Regulate...G Funk Era (20th Anniversary)

Anchored by the laid-back G-funk anthem "Regulate," Warren G's appropriately titled Regulate...G Funk Era embodies the mid-'90s era of Cali sunshine, endless blunts, and switch-hittin' lowriders with a welcome and somewhat surprising sense of kind-heartedness. Unlike most of his West Coast G-funk peers, Warren doesn't celebrate drive-by gang-bangin', dirty-money stackin', nor G's-up, hoes-down pimpin'. Sure, he says the f word once in a while and puffs on the cheeba-cheeba when it's passed his way, but he's essentially a good-natured, all-ages rapper, interested in nothing more than good ol'-fashioned hip-hop. He professes his demeanor succinctly on the catchy hook to "This DJ," the other era-defining highlight here: "It's kinda easy when you're listening to the G-ed-up sound/Pioneer speakers bumpin' as I smoke on a pound/I got the sound fo yo' ass and it's easy to see/That this DJ be Warren G." Like his stepbrother, Dr. Dre, Warren is a more talented producer than rapper, and it's his by-the-book G-funk beat-making that truly shines here. For instance, another album highlight, "Do You See," boasts an elastic bassline and whistling synth hook, capturing the essence of G-funk as only Dre himself could. Warren further compensates for his middling rapping with a couple of guests, a few skits, and a brief running time. Even if "Regulate" and "This DJ" tower far above everything else here, Regulate...G Funk Era is nonetheless a minor gem among the myriad G-funk albums of the mid-'90s, and Warren embodies the style itself here with a precision perhaps second only to his older brother and does so with a refreshing air of harmlessness. [The 'clean' version edits the few moments of profanity.]