natememorial Nathaniel D. Hale, who became a hip-hop legend named Nate Dogg by birth into a family of Gospel singers and by bonds forged in the neighborhoods of center Long Beach, was memorialized Saturday during a long, emotional ceremony that intertwined those influences.

Famous for the distinctive vocal hooks he contributed to scores of songs by a variety of artists, Nate Dogg’s brushed-copper baritone had been silenced for nearly four years by strokes he suffered in 2007 and 2008 when he died on March 15. But more than 1,000 people from his intersecting social circles—family members, local churchgoers, international celebrities and residents of the streets that radiate from the Long Beach intersection of Martin Luther King and Pacific Coast Highway that was ground-zero for his stardom—gathered in the Queen Mary Dome to grieve, laugh and give praise.

The Rev. Wayne Chaney, Jr., officiated a ceremony that included rousing performances from the Smith Family Singers, the family choir where Nate learned his craft, and InNate Praise, the Gospel group he formed in late 2007, testimonials from friends and a thunderous sermon by The Rev. Michael Fisher of Greater Zion Church in Compton. natevip

And then there were the people who teamed with Nate to make music that was the most-popular in the world in the 1990s.

“Buddy Love!” rapper/producer Warren G. (Warren Griffin III) shouted playfully when he came to the microphone to give the first eulogy, invoking a variation on a nickname that went back to Nate’s childhood. A few seconds after that upbeat greeting, however, the fun had been drained from his demeanor.

“That’s my homeboy, Nate Dogg,” Warren said before falling silent as he stared at the casket at the foot of the stage. When he resumed speaking it was in a shattered voice. “Y’all have to excuse me. It hurts me so much to see this. Me and Nate have been through a whole lot. He stayed down with me from the bottom to the top.”

Warren and Nate met in high school through a mutual friend, Snoop Dogg. The three combined their musical talents on the streets, at parties and in a recording studio that V.I.P. Records owner Kelvin Anderson provided for them in the back of his store. The demo tapes produced there led all of them to professional careers. In 1994, Warren and Nate collaborated on a multi-million-selling song called “Regulate,” that probably still best defines them.

“Me, Snoop and Nate went balls-to-the-wall in everything we did,” Warren continued chokingly. “I didn’t feel I’d ever be speaking at the funeral of one of my dogs. That was my friend. His family has lost a good person. Music has lost an incredible artist. I’m gonna love him forever.”

Artists like Xhibit (Alvin Joiner), Daz (Delmar Arnaud), Kurupt (Ricardo Brown) and Butch Cassidy (Robert Parker) also spoke, while others like The Game (Jayceon Terrell Taylor), DJ Quik (David Blake) and Suga Free (Dejuan Rice) offered the support of their presence.

Snoop Dogg’s turn at the microphone provided the most nuanced remembrances of the day as he looked back over a friendship with Nate that went back a quarter century.

“Nineteen-eight-six, Poly High School—that’s where we met for the first time,” said Snoop. “We didn’t even know each other. The music brought us together. It was magic.”

natetruck Snoop introduced Nate and Warren and recalled that it didn’t go well at the outset.

“Warren G. and Nate used to clash,” he said. “They both were my best friend and I didn’t know how to divide up the love—I gave it out equally. But once we hit the studio, everything came together. Warren had the production skills, I had the rap and Nate had that voice. And what we did together with the Dogg Pound spawned so many different artists.”

Before that, however, Nate joined the Marines, and a story Snoop told about the day he returned perhaps best outlined the man—a story of how Nate discovered Snoop had no money, no tuxedo and no car to go to the high school prom and responded by giving him the money and loaning him his brand-new car.

“What a friend I had in Nate Dogg!” Snoop summarized. “He stood so strong for me so many times!”
Snoops looked down at the casket and appeared to be on the verge of tears. Instead, he raised his voice.
“I refuse to break down for you, Nate Dogg!” he said. “I love you too much. DPG for life!”