Warren Griffin III, known professionally as Warren G, is an American rapper and record producer who, aiding the G-funk sound, assisted West Coast rap's 1990s ascent. In 1990, he had formed with Nate Dogg and Snoop Dogg a trio, 213. Topping his seven Top 40 hits, the 1994 single "Regulate," Warren's duet with Nate, was a massive hit. Earlier, despite his teenage jailings in his California hometown Long Beach, having pioneering gangsta rapper Dr. Dre for older stepbrother, and having standout lyricist Snoop for groupmate, Warren G took a unique path into the rap subgenre G-funk's success.Not joining them at Death Row Records, where he helped on their debut solo albums, Warren G signed to a Def Jam label. And less suggesting gangsta funk, yet voicing simpler concerns, rapped more simply, Warren G became G-funk's everyman. On the American popular songs chart, the Billboard Hot 100, amid 18 weeks in the Top 40, "Regulate" held #2 for three weeks by August 1994, and led his debut album Regulate... G Funk Era. Certified 3x Multi-Platinum, three million copies sold, in August 1995, it also bears his other Top 10 hit, "This D.J.," at #9.