Regulate – Warren G, featuring Nate Dogg – 1994

I’m not known for my love of rap, but there are a few tunes that have slipped under the radar and got me to listen over the years, and this is one of them. Few songs remind me of my college days more than Regulate, and this one takes me right back there, studying for an Accounts exam that I knew I would fail so badly, that I ended up not even turning up to do it, and I spent the day at the beach instead.

Of course, back in those days, I didn’t know that it sampled I Keep Forgettin’ (Every Time You’re Near) by Michael McDonald from 1982, but such is the nature of the genre. Shame for Michael, because it’s hard for me to listen to his track now without ending up back here with these two guys.

I couldn’t name another Warren G or Nate Dogg song, which is surprising, because having listened to this one on a veritable loop during the darker months of 1994, you would think I’d have investigated their respective catalogues. Hell, I’ve never even seen the Tupac Shakur movie, Above the Rim, that features heavily in the video. As such, I am definitely a surface fan of the genre, and you certainly won’t find me knee deep in the underground rap scene.

Still, Regulate always brings me a smile.

One of them dames was sexy as hell
I said “ooh, I like your size.”
She said, “my car’s broke down and you seem real nice,
would ya let me ride?”
I got a car full of girls and it’s going real swell
the next stop is the Eastside Motel.

Lyrics to live by, people. Lyrics to live by.