Warren G - I Want It All

Warren G's status as something like a camp follower of his pal Snoop Dogg is ironic in the light of I Want It All, a much better disc than Snoop's own recent, flimsy No Limit releases. Want gets across more on agreeably familiar-sounding Long Beach-style tracks and smart wordplay than on the storytelling that made Warren G's best-known track, "Regulate," such a standout. Still, who can really dislike a gangsta whose idea of luxury includes not only Benzes and champagne but "brand new socks and drawers"? While it would be interesting to hear Warren lay down rhymes with a little more substance than his boasts of being connected with the Doggfather, it's also refreshing to hear a tough guy who's more into laying back and partying than looking for someone to fill with bullets. Of such small favors are listenable rap albums sometimes made these days; the groovewise I Want It All is certainly one to keep in rotation. --Rickey Wright Amazon.com

Warren Staying Consistant On His Third LP (Rating: 8 out of 10- -4.0 stars)

Warren G. is one of the most consistant and underrated producers of the West Coast. On his third album, his production comes into form on many songs, and shows why he is such a talented producer. All of his beats have that West Coast vibe that you can just sit back and chill to. I first got into Warren with the video "I Want It All" with Mack 10, back in late '99/early '00, which made me a fan of his music.

On this album, Warren accomplishes two obsticales:

A. Leaving Def Jam was probably the smartest thing that has happened in his carrer, because their lack of promotion for artists on the west side, there would have been an album that he made would not have seen the light of day.

B. Warren colabing with artists on the East Coast. At one point, Warren didn't want to go to New York due to the recent events between the East and West Coasts. Him colabing with aritsts like Eve, Memphis Bleek, Drag-On, and Slick Rick, would show the unity between the two coasts at the time.

As I said before, majorty of the album vibes damn near perfectly. When hearing "Gangsta Love" with Nate Dogg, RBX, and Kurupt, I gurantee that you will believe that is one of the best tracks on the album. In fact Kurupt leaves an impact on the first two tracks, "Why Oh Why" with him, Warren, and Daz which is a great track as well. Chicago's Crucial Conflict keeps up with Warren's West Coast sound on the "Dollars Make Sense". "You Never Know" has some more of that signature production. Warren takes time to dedicate a song to his mother on the very deep "My Momma (Ola Mae)". The sex type song "G-Spot" with Val Young and El Debarge is great. Slick Rick and Phats Bossalini comes in for the groovy sounding "If We Give You A Chance".

Only thing that weighs this album down is some of the guests. "We Got That" suffers from weak verses from Eve, Drag-On, and Shadow. And the remix of "I Want It All" everyone's verses with the exception of Warren's is cliched and weak.

Other than that this is one great album. It was albums like this that brought the West Coast back in 1999 (no Dr. Dre didn't do it all by himself). This is a step of from Take a Look Over Your Shoulder, but at the same time it doesn't touch his debut Regulate...G Funk Era. All of Warren's albums are worth owning, because he can drop some good rhymes over some classic West Coast production. This is one I would recommend to everyone. Peace.

Lyrics: A-
Production: A+
Guest Appearances: B-
Musical Vibes: A+

Top 5 Tracks:
1. Gangsta Love (featuring Kurupt, Nate Dogg, and RBX)
2. G-Spot (featuring Val Young and El Debarge)
3. If We Give You A Chance (featuring Slick Rick and Phats Bossalini)
4. My Momma (Ola Mae)
5. Dollars Make Sense (featuring Crucial Conflict)

Honorable Mention:
1. Why Oh Why (featuring Tha Dogg Pound)
2. World Wide Ryders (featuring Neb Luv and K-Bar) February 16, 2008

Further West Coast brilliance from the G-Child & Co.

By 1999, West Coast hip hop was advancing past g-funk on the heels of influential albums like 2001 and Tha Streetz Iz a Mutha, ushering in a hard, fast, electronic sound in favor of the familiar slow, woozy, soulful g-funk sound that had dominated the coast for the past five years. As one of the forefathers of g-funk, this left Warren G in a strange predicament, but on his third album, 1999's "I Want It All," Warren just continues to do what he does best, and that is produce beautiful, laidback hip hop. The more I listen to all of his albums, the more I'm convinced that he's one of the best producers the west coast has ever had to offer; maybe even better than his half-brother Dr. Dre (Warren's sound is a little more focused, smooth, and musical; I like his ear for music better). Again, Warren adjusts his sound from his previous effort, 1997's ambitious Take a Look Over Your Shoulder, which was largely influenced by smooth R&B and pop music. "I Want It All" is often every bit as smooth as his first two albums, and maintains the same appeal with hook-heavy structures, a laidback approach, and rich instrumentals. But most of all, his creative genius stands out once again. He abandons his woozy synths for some more live-sounding instrumentation, with lots of horns and guitars, but the sound is still smooth and dense. Again, the rapping is mostly handled by guests, including Nate Dogg, Snoop Dogg, Daz Dillinger, Kurupt, RBX, Mack 10, Crucial Conflict, Jermaine Dupri, Phats Bossalini, Reel Tight, El DeBarge, Val Young, Eve, Drag-On, Shadow, Neb Love, K-Bar, Slick Rick, Memphis Bleek, and Tikki Diamonds. With all these guests, lyrically it sometimes feels like a compilation, but Warren never leaves the spotlight, and it keeps a really smooth, friendly vibe. When Warren raps, he has a really likable persona, a very conversational flow, and he sounds like someone you'd want to hang out with. He's not menacing or gangster, he enjoys life and music. While I don't like it quite as much as his first two albums, Warren G's "I Want It All" is another fine effort by the production genius, and one I highly recommend.

After the intro, the album kicks off with "Gangsta Love," an excellent opening collabo with Nate Dogg, Kurupt, and RBX. The gorgeous beat has beautiful bass and smooth sax instrumentation, it's one of Warren's best beats on the album and the MCs lace it with light, laidback lyricism. Nate also offers a great performance on this track. Warren, Daz, and Kurupt rap about their struggles hustling over an upbeat track on "Why Oh Why." Another great collabo is the Crucial Conflict and Kurupt number "Dollars Make Sense," which is anchored by another fine West Coast beat and nice verses. The title track has a great feel to it, a real classy-sounding track with rich horns and keyboards, Mack 10 guests. Warren's verses take a step back, and he looks at his career as a humble man. Jermaine Dupri and Nate Dogg provide good performances on the well-produced "Havin' Things," and it's followed by possibly my favorite song here, "You Never Know." A sunny, funky beat allows Snoop, Phats Bossalini, and Warren to drop some conscious lyrics, and the hook by Reel Tight is nice. Warren dedicates "My Momma (Ola Mae)" to his mother, on a solo track with catchy, low-key production. "G-Spot" is an enjoyable soulful, emotional number featuring El DeBarge & Val Young on the hook. The production here is another highlight. Warren adjusts his sound to suit his Ruff Ryder guests on "We Got That," it sounds like an average Ruff Ryders track, and although it's good it doesn't stand out. "Dope Beat" is aptly titled, a simple song with smooth vibes, and "World Wide Ryders" is another excellent track, it sounds a lot like something from Take a Look Over Your Shoulder. The cool "Game Don't Wait," a 213 reunion, and twangy "We Give You a Chance" with Slick Rick are solid late-album cuts. The album closes with a nice remix to the title track and an outro by Flavor Flav.

Warren G makes feel good music, and any time I pop one of his LPs into the player, it helps me relax and feel good. His constantly laidback vibes make for perfect listening on any occasion, and his musical genius can be appreciated on so many levels. It's definitely got a lot of mainstream appeal, but if you can't get into these beats then you should get your ears checked. "I Want It All" is another one for the collection for fans of Warren, g-funk, and West Coast hip hop. October 8, 2007

Warren's 2nd Best Album

Warren G's 3rd effort, "I Want It All," was released in the hopes that it would be better received than Take A Look Over Your Shoulder. While the latter album is more consistent throughout, with no unlistenable songs, I Want It All still gets a slightly better rating because the classics and near-classics are all but flawless. In addition, Warren calls on all his west coast homies for this one. With Daz and Kurupt, Nate Dogg, RBX, Snoop, Mack 10 and even Slick Rick making an appearance, Warren's limited lyrical ability is completely overshadowed. By the end, all you remember is the fantastic production skills of one of the west's bests. An extremely minimalistic album--"I want it all, fast cars, diamond rings, champaigne..."--the beats are straight g funk, laid-back and smooth. The album sports 2 classics, 3 near classics and 1 decent song. The rest is disappointing unlistenable filler.

The first classic is "I Want it All." Featuring west coast reliable Mack 10, the song has very easy lyrics, a fantastic set of horns and a nice bassline. This is my 4th favorite Warren G song behind Regulate, This DJ and Transformers. "Dollars Makes Sense" is an interesting one. A classic in my opinion, with a misleadingly hard beat and delivery. I say misleading because you can count the number of curses. At one point, Warren really messes with us: "Hittin switches and we checkin all snitches. Gettin all riches, and flossin in our pictures" You'd expect the easy rhyme from a lesser artist, but once again Warren defines gangsta rap on his own terms. Crucial Conflict sounds nice trading verses with Warren, kind of like how Pac and Outlawz did for some time.

On to the near classics. "Why Oh Why" featuring Tha Dogg Pound. You know Daz is in the house when you hear that knocking sound. Gangsta Love is a laid-back one with old reliable Nate Dogg crooning his way to another hit. The closest one to the classic, featuring one of Warren's smoothest beats ever is If We Give You A Chance. Val Young, the best female crooner of the g funk era, starts out the song, followed by a verse by Slick, Warren G and then Phats Bossi. Bossi's harder delivery takes away from the smooth sample taken from "Music is My Sanctuary." Nonetheless, it's a great song. Although the East Coast/West Coast feud was dying down by 1999, I like how Warren G tries to unite two coasts with Slick Rick by his side, traveling from LAX to JFK, giving respects to the two cities that continue to define hip hop.

The rest of the songs aren't worth mentioning. World Wide Ryders and Game Don't Wait (very disappointing 213 reunion) are okay, but after that everything's a mess. It's a shame, because Warren dedicates one song to his mom, Ola Mae. But the production on that one, and the rest, makes the song horrible. All in all though, especially because of the touches that the Regulator adds to otherwise minimalistic topics, another great album. 4.5
July 24, 2006

4.5 Stars

This should have been called Regulate pt 2 because Warren G satisfies me again with the Brilliant beats and this song Dope Beat and some others you want it for its smooth beats and Warren smooth voice get this November 30, 2005

4.5 star 3rd effort

After another 2 and a half year hiatus Warren returns with another solid cd. Just as good as his previous two, although this one heavily features other artists (only 2 songs don't have someone on them). The Production is, as always on his albums, tight and the beats are great through thewhole album. Warren does 11 of the 14 songs, Soopafly does 1, and Vada Nobles does 2. Has 1 classic, 3 average songs and the rest are good or great. I'd definitely recommend it for any G-Funk fan.

#2 - 9.5 (f/ Nate Dogg, Kurupt, & RBX)
#3 - 9 (f/ Daz Dillinger & Kurupt {Dogg Pound})
#4 - 10 (classic f/ Crucial Conflict - great beat and relaxing)
#5 - 7 (f/ Mack 10)
#6 - 8.5 (f/ Nate Dogg & Jermaine Dupri)
#7 - 8 (f/ Snoop Dogg, Phats Bossilini & Reel Tight)
#8 - 8.5 (dedicated to his late moms)
#9 - 9 (about the g-spot f/ El DeBarge & Val Young)
#10 - 8.5 (f/ Eve, Drag-On, & Shadow)
#11 - 7.5
#12 - 7 (f/ Neb Love & K-Bar)
#13 - 8 (f/ Nate Dogg & Snoop Dogg (213))
#14 - 8 (f/ Slick Rick & Phats Bossilini)
#15 - 8.5 (f/ Memphis Bleek, Drag-On, tikki Diamonds)

Warren Griffin III -- b. 11/10/70 -- Long Beach, CA
LONG BEACH - 213

check all my reviews
November 5, 2004

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