Nate Dogg - Music & Me

Nate Dogg is the undisputed king of choruses, bridges, and hooks, which would seemingly limit his ability to successfully carry a full-length album. Nevertheless, Music & Me is his third appearance at the plate. A little Nate Dogg goes a long way, so it's no surprise that an extensive A list of guest stars holds most of the album's appeal. Pharoahe Monch's limber and loose verses make the otherwise mediocre "I Pledge Allegiance" a pleasant surprise, while surface-level lyrics kicked by rap's miniest mogul, Jermaine Dupri, help bury an already weak "Your Woman Has Just Been Sighted." Dr. Dre, Snoop, Kurupt, and the Eastsidaz are in the house, of course, and Snoop's verse on "Ditty Dum Ditty Doo" helps make it the second best song on the album. The hottest track is easily "Keep It G.A.N.G.S.T.A." The beat is bubblegum yet menacing, a perfect background for the supreme combination of Nate Dogg, ghetto chanteuse Lil' Mo, and Cali's premier MC Xzibit. --Rebecca Levine Amazon.com

 A strong solo offering
Nate Dogg has for years been the undisputed king of hip hop hooks, making valuable appearances on rap classics like Warren G's "Regulate," Snoop Dogg's "Ain't No Fun," Ludacris's "Area Codes," 50 Cent's "21 Questions," and countless others. As a solo artist, Nate has found mixed success, with a handful of albums released over a long career. 2001's "Music and Me" is if not his best, his most consistent. He uses a consistent style, putting across a character that is a smooth gangster with a rough, street edge. Vocally he is solid as always, but he entertains the most when he is telling stories of occurrences in his hometown of Long Beach. Nate has difficulty carrying a full album by himself, so as you might expect there is a long list of guest spots from popular MCs. Production is consistently strong, usually using smooth, slow g-funk beats that create a pretty unique musical vibe. R&B fans and hip hop fans alike will enjoy Nate Dogg's unique style on "Music and Me," and I recommend it to fans of his guest appearances and other work.

"I Got Love" is a phenomenal first track, a funky, horn-laden track where Nate uses his signature tenor to his full potential and has a catchy hook. After the decent "Backdoor" comes the good "Keep It Gangsta," a very west coast sounding banger featuring Lil Mo and Xzibit. "I Pledge Allegiance" is very good, well produced in a style that fits Nate so that he can make a great performance, shouting out the various characters in his Long Beach neighborhood. Dr. Dre and Nate make "Your Wife" memorable, as does Kurupt on "Can't Nobody." I really like "Another Short Story," a soulful sounding song where Nate makes his best lyrical performance. "Concrete Streets" is upbeat and funky. Snoop Dogg carries "Ditty Dum Ditty Doo," which has a nice hook, and "Music and Me" helps close the album well. A similarly great remix of the first song is included at the end.

Overall "Music and Me" is an entertaining and enjoyable album of a strong and talented musical character. Musically and vocally, it is quite consistent and solid throughout. Other reviewers have stated that Nate cannot carry a solo album, and while I disagree, I do concede that he is at his best when working with rappers. What I would love to see is an entire album of him working with a single rapper, almost like the "213" release. Listeners who like "Music and Me" should also check out Nate's "G-Funk Classics" if they can get ahold of it. I suggest fans of Nate's music pick up this album. January 2, 2007

 - D -
This album is truely the best. His vocal soothes the wounded ear and cures the sick with his talent. I think the best song on the album are:

1)Music and me
2)My Wife, or ur wife-.-' dunno
3)Keep it G.a.n.g.s.t.a.
4)Keep the bells ringin featuring J D.
*dunno what song title isss

The album is good, Go out and buy it. You won't regret it and never ever buy the mobb deep album. why? cuz it sucks July 19, 2006

 Underappreciated
Nate Dogg has an amazing voice and he can sing great. He was great back when he was on Deathrow records but he is still amazing now. It has appearances from Great rappers like Snoop Dogg, Dr Dre and Xzibit and a single called I Got Love. He doesn't rap, he sings and is great for chorus's on songs by other rappers that of course doesn't meen that he is not great being in whole songs.

If you want to hear some good music than go get it now because you can't be dissapointed with this. 10/10 July 11, 2006

 Like It
Already on his third I still can't believe he made that many albums because he is more known for collaborations then being solo. Anyways this is a great album with great collabs. My favorite are "I Got Love", "I Pledge Allegiance" and Ring The Alarm. The whole album is solid with great production and I like how it is relaxing with the beats and his voice and this album you can chill to. Recommend this to g funk fans because this is at its best right here. May 27, 2006

 Nate Dogg- Music & Me
Nate Dogg's (Nathaniel Hale) second official album was "Music & Me" (2001). Like a lot of people I first heard Nate Dogg when he teamed up with Warren G for the classic track "Regulate" though he also appeared on Dre's classic album "The Chronic". Throughout the years I have come to respect him as the king of R & B hooks, he has a very impressive catalogue of collaborations and remains undisputed in that category in my opinion. This album opens up with the outstanding "I Got Love", Nate laces this cut with soulful singing providing a memorable track. Lil Mo and Xzibit make the albums first guest appearances on the decent "Keep It G.A.N.G.S.T.A". Dr. Dre and Nate Dogg collab for the sinful "Your Wife". Nate Dogg reps what his life's about on "Concrete Streets" then drops one of the albums better tracks with "Another Short Story". Nate's cousin Snoop drops in with the Eastsidaz for the average "Ditty Dum Ditty Doo". The albums best track is remixed for the closer with Fabolous, B.R.E.T.T. and Kurupt making appearances. While I admire Nate Dogg's singing ability and think "Music & Me" is a decent release, I have to say he needs to step up his game more if he wants to hold a whole album down by himself, content wise I know he can do tracks which go deeper and that have more meaning- the kind that keep his audience listening from beginning to end. March 19, 2006

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