digging and digging and talking to people, and they like, did you do this, do that, do that? You know, power of attorney? And I said, yeah, that's your problem right there. So I had to undo that. I had to undo it. And then my uncle came in right around that time. He was fresh out the Marines, and he came in and, you know, got me out of that and got me away from. From that and took me, you know, guided me on the right path. Said, one, you got to get an accountant. You have to have that accountant to where you. You don't give them power of attorney. So he was giving me all that knowledge, and that's what. That's what got me out of it. And it was terrible, man. It was terrible. And how people could just take advantage of people like that, you know, young.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Black cat Mickey want to do something bad to him, though, man.

[Warren G]

Definitely.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Because it's hard to come by me here. You are in a situation growing up how the majority of us grew up, especially the majority of people that's black, professional athletes or entertainers or celebs. They didn't grow up. They didn't grow up with, you know, middle class, upper middle class. So they didn't have it like that. And to get it and then to have someone try and take it. Yeah, you be thinking like, whew, yeah.

[Warren G]

It was, it was. It was heavy. I charged it to the game, man. I said, you know what? If you know the way I'm working and the way I see royalty checks come in, I get it. Because back, right? So I was, I was. It made me work harder to. To make more. And that's what I did. And. And I learned the lesson. A heavy one.

[Shannon Sharpe]

It cost you a little bit, but you learned.

[Warren G]

Yes, it did.

[Shannon Sharpe]

This, this next song, do you see? And it's interesting because the Bible belt, they, they, they last you for that one. Yeah, they put it on you warm. Pretty good with that one.

[Warren G]

Yes, indeed. The way, the way the hook went. Gimme, gimme one second, fellas. The way the hook went on the first one is that you don't see what I see. Oh, they was like, I started getting calls from everywhere, like, warren, you can't do. They like, Born the Bible bell, trip date. So I said, oh, my God. I was like, I don't know what to do. So I got on the mic and I was like, let me try to change up the melody of it, right? And then that's when I came in and I was like, you don't see what I see. You don't see what I see every day as Warren G. I take a look over my shoulder as I get older Getting tired of mother saying, warren, I told don't hear what I hear but it's so hard to live through these years with these funny buns Ain't shit changing Got my mama wondering if I'm gang bangin But I don't pay attention to those father figures I just handled mine and I'm rolling with my off to the VIP you see Snoop Dogg and Warren G. Unbelievable how time just flies right before your eyes but you don't recognize now who's the real victim? Can he answer that? The n. That's Jack and all the fool getting jacked yeah, you don't see what I see every day as Warren Cheek. You don't what I Hear. But it's so hard to live through these years. You don't see what I see every day as Warren G. You don't hear what I hear. But it's so hard to live through these years. Yes, indeed.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Warren, did you spend any time in church? I don't know how you thought that was gonna go. Do you hear what I did? I don't know how you thought that was gonna.

[Warren G]

Yeah, I grew up in the church. Yeah, I thought I could use it. They was on my head. But it worked out, man, and it became one of my biggest singles.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Yes. What does that. What did that song mean to you?

[Warren G]

It meant a lot because that was. That was me and Snoop's. The things that we was going through before we had got into the music business, you know, it was a lot of hustling, a lot of people. We were still, you know, trying to pursue the hip hop, but in between that, we was hustling. We was around a lot of gang violence, just. Just going to jail, like the county, just hanging out with all our homeboys. That was gang banging. It was just a bunch of things. Nobody wasn't trying to sign us, so we was just going through a whole bunch of, like, pitfalls, like, just back to back. And so we was doing it so much, and we were seeing a lot of people go to jail, get shot. A lot of things was happening. So I was like, snoop, why don't we just try this and just straighten up and say, forget it, and let's just get regular jobs and try to see how that work out for us and still try to do our hip hop. And so that's what we did. You know, Snoop had got a job at Lucky's grocery store. And I. My mom had took me down to a place called the Southwest Marine, where I got hired as a fire watch and then moved to electrician. You know, I did. We worked. We worked and.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Hello, Snoop. Snoop was that. Lucky was that stock, you know, he.

[Warren G]

Was the bag boy, I think. I don't know. He was in there. He was. He was in there looking like special legs with the little hairdo. And, you know, we changed and still kept working hard and all over the city, just, you know, jumping in the contest. Roger Clayton gave us a shot from Uncle Jam's army. He had a club called the Toe Jam would let us come in there and perform. You know, it was. It was Snoop Dogg, Warren G, Nay Dogg 213, and the Big Posse, which is my home girls. They all was big, so they. They was all security, right? And they used to. They used to regulate. They. They used to.

[Shannon Sharpe]

They hold it down for y'.

[Warren G]

All hold it down. And all of that stuff was, do you see? You know, I just summed it up in the song, you know, should I A, go back to slang and dope, or should I B, maintain and try to cope, or should I C, just get crazy and wild? But no, I chose D, create the G chab. And that's what I did. And what we did is musically just working hard, just staying at it.

[Shannon Sharpe]

How old were you when you and Snoop met? When you were in, you know, junior high, grade school, how old were you?

[Warren G]

Elementary school.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Elementary school.

[Warren G]

Yep, elementary school. Beverly would walk Jerry. Jerry was Snoop's dirty left, okay. Which is Jerry's. I mean, Snoop's oldest brother, okay, Is. Is Jerry, which I call dirty left. And. And this dj, right? So Beverly would walk Snoop and and Jerry across the park, going to cis. That's the school we went to elementary school. And we would all just meet in the park sometime. We would go play Asteroids at the store on the corner before school start. But we always was together from elementary school to Kings Park. That was our home base. That's where it all started to all our friendships as well, right there at Kings Park. And that's what we did every day was going to school right here across the street from Kings Park. Afterwards, go home, do your homework. Then we back to the park playing sports or summertime eating the free lunches or going to Cal State. And they would teach us about football, basketball, tennis, soccer, every sport they were showing us. And so we even played sports together. We played Pop Warner football for six, seven years straight. From seven years old all the way up, Snoop was one team down for me. But we never did get a chance to play together. But some of his guys from his team, we got to play together, right? But we just been together, like, around each other all our life. From me, Snoop, the twins, the whole Voltron crew, all of us was just from kids all the way from elementary school all the way up to being successful right now, even high school. We even went to school together and that. And we still tight to this day. All of us. All of us. Me, Snoop, the twins, all of us. We.

[Shannon Sharpe]

When did. When did you realize that you and Snoop shared the same love for music? Wanted to be in this rap thing.

[Warren G]

Being in the Voltron crew, and then going to. Going to the high school football games, being on the bus, battling people at school, at the rallies, football rallies, battling the other artists in the schools, going Ditching school to go to other schools. Rally to battle they Battle them.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Battle their crew.

[Warren G]

Yeah. And that was just showing us, like, how talented. How talented we were. And, you know, we fell in love with that and that. It started. Snoop had got sent up to North Long beach because I was up in North Long Beach, California. North Long beach, right there by Compton. And Snoop had moved. His mother, Beverly, moved to 61st Street. So he ended up coming to Jordan because I had to go to Jordan because I was in North Long Beach. And one day at lunch, I hear somebody warm, and I look and I'm like, snoop, I'm like, what you doing up here? Like, he. Like, me and Miles moved up here, so he was like, warren, let's go to after school. Let's go work. So we would. After school, we'd go right to my house, hit the record on the tape deck. I'd get on the turntables and start mixing some beats together. And Snoop, a star freestyle. And we just kept doing it. Just kept doing it and doing it and doing it. And sent the tapes to Kara Lewis and Rakim. Eric B and Rakim. Run dnc. I mailed them personally.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Me.

[Warren G]

I mailed all our demos. Yeah.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Did you hear anything back from anybody?

[Warren G]

I didn't. We didn't hear nothing back. Nothing back, but I mailed them off.

[Shannon Sharpe]

When you guys finally did make it, did anybody that you had mailed those two, did they reach back out?

[Warren G]

Well, you know, once we made it, you know, we was in the same rooms, you know what I mean? Same shows, same wherever, you know, MTV Awards.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Right.

[Warren G]

So it was just like. It was a dream come true just to be in the same room with these guys. And we talked. We talked about it. Like, we sent you the demo way back then. I'm gonna tell you this, you know, so it was like, you guys could have had us doing records with you guys, you know? But it was all love, though. We was just huge fans.

[Shannon Sharpe]

You guys started off in a group, The Voltron group, the Two One Threes. When did you realize, or did you realize that Snoop needed to go his way and you guys needed to do your own thing?

[Warren G]

You mean as far as, like, that.

[Shannon Sharpe]

He was gonna be solo and you and Nate was gonna do your thing? Or was it.

[Warren G]

Well, we. We never. We never, like, separated. We was always. We was always two, one, three, no matter what right now, as. As far as the. The record industry, that part they determined that. Yeah, that was determined by. By the record companies to where we couldn't work. But we did finally get a chance to work after all of the smoke, you know, that got through all of the turmoil. And we was able. We was final. We finally able to work, but it was never like, where, you know, Snoop would be like, y'. All. You know what I mean? We always, like I said, we was always tight. We always moved together. Now, as far as myself moving in my own direction, where I went to Def Jam, you know, that was because Death Row with me. You know what I mean? So why. I don't know. I guess I was just. I was. I was.

[Shannon Sharpe]

I mean, could dream. Was Dre. Was Dre still at Death Row at this time?

[Warren G]

Yeah, he was at Death Row.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Okay, well, damn. I mean, first of all, they popped the tape in. You've been trying to get Dre to look at you for a minute, okay? He doesn't. And then somebody else come in. They pop the tape in when you're at a function with Dre, and they're like, man, who is this? He said, man, this Warren G and his homeboy Snoop and so forth and so on. So he's there. He knows what you guys are capable of.

[Warren G]

Yeah.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Did you feel some type of way about that? Like, damn, bro, you can't even look out for you.

[Warren G]

Nah, I wasn't, like, tripping like that. I just was like, I'm gonna keep going hard, keep working hard. He actually told me. He was like, warren, you gotta be your own man, right? This was like, well, he's like, well.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Dre, I am my own man. It's not like you. I'm good on this thing now, but out of outside, but you gotta go outside. Okay?

[Warren G]

But the reason I think that the whole, you know, I wasn't liked as much was because I was on top of things. Like, I told Snoop and I told everybody that was at Death Row, get lawyers, right? You know, don't just sign any of these contracts. Get lawyers. So I guess that upset Suge, and he got pissed off about it. So that's probably the main reason why, you know, I didn't get signed over there. Cause I was just as talented as everybody else, right? You know, production wise, artist wise, rapping wise. Even on the DJ level, I was equal to everybody. So it was pretty crushing to not be able to be with my best friend, be with my brother, which was like a best friend as well, but a big brother. I had to do my own thing, man. And when I knew that I had to go, when I didn't, when. When I wasn't able to go on tour, when I. I was like, you know what? I'm cool. I gotta.

[Shannon Sharpe]

They didn't take. They didn't take you on tour?

[Warren G]

No, I didn't go.

[Shannon Sharpe]

You want. You wanted to go.

[Warren G]

I showed up. I had my bags and everything.

[Shannon Sharpe]

You was already packed?

[Warren G]

I was packed, ready to go.

[Shannon Sharpe]

So.

[Warren G]

So I. I didn't even care.

[Shannon Sharpe]

I want to know how this conversation goes. Okay? You packed. You're like, yeah, we going on tour. They're like, what you mean, we?

[Warren G]

You ain't got no tickets. You don't got a ticket. I'm like, where's my ticket? Like, you don't got one. I was.

[Shannon Sharpe]

You crushed?

[Warren G]

Crushed, yeah. And I just. I was crushed. And from that point on, I was just like, you know what? I gotta. I gotta. You know, you really gotta.

[Shannon Sharpe]

I gotta look up my own. I'm expecting people. I'm expecting people to do something. I just gotta get it on my own. And if it happens, it happens. And if it doesn't, it doesn't. But I know that Warren's gonna have to get this out of the mud himself, and nobody's gonna help me.

[Warren G]

Yes, indeed.

[Shannon Sharpe]

And I should. I've gotta stop thinking that someone is going to help me. And I think that was probably why you was most upset, is because you was expecting somebody to give you a hand. Well, not a hand out.

[Warren G]

Just give you a hand. Yeah, just.

[Shannon Sharpe]

I pulled myself up.

[Warren G]

Yeah. Yeah. And it just wasn't. It wasn't happening like that, you know, But I just. I went ahead and just, you know, I was. I was messed up, you know, but I still. I still came around. Even though I wasn't involved. I still came around and still show love.

[Shannon Sharpe]

There was no resentment. There was no animosity. Hey, man, congratulations, boy. Y' all doing your thing.

[Warren G]

Yeah. Yeah. I was pissed. Cause I wasn't with everybody, but, you know, I had to do my own thing, man.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Do you. I mean, you was telling guys, look, man, just don't sign everything. Blind Man. Y' all need to get some lawyers to overlook this thing to make sure y' all not signing away everything.

[Warren G]

Yeah.

[Shannon Sharpe]

And then do you. Do you think some of those guys that did sign away everything wish they had listened to you in the beginning?

[Warren G]

Definitely. Yeah. Because, you know, you. You don't own your publishing, you know? And that's the main piece of being a musician, is to be able to get to have your publishing and own it.

[Shannon Sharpe]

That's gonna help you eat for a long time.

[Warren G]

A long time. You know? And, you know, that's what happened. You Know, instead of them getting royalty checks, they would get like a monthly stipend or something. Yeah, like, here, go 5,000. Like that.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Damn. When they could have been getting 30, 40, 50,000.

[Warren G]

Yeah, a lot. A whole lot. Because, you know, that was. That was vinyl. Yeah, CDs. Vinyl. A lot of money being made. A lot, lot, lot.

[Shannon Sharpe]

And you. You mentioned that. That sug got upset with you. Man, keep your mouth shut. You messing up my business.

[Warren G]

Pretty much, yeah, pretty much.

[Shannon Sharpe]

And. But how did you know that they should get representation? Because no one had hipped you to the game at that point in time. Cause you hadn't been signed. So how were you able to be so far ahead of your time at that time?

[Warren G]

I don't know. It was just something just ding. Like in my head. Like, we can't just sign anything just to sign it. We gotta get it looked at. We don't know what we signin'.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Right.

[Warren G]

You know what I mean? And it just. It was just something that I just was like, we need to get lawyers.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Right?

[Warren G]

And a whistleblower had told that. I said that.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Oh, so did Suge step to you?

[Warren G]

Definitely. He came to me and. Hey, Blood, where Warren at? I took off. Soon as he said that shit took off. And it was an elevator, so I couldn't. I couldn't get down. Cause the elevator was the only way to get down. So I got caught. He caught me, grabbed me and was like, blood, you told him to get lawyers. I was like. I said, man, if you don't get your hands off me. I said, I'm calling all my homeboys. And he let me go. And that was it. You know, that was it.

[Shannon Sharpe]

And y' all had been cool since, huh?

[Warren G]

We wasn't. We wasn't on the. I mean, we had. Still, we was.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Y' all were cordial. We was.

[Warren G]

Okay, yeah, we was cordial. But I think that's what really was why I didn't get signed to Death Row. Because I was. I was. I was sharp about it as far as looking at the paperwork.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Right.

[Warren G]

You know? And. And what year was this for you?

[Shannon Sharpe]

Like 91. 2.

[Warren G]

That was about 90. About 90. About 91. Yeah. 91. Yeah, 91. Cause I dropped Indo smoke in 92. So that was like 91, right? Yes, indeed.

[Shannon Sharpe]

And then. Cause Snoop came out with what. What dog? The dog Pound dog that came in 94.

[Warren G]

90.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Okay.

[Warren G]

Yeah, the dog. The dog. Doggy Dog World. That was. That was 1994. Doggy style dog. Yes, I said doggy dog. Yeah, Dog style that came out in 94. Yeah. So that 94. Cause I came out of 94 as well. Yes, indeed.

[Shannon Sharpe]

When Snoop dropped in 94, and, boy, did he drop, it exploded.

[Warren G]

Yes, indeed.

[Shannon Sharpe]

I mean, his style, the cadence, the flow, everything about. I mean, he had the perfect name. He looked like Snoopy. So, I mean, it was perfect. It was perfect marketing. It was the perfect time. And when you heard it, you like, it ain't never gonna be the same again.

[Warren G]

Yeah. Yeah. I was blown away, just. And so happy to finally see him, you know, get his due. Yeah, get. Get his due. And just to see how people. People was going crazy over it, how it sold out, like, in every store when it was released was. Was incredible. So I felt the same way he did, you know, with his success. I was like, I'm successful too, right? I was a part of him, and we best friends, and we getting ready to win together. This is how we get in. And, you know, I was. I was really happy for him. Yes, indeed. Yes, indeed.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Because the Chronic Dre's album dropped in 93, right? That was.

[Warren G]

That was. Yeah, that was 90. 90. Yeah. 92. Well, no, that was 90. That was 91. 92.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Okay.

[Warren G]

91. 92 right in there.

[Shannon Sharpe]

So you like. Damn, bro, bro, bro. Dropped that thing. Like, did you. Because he had been a dj, so did you know he could rap?

[Warren G]

Yeah.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Okay.

[Warren G]

Yes, indeed. From the World Class Wrecking Crew, right? Yeah, he was rapping way back then. And see, I don't remember.

[Shannon Sharpe]

I just remember to turn out the lights. That was. Man, that song was crazy. Going crazy. When I was in college, as a.

[Warren G]

Matter of state, he had a song called the Cabbage Patch.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Yeah.

[Warren G]

Yeah. It was actually. I actually heard it before everybody. As a kid, I used to hear everything. So I actually took it one time and wrapped it around Snoop and them like I did.

[Shannon Sharpe]

They like Warren. Where you come up with that from?

[Warren G]

Yeah, they was like, oh, that's hard. The song came out, blew my cover. It was crazy. Yes, indeed.

[Shannon Sharpe]

So everything now. Everything. Okay. Dre comes out 91, 92. You got Snoop coming out and. And you at 94. And then here come you and Nate.

[Warren G]

Yeah.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Pop on the scene.

[Warren G]

Yes, indeed. What happened was I. I was at the studio one day with Snoop and Dre and everybody, and Paul Stewart and John Singleton was there with Dre and Snoop to get some records for the Poetic justice soundtrack.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Okay.

[Warren G]

So I'm in the studio with them. You know, like, I said, I would come hang out, but I was still working, but I would come hang out with them. Even though I was doing my own thing. So I'm inside the studio. So I was like, John Singleton and Paul, I didn't know. So I asked him. I said, man, y' all looking for songs for the soundtrack? And they was like, yeah. And so I said, you know, can we go talk? You know? So we went to the car. I popped in a cassette. In it was Indo Smoke, and I played like, maybe 20 seconds of that. And Paul was like, stop. He said, can I take this tape? I said, cool. So he took it. I said, just give me my tape back. So he took it. He took it. And like, maybe, like, around that. Maybe Monday or Tuesday, somewhere around there, I got a call, and they was like, we want this to be the first single on the Poetic justice soundtrack. Wow. Which was Endosmoke. They just bypassed everybody else and was like, we want this to be the single. And that was the record that set it off for me, you know, as a song.

[Shannon Sharpe]

So that was Warren G's introduction to the world. That was the world's introduction into Warren G. Yes, indeed.

[Warren G]

Indeed. Endosmoke. And that record was featuring Nate Dog. It was an introduction for Nate as well, Right. As well as Mr. Graham, who was an artist I was working under to build up. So that. That's where our journey started, me and Nate, as far as a combination with making great music, right? And that led to me being signed by Def Jam.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Okay.

[Warren G]

They got a call. They was like, who was the. You know, the guy that kind of has, like, the kind of singing melody to. To his voice and so got on. I got on the phone call with him. We talked about it, and, you know, I was like. I was already prepared. Like, let me call Grim and let him know that Def Jam want to sign him. So they was like, well, we want the guy on the phone call. They was like, we want the guy that's got kind of like to sing and, like, kind of like the melody rap to him. I said, you know, like, the little, like, whoa. Hey. He said, yeah, that. That him. I said, that's me. So I'm. That's me that y' all want me. So I'm like, I'm like, Def Jam want me. So I was like, I'm right here.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Done.

[Warren G]

Yeah. Liora Cohen and. And Chris Lighty and Tracy Waples flew out to California, took me out to dinner and signed. And that was the beginning of, you know, me being able to start doing records. And Regulate was one of the first records I did, you know, because what I did once I Got my advance, which was. It was like $350,000 advance. So what I did was I went and bought all studio equipment. Bought all studio equipment, went and took it to the house, went out and started doing record shopping. And so once I was doing the record shopping, once I was getting ready to go home. So I stopped by Roscoe's Chicken and Waffles on my way home.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Got that three piece with waffle.

[Warren G]

I used to tear the cheese eggs. Oh, my God. I used to tear it up. So I stopped at Roscoe's, and it was a dude outside, he was selling records.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Okay.

[Warren G]

So I bought the whole Crater Records off of him. I was like. I think I gave him like 500 bucks, took the whole crate of records.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Were they all new records or were they used?

[Warren G]

They was used.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Okay.

[Warren G]

Yeah, I took the whole crate. When I got home, I was going through the crate, and that's when I ran across Michael McDonald and the doobie Brothers. I keep forgetting. And when I played it, there was a record. I was like, damn, my parents used to bang this.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Yeah.

[Warren G]

So I was saying to myself, like, if I did a hip hop song to this, that would be different. It'd be dope.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Yes.

[Warren G]

You know, And I did it. I did it. I produced it. I went. I put the. I put the sample together. I put the drums up under it, played a couple keys up under it, and brought it all together.

[Shannon Sharpe]

And you start by Roscoe's. You got them eggs, you know, you feeling good. And the guy happened to be outside, said he got a crate of albums, vinyls, and. How much you want for the. Hey, don't worry about it. I got a little extra shine here. Take it. Give me all of them. So in the process, you get the crate home, you going through them, you're like, Damn, Michael McDonald's, Doobie Brothers. Okay.

[Warren G]

Yes, indeed.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Let me see. Let me pop this on. Okay, Akee. Okay.

[Warren G]

Like, damn.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Go hard.

[Warren G]

Yeah.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Now, if I could. If I could. If I could really do something in my genre over this, I might be on to something.

[Warren G]

Yeah, that's the way I was thinking. If I could put a song, a dope song over this. This beat right here, I was like, this could really be different. And it could really, really, you know, put me in the. Put me in hip hop real good. But I didn't. I didn't. I wasn't thinking of it like it was gonna be one of the biggest records ever, you know, I was just thinking of it like.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Cause even though Endo did what it did on Poetic justice. Yeah, this was the one. This was Warren G's introduction to the world.

[Warren G]

Yes, it did.

[Shannon Sharpe]

All across, you know, France and the UK and London and Finland and Sweden and all this. They knew. Even though they didn't speak English, they knew this. Yeah, yeah, they knew this.

[Warren G]

Yes, indeed. Yeah. Regulate Black knight a clear white moon Warren G was on the streets Trying to consume some skirts for the E so I could get some phones rolling in my ride Chilling all alone so I hooked to left on 2:1 and Lewis some brother shooting dice so I said, let's do this I jumped out the ride and said, what's the suck? Some brothers put some G so I said, I'm stuck I'm getting jacked I'm breaking myself I can't believe they taking Warren's wealth They took my rings they took my Rolex I looked at the brother said, damn, what's next? They got guns to my head I think I'm going down I can't believe it's happening in my own town Wings I would fly Let me contemplate I glanced in the cut and I seen my homie Nate and one in the home Nate fell in Warren City had them break your thing Sam. Now they got the freaks and that's a known fact Before I got jacked, I was on the same track. Back up, back up. Cause it's on N A T E N E the warmer to the table I'm sweating into a whole new era, Cheekbones Stick to this, I tell you. Funk on a whole new level. Chords, strings, we bring melody seat funk where rhythm is life and life is rhythm. Sam.

[Shannon Sharpe]

There is no possible way that when you picked up this crate of vinyls and you pulled out that one with the Doobie brothers and Michael McDonald.

[Warren G]

Yeah.

[Shannon Sharpe]

That you could have possibly fathomed one wildest imagination that that record was going to change your life.

[Warren G]

I knew it was a good record.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Yeah.

[Warren G]

But I didn't know it was going to be that. That at all.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Right.

[Warren G]

You know? And even like today with the. The new generation, it's like it started over again. And it's. Every generation is starting over and over again, and it's like, wow. And, hey, I love it. But I didn't. I didn't. I didn't think that record was going to be this big.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Right.

[Warren G]

It's amazing just to be able to.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Still eat off it.

[Warren G]

Eat off that. Eat off of it. Hear it. I mean, it's.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Because it has to be. I mean, you riding in the car, you riding it and you hear that Song Come on. And you like, wow, that's 30 plus years ago, Warren.

[Warren G]

Yes, indeed.

[Shannon Sharpe]

And it's still. They play that song, people get up.

[Warren G]

Yeah, yeah.

[Shannon Sharpe]

People still get up 30 years later.

[Warren G]

Yeah. It's amazing, man. I just. You know, I didn't. I just didn't know if it was gonna be this big, you know? I mean, in the process of doing it, what I did is just even all the way from the samples when I sampled it, you know, I chopped each piece in the pads on the MPC 60. And when you hear it, it's me hitting the pads. I'm hitting pads all the way around. So once I. Once I built the track and had everything in sequence and going away and sounding good, I thought to myself, I said, I need an intro.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Right?

[Warren G]

So I don't know how this happened. I guess it's just how God worked. I just happened to be looking at Young Guns, the movie.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Yes.

[Warren G]

And I heard the dude say, regulate. We regular. We worked for Mr. Tinsdale as regulators. Yes, we. And I took that. The whole piece. When you hear. When you hear the intro on Regulate, I took that whole segment and I chopped it up in different pieces. So I took different pieces and I put it the way I wanted to do it. And.

[Shannon Sharpe]

And you got to be real handy with stealing in order to make it.

[Warren G]

You got to be handy with the skill. You know what I mean? Earn your key.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Yeah.

[Warren G]

Yes, indeed. And that just when I. When I listen back to. And I'm like, what the hell? How did I. How did I think of this? How did I piece this together? It was like. It was a perfect. A perfect combination. And then when I called Nate, I was like, nate, I got a record over here, man. That's incredible. I want you to come get down on it. So Nate came over. Let him hear it. He was just like, that's hard, because I told him I want to do a record with him, like how Snoop and Dre did G thing. So let's go back and forth. And, you know, Nate was. Had a. He was. His style was a singing style. So that's what made it even doper.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Now, if I'm not mistaken, this might have been one of the. Because Michael McDonald was with the Doobie Brothers, and I think this might have been one on his first. His first solo album. And so this was a big, ginormous song for him. So to get it cleared, you had to let him hear it, correct?

[Warren G]

Yeah. Yes, indeed. He actually. He's still getting paid off of it.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Yeah, for sure.

[Warren G]

Yeah. He's still getting paid. The Doobie Brothers are getting paid. Nate still gets paid. I get paid. We still get paid off of it.

[Shannon Sharpe]

So when you finished the product, you said, Mr. McDonald, I would like to sample this. I got a great track over it.

[Warren G]

And.

[Shannon Sharpe]

And here it is.

[Warren G]

Yeah. Well, what it. What happened? The company got it cleared.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Okay.

[Warren G]

And I was. I used to be in New York a lot. So I'm at Times Square, just, you know, walking around us. I used to just get out to walk around, and I bumped into Michael McDonald walking in times Square.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Damn.

[Warren G]

Crazy. It was crazy. I was like, michael, like, it's Warren. And he was tripping like, Warren G. That was like, yeah, it's Warren G. He was like, man. So it was. It was, you know, cool to meet him. You know, we didn't talk that much. We didn't talk, like, long. It was just like, yeah, yeah. So. And then kept pushing. But later on down the line, what I did was he was performing where I lived at, and so me and my wife went to the. To the concert, and I told some of his people that I was there. And so he was out there, you know, doing his thing, performing. So he got to Regulate. He was just like, I want to send a special shout out to a young guy out here in the crowd, thanks to this guy you guys are still hearing, I keep forgetting to this day. And he made this song called Regulate. So I'm getting ready to do my version of it right now. And he was like, Warren G. And then they shined the light over where I was at, and I was like, hey, hey. Like, how y' all doing? And so he did it. And then afterwards, they invited me back there, and we had a really great conversation. And he was like, man, you changed my life. Like, with that record, you changed a lot of lives. And he was like, my son, don't even listen to my version. He in love with your version. He don't even listen to mine. And we had a really, really great conversation, man. He was just so, like, appreciative, like, of what I did for him and the Doobie Brothers by redoing that record. And I just. I felt great to be able to be able to do a record that put a. That put a legend already, like, to keep him being legendary, you know, and made me a legend at the same time.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Right. When it's reported that this record, this album of yours, helped get Def Jam out of debt.

[Warren G]

Yeah.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Do you think. And they said it's made. It made over a hundred million dollars, you like damn, it made that much. How much I actually get?

[Warren G]

I was like 100 million. Where the is my money at?

[Shannon Sharpe]

Yeah, where's my cunning at?

[Warren G]

I was man, it was first time artist, you know, I was only making like, I think it was like 25, 30 cents a record. Yeah. So it was, it was.

[Shannon Sharpe]

So you wouldn't get that, you wouldn't get that big, that $52 a record.

[Warren G]

Well later after, after the success of that record, they was throwing whatever I wanted. Doing whatever I wanted to do. Right. So I went, I went from. I got all the way to a dollar fifty.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Damn.

[Warren G]

Yeah, yeah. And that was great back then. Like for sure. Yeah, yeah, it was, it was great. So you know, things that picked up. But that first time deal was just like, it was kind of like, like, like a paying dues.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Yeah, they get you the first one.

[Warren G]

Yeah. And I'm still owner of my master publishing.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Oh, what you said?

[Warren G]

Yeah, I'm still owner of that. Which will be reverted back to me in the next four years and then I can. All of that'll just be me. It won't go through two or three different companies then get to me.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Right.

[Warren G]

You know, everything will be coming straight to me and then I can license it out me myself. But it's hard trying to get, trying to get your masters back from these companies. It's really hard. And especially if you don't have it.

[Shannon Sharpe]

If you don't have it in the contract from the jump.

[Warren G]

Yeah, it's. Well, it's. That's just standard. Like after some of. Some people like Warren is 25 years, not 35.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Right.

[Warren G]

And. But now I guess it's 35, you know, so. But it's hard to get them back, you know. And to me that's unfair for like a guy like myself because I helped this company that's under this umbrella become a billion dollar business here and all I'm asking for is my masters.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Yeah. You feel like they should have gave you those things back 10, 15 years ago.

[Warren G]

Yeah, yeah. Cause I mean, reward me, right. You know, I did my part, you know, just reward it back, you know. But you know, I'm working on getting them back. It's supposed to come anyway, so I'm working on it, try to speed the process up. I was like, I want him now yesterday.

[Shannon Sharpe]

I don't want to wait.

[Warren G]

No, right. Yeah. So I reached out a few times and it was like, nope. I'm like, damn.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Let me ask you this. And, and I've heard a lot of, you know, when you look at Michael, Michael Jackson, Thriller, I don't believe in my lifetime there'll never be an album or song bigger than Thriller.

[Warren G]

Never.

[Shannon Sharpe]

When you look at it and it says that he became obsessed because he was trying to replicate that. Even though if you. For me, as far as musically, off the Wall was his best work. Now, Thriller was great.

[Warren G]

Yeah.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Dirty Bad was great.

[Warren G]

Yeah.

[Shannon Sharpe]

And he had other. That were great, but off the Wall for me was his best. Was his best work.

[Warren G]

Yeah.

[Shannon Sharpe]

But he wanted to do Thriller. He didn't understand that was a once in a lifetime.

[Warren G]

Yeah.

[Shannon Sharpe]

It's like somebody in baseball throwing a perfect game. Nobody's ever thrown two perfect games.

[Warren G]

Yeah.

[Shannon Sharpe]

And that was. And he. And it's like drove himself crazy trying to replicate that. And sometimes when you don't do what you've done, you feel like you're not as successful. Did you drive yourself crazy trying to do another Regulate?

[Warren G]

No, I just, I never, I wasn't trying to outdo it. I just.

[Shannon Sharpe]

I will make great music and if something does regulate or does better than regulate, so be it. But I'm not going to make myself sick. I'm not going to drive myself crazy trying to replicate that.

[Warren G]

Yeah, no, I never, never tried to compete with it. I just, I knew I had a formula though of making great records. And the formula that I had, which is the reason why I have so many records that was successful. Like I want it all. Do you see Regulate, like Endosmoke, all these records were great because when I work on the project, what I do is I try. Now this is what, how you make great albums. I try to make every record I do a single. I try to do that because that makes you do a lot of good records. So that was my formula with anything I did. I just do a bunch of record, bunch of dope record. Just. I would try to do a single, but I wasn't trying to compete with regulator. I was just trying to do a single every time. Like an album full of singles. That was just my, my process of my formula when I'm working. And the records that came off of it was, was. Was big records. All of them, all of them went gold, platinum. Yes, indeed. But they didn't go as many as regular.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Right.

[Warren G]

But yeah, and that's.

[Shannon Sharpe]

And that's the thing. So you have to, you have to be able to be content with the work.

[Warren G]

Yes, indeed.

[Shannon Sharpe]

And I say, you know what, man? Cause you know, like you do a deal and it's not 20 million, you do a deal, say, let's just 5 or 10. Well, man, I wasn't successful. Damn, man, this record wasn't that good, man.

[Warren G]

It ain't regulate. Yeah, bro. I mean. I mean, you just gotta dust yourself off and try again. Just keep going at it.

[Shannon Sharpe]

But if you feel. If Warren feels that I'm this. Listen, at this time, this is where I am musically. This is where I am as far as writing. If I'm giving, if I'm doing the absolute best I possibly can, I can live with whatever sound comes off once it's overdone.

[Warren G]

And that's. That's exactly how I move. I don't. I don't. You know, I don't. I don't. I don't, like, try. I just work. I just work and just.

[Shannon Sharpe]

You don't measure success of one album by the success of another album. Each is an individual project.

[Warren G]

Yes, indeed.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Okay.

[Warren G]

Yeah. Okay. Yeah. And that's, like. That's where that formula kicks in, you know, to where each one of those projects with whatever the next project is or whatever I'm doing. Like I said, I try to make it like it's a single. I try to make these. Every record on there a single.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Is it true that LL came and picked you up?

[Warren G]

Yeah. Yeah. First time in New York, I didn't. I didn't believe it was him. Cause I'm like, what. What the LL gonna come pick me up for? I ain't nobody, you know, not yet. I'm just signed, you know, New artist signed a Def Jam.

[Shannon Sharpe]

I mean, it's hard to think of an artist on Def Jam other than ll. He built that. He built that company.

[Warren G]

Yeah. Yeah. And I was like, I couldn't believe it. I was. Cause first of all, I was a huge fan. Cause he was one of those artists that I talked about that I looked up to, which inspired us. And for them to call my room and say, you know, Warren. Warren. He called up, was like, is this Warren? I'm like, yeah, this Warren. He's like, yo, this is ll. I'm downstairs, man. I want to take you around, you know, take you around the city, man. Show you New York. So I'm like, this ain't no goddamn hell somebody playing. So I called. I called one of the twins. I said, twin. One of y' all come with me downstairs. It's this motherfucker downstairs talking about Ell. So we go downstairs. It was him, and he had the drop top back. We jumped in, and he took us to Queens. He took us. We went shopping. He took us to where he did his album where he wrote his lyrics at his grandmother house. He showed us the. How the basement went down. I mean, I ain't never seen that many clothes in my life. Like, it was all the way down the stairs, on the walls, all the way. The whole downstairs was nothing but clothes, shoes, and he even had the Suzuki Samurai that he had Tina had. He did the Tina got a big old butt. That Suzuki Samurai was sitting right there in the yard. It was old and dusty, but it was there and I couldn't believe it. But he really showed a lot of love, man. And he took us around, got. We ate everything and he showed a lot of love. And. And that right there was like, that was where I was when I was like, you know what? I'm getting ready to put my foot in in all this music that I do, you know, that right there really, really launched me into saying I done really, really got far.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Right.

[Warren G]

Yeah.

[Shannon Sharpe]

There was a quote that you said, you feel like you were the drake of the 90s. Why did you say that?

[Warren G]

Cause all the ladies like him. Hey, all the ladies love Warren, you know? You know, that's how I was. I was like that in the 90s, you know, I was like a lot of all the ladies. I was a solo artist, looked good, had a fresh fade up. Now I'm toe up bald, got a.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Little gray hair that fade all the way.

[Warren G]

Hey, it's. And you know. But back then, you know, a lot of the ladies loved Warren. To this day, it'd be, you know, I be out somewhere, me and my wife. It'll be ladies or ladies come up like you my. You was my crush. And this, that, you know, that grandma.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Now a Warren, their grandma now the one.

[Warren G]

But it's even younger. Younger. I mean, it's like, you know, like 30s, 40s, like, you know, not that I'm an antique. I ain't an antique, you know, my early 50s.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Yeah.

[Warren G]

But, yeah, it. That's the reason why I said that, because a lot of the ladies, I was like the ladies man in that era, right? And he's a ladies man in this era, right? Yes, indeed.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Major label or independent? I just saw, I think it was Stephanie, I think Stephanie Mills, I think is Chaka Khan and I think Patti LaBelle. I think they're going on a tour and I think they asked Stephanie, you know, and she says, independence, she said, because the record companies mainly are marketing. She says, I know what I want, I know what I'm looking for. So for me, independent is the way to go. So I, because all that needs to come to me because I'm the one that's doing all the work. Where are you on that, Warren? You independent or you, you record?

[Warren G]

I'm independent.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Okay.

[Warren G]

I'm independent. She right. You know, I can do a lot of the stuff myself. Like, I can go, I could do the, like, some of the new records I got. I could do the record. Like, I got a record with me and Wiz Khalifa, dope record. I think it's gonna be a top 40. Taking that record and doing clips, doing like a video of it and then doing clips and then doing ads with that on TikTok and, and people taking it and doing their own versions of dancing to it and doing different things. That's. TikTok is pretty much your new marketing too.

[Shannon Sharpe]

That's your new marketing.

[Warren G]

It's a marketing tool. Instagram, you know, paying for ads on Instagram, even Google Ads, Facebook ads, you know, with just a bunch of clips. Just pushing those clips of what you have. And that drives all of the traffic. It drives your merch up. It drives, you're streaming up. But I, I, I, I'm gonna try something. Well, I'm not gonna even try. I'm gonna do something different. It's, it's not a whole lot different, but I want to kind of, I want to try and bring back more of vinyl and CDs, because people ain't got rid of their CD players or they vinyl players. No. So I want to do a special edition. I'm gonna do some special editions. I'm gonna print up maybe 5, 10,000 vinyls of CDs and sell those to the, to the, the true fan base. You know what I mean? And just to, to get that, that nostalgia. Yeah, exactly. Because it's like this, the computer world is like, we don't know how they could change numbers. You know what I mean? Do all kind of stuff. So just to do that for the fans and give them that realness again, it'll be different. You know, it'll be different. And I'm sure a lot of people will probably follow that model. Actually, I got a few friends that is using that model already and it's. They successful with it.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Right? Where are you on the streaming? I hear a lot of people say, man, hey, Snoop was one of the first that, like, man, that streaming, he said, I, I can't keep up with it. He like, they sending me a check, you know, four or $5,000. And then some people like, you know, probably getting, I can only imagine what A Drake is getting from streaming because he's doing the weekend.

[Warren G]

Yeah.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Or Travis Scott or. Or Taylor Swift or Beyonce. I can only imagine. Because they do it. You know, it seemed like every time I turn around, Drake is this and Drake is that and Beyonce and Taylor Swift is this and they're that. So I can only imagine. But where are you.

[Warren G]

Where.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Where are you on the streaming?

[Warren G]

I mean, I don't like it because. But I got to deal with it because it's the way of. The way the business.

[Shannon Sharpe]

It is what it is now.

[Warren G]

Yes. But I don't. I don't. I don't like it because you can't really monitor, you know, those numbers. You can't. We can't.

[Shannon Sharpe]

They tell you that it might be more.

[Warren G]

Yeah, yeah, I'm sure.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Yeah.

[Warren G]

In a lot of cases that it. It is more. But it's the way of the game. So you gotta change with the way the game changed. But like I was saying, like, doing that, bringing that Vinyl and those CDs back, that'll give, you know, the. The true fans something to really hardware, you know what I mean? That they can. They can touch and feel because you can't touch strings or do anything. You can't grab that and pop it in your CD player. But you can't pop this CD in here. You can't pop that vinyl on that record player and get that.

[Shannon Sharpe]

The last song we're gonna have you to perform is Ain't no Fun.

[Warren G]

Yeah.

[Shannon Sharpe]

How did this. How did this. How did this. Ain't no Fun? How did that come about?

[Warren G]

Ain't no. Well, I actually walked in on Ain't no Fun. We was recording that Village studio right there in Santa Monica. And I walked in on it and they was like, Warren, you want to. You want to do a verse? And I was like, yeah, I'll do one. But the concept of ain't no Fun was like, ain't no fun if the homies can't have none. We just young teens. Yeah. Even the ladies like young teens. Just having a good time, partying, having a great time, you know, having fun.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Right.

[Warren G]

And you know, I'm not gonna get mad if she dance with you or you guys, you know, kissing or whatever. I ain't gonna get mad. Ain't no fun if the homies can't have none.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Right.

[Warren G]

So it's just like not being a hater, a player hater, you know, just being able to have fun and be around a lot of beautiful ladies and the ladies being around a lot of great looking Guys, and ain't no fun if the homies can't have none of the ladies. It's still the same way they sing it, just like we sing. You know what I mean, right? Yeah. Oh, yeah. Nate killed it. Yeah, baby, I can't sing. Before you opened up your gap I had respect for you, lady but now I take it all back, hey. Cause you gave me all you say yeah. Angie even licked my bones oh, wow. Leader your number on the cabinet and I promise, baby I give you a call hey. Next time I'm feeling kinda homie, you could come on over and I'll break you off hey. And if you can't fuck that day, baby, just lay back and open your mouth. Nate, I. I can't have never met a girl. I hope I got close on that one. And that was a record. Like I said, it was us having fun, having a good time. And I just hit him with that. Hey, now you know inhale, exhale with my flow One for the money two for the three to get ready and for to hit the switches in my Chevy 64 rag to be exact with on my side and on my back so back up because I'm struggling. Just get on your knees and then start juggling these mother nuts in your mouth. It's me, Warren G. The with the clout. Woo. If the homies can't, it ain't no fun if the homies can' yeah. Yes, indeed.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Some people haven't done this now for five years and talked to a lot of different people that do what you do. Some people, they like it quiet in the studio. It's just them got the headset on going. Some people like a lot of people running around, a lot of chaos. And Rutgers, some people smoking, whatever the case may be. When you go into the studio, how do you want it? You want it nice and quiet? You want chaos? You want women running around? You want the homeboys firing? How does Warren want it?

[Warren G]

Chaos. Chaos. Cause when I say that. Cause you got. You have some people that, like you said, running around. Some people don't even do music. And this, that and this. But those people and all that chaos in there, they gonna tell you what's sounding good and what ain't sounding good. The ladies is gonna be dancing, doing their thing. And when they. When the ladies dancing, you know, you.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Got something, you got. You got one, okay?

[Warren G]

And they gonna tell you the truth, you know?

[Shannon Sharpe]

Right?

[Warren G]

And, you know, so I like, I like the chaos. I like a bunch of people to be in there. I like for it to be a good party vibe and just feel good, you know, And I like to warm it up. I come in, you know, I'll have me, you know. You know, a joint road. You know, I'll have me some drink. And, you know, by the way, some of this good old Salute.

[Shannon Sharpe]

That's the best. I promise. Look, before you drink it, I promise you that is the best cognac that you've ever gonna taste. I promise you. Hey, you keep it real. We gonna keep the camera rolling. We ain't gonna say anything. I promise you. If that's not the best cognac, no sugars. No. No artificial colors. That brown is from the barrel. The oak barrels. That's a beautiful sugar.

[Warren G]

Wow.

[Shannon Sharpe]

From the grapes.

[Warren G]

Wow.

[Shannon Sharpe]

A uni blanc grade and a petite champagne. That's the combination that we use. Magnifico.

[Warren G]

Wow. Well, hey, my homeboy, Shannon Sharp. Yeah.

[Shannon Sharpe]

That shaved by laportier. I promise, Warren, I promise you, you're not gonna be disappointed. I promise you.

[Warren G]

Wow. That is a different. That's a. Yeah, that is.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Now, you say you on the grill. You say you on the grill like that. That's what you say. You say you be on the grill hard.

[Warren G]

That's what I do outside of hip hop.

[Shannon Sharpe]

So you a pit master for real, though?

[Warren G]

You're the hip hop pitmaster? For real? Yes, indeed. Yes, indeed. I got some food for you here.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Okay.

[Warren G]

Yeah.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Let me ask you this. Of all the videos that you've been in, let's just say that they weren't yours. A G thing, Gin and Juice. What's your favorite video to be in? What was your favorite one? You had the most fun.

[Warren G]

I'll say. G thing. It was. That was young Warren. Like, that was before Warren G. Yes. And I was just there supporting Snoop and Dre, and it. The whole day was just full of fun, full of a bunch of people. Just, you know, we having a real barbecue. We was out there for real, like, really, like, having a real picnic. And it was. It was just so much fun. And then they caught me in the video rolling the joint and kept it in the video. Cause I was like, I'm trying to smoke, so I'm dancing, I'm partying. They caught me rolling the joint. So that. And to this day, everybody still be like, wasn't that you rolling that? I'm like, yeah, that was me, you know, but it was. It was. That was the most fun I had, man. And. Because all my homeboys was there.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Yeah.

[Warren G]

Dre, Doc, our crew was there every. I mean, it Was. It was just all our Long beach buddies was there. It was a bunch of dudes from Compton, even Inglewood. Everybody was there just having a good time, man.

[Shannon Sharpe]

And was that the first time you had ever been in a video?

[Warren G]

You know what? I. I was in a. I ain't.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Talking about those kind of video. I'm talking about.

[Warren G]

Ladies and gentlemen. Well, you know, I was in. Was it Easy Easy. Was it Easy does it?

[Shannon Sharpe]

Yeah.

[Warren G]

Not easy. Easy does it. I was an Easy does it. Me and my. My brother Tyree, they flashed on us real quick, but we was in easy dozen way back in the day. Yeah, but the fun. The most fun I had was G. Thing, man. I had a ball. Yes, indeed.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Music. You mentioned that you got a song coming out with Wiz, so are you gonna. Is it just a song? You got an album coming out. So what's next for Warren G?

[Warren G]

A lot of good music, like I said. I got. Me and Wiz got a really great record called Mad at All. Me and Snoop got a. Me, Snoop and Corrupt got a really dope record. It's called the Doberman Gang, right? I got solo records. I got a. I got a record that I know that's. Everybody is gonna love this one. It's called we gonna Dance Again. Really, really dope record. All. All the records is dope. I actually got a record with Lil Wayne called All Alone working on that one, right? You know, to get the clearance on that. Wayne, you did the record. Got to clear it, buddy.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Right?

[Warren G]

My guy. Love you, you know, really dope record. Me and Nate got a. A record called I Found you. That's. People gonna really love that combination again, right? I'm giving them that again, man. You know, never heard before. Record with me and Nate called I Found you. It's a really dope record. And I just. I got a bunch of. Bunch of. I don't want to give everything away, but I got a lot of great music coming. I'm still active. I'm not, like, done with the music because you never. You're never too old to make a hit record, right? Just constantly working. I'm constantly doing work outside of hip hop, as far as, you know, my barbecue sauces and rubs. I'm the hip hop pit master. I'm. I'm doing. I'm actually getting ready to do a cook with my team at. Up in Alabama at the crimson tide for 2500 people. We're gonna go in and. And.

[Shannon Sharpe]

And they're gonna take you a couple days to get ready for that.

[Warren G]

Well, I'm just the guy that, you know, I'm the. The guy that tell, you know, everybody manage. But all my pit master, my other pit masters, they gonna do their thing. I. This is when I get to chill. Right. Like, what I did with the food I cooked and I did that, you know, But I have my team and we get down, and I do. I do that outside as well as investing in real estate.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Right.

[Warren G]

You know, so just. Just trying to stay busy and do it all because I want it all. Right.

[Shannon Sharpe]

And I can understand that. Clear this up. I think there's a misunderstanding. The super bowl was in LA. Dr. Dre, Snoop, I think 50M, Mary J. And you said you weren't ex. I don't know if you were you. I mean, I'm sure you would have loved to perform, but you were the.

[Warren G]

You.

[Shannon Sharpe]

You wanted, like, tickets to be, like, have your son. You want to take your son and you want to be on the field so your son could see that up close.

[Warren G]

Yeah.

[Shannon Sharpe]

And that wasn't able to happen. Was there a misunderstanding? Was there late communication? What.

[Warren G]

What.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Clear up what actually happened? Did you put. Did you put. Did you put the ticket request in a timely manner?

[Warren G]

Definitely.

[Shannon Sharpe]

You can't wait till the day before the performance? No, no, no.

[Warren G]

I had. I mean, you know, I talked to some people and we were supposed to connect once I got there, and everything just went blank. And I was sitting in the regular. Yeah. In the stands, and people was like, what are you doing? What you doing up here? Like, even, like, I think I seen Stephen A. And a couple other cats. Like, they was like, what. What you doing up here? And no, that was Nate Burson.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Nate Burleson.

[Warren G]

Yeah, Nate Burleson. He was like, what you doing up here? You supposed to be down there performing. I was like, you know, I'm not performing. I'm just here to, you know. Here.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Yeah. Just support. That's who you play, man. I'm just here to support, bro. I'm just happy to be in the house, you know?

[Warren G]

Yeah. And. But it was just. It was just the communication just wasn't right, you know?

[Shannon Sharpe]

And in two years, you know, I think it's back in LA next year.

[Warren G]

Yeah, that's dope. But at overall, I wasn't, like, bitter about performing or anything like that. I was just there to support, and I just wanted my son to be.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Yeah.

[Warren G]

See his.

[Shannon Sharpe]

One of your best friends, his uncle.

[Warren G]

See everybody. And it was just like the shit wasn't happening. And I'm hitting everybody.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Right.

[Warren G]

We was talking and shit before all this, and now I can't get nobody on the board. Everybody, shit shut down. So I was like. Like I was pissed off. But, you know, I got over it. You know, I wasn't. You know, I wasn't tripping, but it was just like.

[Shannon Sharpe]

That was just the one thing that you really would have wanted your son to experience.

[Warren G]

Yeah, I wanted him to get down there. Cause he was home. He from. Home from camp. What was it? Whatever it was, I think they had a buy. The. Cause he played with the bills, so they had a buy. So he was at home. Whatever it was, he was off for like, I think a week or something, a few days, something like that. I don't know. But he was at home, so this was happening. So I wanted him. I don't know. It actually couldn't have been a buy, right. The season was over with. So he was home from. From the. From the season.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Right.

[Warren G]

And so just taking him out, just taking him around and letting him hang out, you know, we hanging out together, you know, and I wanted them to really see, right, you know, everybody up close. Up close and meet everybody and see is all his family and the whole nine. And it just didn't happen. But, you know, like I said, I'm not. I ain't bitter about it and wasn't bitter about performing or, you know, none of that. You know, it would have been good. I would have loved to do it. But hey, it didn't happen. But, you know, I ain't tripping off of it. I was just pissed off. We didn't get the chance to be down there, down there. So I was mad at everybody. I was like both them niggas.

[Shannon Sharpe]

But you put that past you now because there's too much great history. Because a lot of times. A lot of times people will forget the 30 great years that we've had and let one instance ruin 30 years. And I'm not. For me, I can see if it's 30 years a bad and one good time. I said, nah, one good thing can't erase 30 years. But one bad thing can't erase 30 years in my eyes.

[Warren G]

Yeah, not at all. Yeah.

[Shannon Sharpe]

So I want to get this. This. How did you go from music to so you know what I'm gonna do? I'm gonna do. I'm gonna be a cook. I'm gonna be a pitmaster.

[Warren G]

I've always did it. Always.

[Shannon Sharpe]

So you've always been in the kitchen like that?

[Warren G]

Always. My father, he used to just cook. My dad used to cook at a Lot of family functions and just watching him and being around and the fun times we would have, you know, with cousins and friends at the reunions and good food, we eating good food. It just stuck with me. So even before I was Warren G. Snoop would tell you, like all of them would tell you. I used to just cook. I would cook everywhere we was at hustling, no matter what. It was just to ease. Ease the pain of things. I would cook and play good music, right? And I kept doing it, you know, kept on and kept on. And a lot of my friends was just like, Warren, you need to come out with a product. All you do is cook. You're a barbecue guy, you're a pit master. Why don't you come up with some sauces and rubs? So talk to my pops, talk to a few of my other friends that chefs, and they helped me put everything together, all the way from the sauces to the rubs. Did a few tastings, tasted different. Rubs, went into spice companies, went into formulation companies. As far as the sauces, the sit down and tasting everything until it came it was to my liking. And all of that stuff just, you know, and food ain't going nowhere. It's a good business.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Yes, for sure, to be in.

[Warren G]

And I just. I just was like, man, this is something I really love to do. And it's a peace of mind for me to barbecue and just sit down and listen to good music, have a beer, smoke a joint, barbecue, chill, have a good time. Did you eat pork? Yeah.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Well, I'm in the Muslim.

[Warren G]

I didn't want to cook no pork.

[Shannon Sharpe]

I'm in the Muslim reserve one weekend out of the month, two weeks out of here, I don't eat no pork. Other than that, I eat pork.

[Warren G]

Yesterday, I didn't want to bring no pork.

[Shannon Sharpe]

But you ain't cook no pork.

[Warren G]

I pulled it off. I pulled it off. I brought some. It was. I had to go hot and fast, but I made it happen. I got some pork ribs. Yeah, yeah. Beef blankets. Yes.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Pig feet. Yeah. Bacon bones, pepperoni. Yeah, yeah. All that pigtail.

[Warren G]

Oh, yeah. Neck bone.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Pig ear.

[Warren G]

Yeah.

[Shannon Sharpe]

No chitlins.

[Warren G]

Now, I ain't gonna lie. Every year I eat some chitlins.

[Shannon Sharpe]

You eat chitlins, too?

[Warren G]

I eat some chitlins every holiday season.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Oh, holiday, okay.

[Warren G]

My sister will cook them, and then I eat them.

[Shannon Sharpe]

So let me ask you, you wet or you dry? You like to do this? This.

[Warren G]

This is. This is.

[Shannon Sharpe]

This is a dry rub here.

[Warren G]

Dry rub? Yeah, dry rub, pretty much. That one right there is more for for pork.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Okay.

[Warren G]

Turkey, chicken, seafood. Yeah, yeah. You could put it. The seafood as well. And, and then not too hot.

[Shannon Sharpe]

I mean, you. You ain't got too hot, do you not?

[Warren G]

No, no.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Sometimes people. No, that's good. No, I can't taste it.

[Warren G]

It ain't good if it's too hot hot. It's not soup. It's not like. Okay, burning hot. I. I got a wee brain seat that's got a little kick to it, but it's, it's. It's really good.

[Shannon Sharpe]

So this is.

[Warren G]

So where can they find this sniffing griffinsbbq.com okay. Yes, indeed. Yes, indeed. This is a really good. Yes, indeed.

[Shannon Sharpe]

This is the dry rub, the original barbecue.

[Warren G]

Yeah.

[Shannon Sharpe]

And this one. So which. Which one is. Which one is your. Which one do you like the best? This is all purpose rub right here.

[Warren G]

All of them. I mean, I use this one, the all purpose a lot because I could put it on any and everything I put it on. Even fruit I put it on. I swear to God, I put it on my fruit, my egg whites.

[Shannon Sharpe]

That's after you. Don't fire up that J, ain't it?

[Warren G]

No, not.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Ain't no way you put that on no family.

[Warren G]

I've all vegetables. Everything. No matter what, I put it on everything.

[Shannon Sharpe]

So tell. So tell it. So tell the people at home. What did you, what did you prepare today?

[Warren G]

Well, today I did some beef flanking ribs. It's a cut. Instead of having the big giant rib, that dino rib.

[Shannon Sharpe]

You ain't do the dino, did you.

[Warren G]

Not the dino rib. It's a one inch cut of the dino rib, but they wanted one inch cut.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Okay.

[Warren G]

And then I did some boneless, skinless thighs. And then I did some. Some spare ribs.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Okay.

[Warren G]

Yes, indeed. And some Mac and cheese. Tts Mac and cheese. I got some potato salad.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Dang.

[Warren G]

Some good. Some good food.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Can we. Can we get. You gonna break it out? Yeah, yeah.

[Warren G]

Oh, yeah. Thank you. Yes, indeed.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Y' all got Bundy old church plates.

[Warren G]

Oh, yeah. Yeah.

[Shannon Sharpe]

All right.

[Warren G]

That's. These is beef flankings.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Okay.

[Warren G]

Like I said, the thin cut of the ribs.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Okay.

[Warren G]

And then you have the spare ribs.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Spare rib right here.

[Warren G]

Then you got the. The boneless, skinless stars.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Yep.

[Warren G]

Mac and cheese. TT's Mac and cheese and potato salad.

[Shannon Sharpe]

All right.

[Warren G]

Yes, indeed.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Let me say my grace. Right?

[Warren G]

Oh, yeah.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Which one? What should I try first? Mac and cheese.

[Warren G]

You could try the Mac and cheese. Yeah. Oh, yeah.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Get a little bit more right quick.

[Warren G]

Oh, yeah.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Like, I feel. I like it.

[Warren G]

Oh, yeah. Chicken boneless skinless style. Oh, yeah.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Yeah. You did it.

[Warren G]

Oh, yeah. Yes, I did.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Oh, man, this beef rib come out the bone.

[Warren G]

My slogan. Bite through, not fight through.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Yeah, man. I mean, like, I was on the plantation for a couple of days. I ain't had nothing eat since early this morning. But it. No, you did your thing with this.

[Warren G]

Now.

[Shannon Sharpe]

All things being equal, I like pork ribs better than I like beef ribs, because mostly everybody now want to do the Dino. That's too much. I can't eat that.

[Warren G]

Oh, yeah.

[Shannon Sharpe]

I'm gonna give this little poke, but.

[Warren G]

Mm.

[Shannon Sharpe]

I do a little something with it. Mm.

[Warren G]

Mm.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Let me see. You made this potato salad, too?

[Warren G]

Yeah.

[Shannon Sharpe]

I ain't the biggest potato salad fan.

[Warren G]

So it got a twist to it.

[Shannon Sharpe]

But I like a little thick. I like little.

[Warren G]

Guess what I use in it? Some. One of the ingredients.

[Shannon Sharpe]

It do got a nice little. Nice little Twain. Nice little. And I ain't the biggest potato slider guy, but I deal with it.

[Warren G]

Y' all trying the food?

[Shannon Sharpe]

Yeah, we gonna try it.

[Warren G]

Oh, yeah.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Is there any sauce on it? I don't need no sauce. I'm good.

[Warren G]

Yeah.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Chicken, potato salad, pork ribs, Mac and cheese. Like I said, I'm not a big beef. I'm not a big beef.

[Warren G]

Okay. Yes, indeed.

[Shannon Sharpe]

But the beet rib, they are. They're very tender. I mean, they're very, very, very.

[Warren G]

Got some d.

[Shannon Sharpe]

So when you. When you travel, do you make it a point to try to go to different cities and try their barbecue?

[Warren G]

Yes, indeed. Every city I go to, I. Cause.

[Shannon Sharpe]

You want to see if there's something. Could I do something different? Is this something I could add? Maybe I need to take something out. So obviously, you know, what. What. What cities have the best barbecue?

[Warren G]

Austin. Austin, Texas.

[Shannon Sharpe]

I see a lot of them on the. On the Food Channel, and. Yeah, but I see them on. On ig, people talking about Austin.

[Warren G]

Yeah, they got a lot of. They got a lot of good. They got a lot of good barbecue. It's a spot called Goldie's that. That I like, actually. I met a lot. A lot of these guys. I met them personally, the Pitmasters, and I've talked to them. They gave me pointers on. On smoking meat and stuff like that.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Right?

[Warren G]

Yeah.

[Shannon Sharpe]

So, I mean, to be good. I mean, for the most part, to be really good at this, you got to be doing this for some years. Yeah, I'm talking about years and years. Most of the. And most of them, if you're not. If you're not overweight. I don't even want. I ain't trying to eat no barbecue because that means you ain't eating your barbecue.

[Warren G]

Yeah.

[Shannon Sharpe]

If you cook it like you say you cook it.

[Warren G]

Yeah. Yes, indeed. I mean, it. It's. It definitely. It's a lot of. It takes, you know, a lot of patience.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Yeah. Cause you know, you gotta prep it. You gotta let it marinate this long, you know, slow, low and slow.

[Warren G]

Yes, indeed. So that's why, like, the beef is so tender.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Oh, yeah, the beef. Literally. Literally. It's just like.

[Warren G]

Yeah.

[Shannon Sharpe]

You checking it out, the bone.

[Warren G]

Yeah. Chicken, it's all. It's very. It's very tender. Bite through, not fight through. That's what I call it.

[Shannon Sharpe]

So what sauce did you put on the ribs?

[Warren G]

I put the OG rub on the pork ribs.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Okay.

[Warren G]

I put the all purpose on the. The beef flankings and the chicken. I use the OG rub as well.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Okay.

[Warren G]

And then with the potato salad. And put the potato salad together. And I mixed my all purpose in with the potato salad as well. And then that's TT's Mac and Cheese.

[Shannon Sharpe]

Yeah. This concludes the first half of my conversation. Part two is also posted and you can access it to whichever podcast platform you just listen to part one on. Just simply go back to Club Shay Shay profile and I'll see you there.