(Photo By Kal’L Gage)
Kal’L’s Top 8 Favorite Mainstream Collabs has come down to the final two entries. Seems like time just flew by, huh? And these entries may come as a bit of surprise as they aren’t the crooner’s typical R&B or Pop music flavors. Instead they are both Hip-Hop selections. And timeless selections at that. The number two entry is “Nothin’ But A G Thang” by legendary heavy hitters Dr. Dre & Snoop Dogg.
The song was the first official single off of Dre’s debut album, The Chronic. The song contains a sample of a couple of different records including: “I Want A Do Something Freaky to You” by Leon Haywood, “B-Side Wins Again” by Public Enemy, “Uphill (Peace of Mind)” by Kid Dynamite. It dominated the charts worldwide and has received accolades from entities such as the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, XXL magazine, Rolling Stone magazine, and more. It is a chill down to earth hood anthem with pointed references to the areas of Long Beach and Compton, which are located in California. The video was directed by Dr. Dre himself. It depicts Dre & Snoop spending the day kicking it around Long Beach together. They hit up a cookout at a neighborhood park. There is car stunting in the streets, a volleyball game underway, and tons of people milling about just enjoying the festivities. As day leads into night, the duo leave the park and hit up a house party. At which one of the most memorable scenes of the video takes place. A snobby female who had been snubbing people throughout the night is sprayed down with 40oz of malt liquor by two party-goers. The video concludes with Snoop being dropped back off at home early the next morning. The video has been noted as one of the most censored flicks on MTV during it’s time period. **Why It Made The Countdown: “This collab made the countdown because it was the first Hip-Hop song I ever learned the lyrics to. It’s a classic!” – Kal’L Gage
And the number one song on the countdown is (cue drum-roll), “Regulate” by two additional West Coast giants, Warren G and Nate Dogg. The single was released in 1994. It appears on the soundtrack to the movie Above The Rim (Tupac Shakur) and on Warren G’s album, Regulate … G Funk Era. It performed extremely well on the music charts and is considered the breakout hit for both Warren G and Nate Dogg. Also, it contains an excerpt from “I Keep Forgettin’ (Every Time You’re Near)” by Michael McDonald. It went on to be nominated for a handful of awards despite the fact that some critics felt that Warren G’s rhymes weren’t all that strong. The track remains one of Def Jam’s biggest hits to date. The video is simply a literal depiction of the song with clips from the movie Above The Rim dispersed throughout. So the camera follows Warren & Nate as they head out for the night intending to meet up with each other for some fun. They run into a bit of trouble at first but ultimately wind up doing their thing at a small hotel party. The video bred some controversy with MTV as the network was accused of racist practices for censoring certain aspects of the flick but not censoring the same type of content featured in videos by popular White artists like Johnny Cash. **Why It Made The Countdown: “This was the first Hip-Hop song I ever heard with singing on it. I’m not sure if it’s the first one ever released, but it is the best as far as I’m concerned.” -Kal’L Gage
**My Two Cents: I couldn’t have picked a better way to end the countdown myself. One can never go wrong with Hip-Hop from this era. Both songs are excellent choices and truly made remarkable impacts within the Hip-Hop community. West Coast artists used to get it in. I have to take a moment to say rest in peace to Nate Dogg, he is truly missed. And I have a bit of news to share with readers. Collaboration Week 2 has been pushed back. Kal’L wants to be sure he is bringing his supporters nothing but the best material and felt the timeline was a tad rushed. Stay tuned for future updates. Thanks for following the countdown! -MinM
