Warren G

Warren G Bio

Warren Griffin III (born 10 November 1970), known professionally as Warren G, is an American rapper, record producer, disc jockey and actor who helped popularize West Coast hip hop and is widely regarded as a pioneer of the G-funk subgenre. A native of Long Beach, California, he is a founding member of the hip-hop trio 213 alongside Nate Dogg and Snoop Dogg. He first commanded national attention with his 1994 debut single “Regulate” (featuring Nate Dogg) and the accompanying album Regulate… G Funk Era (1994), both of which earned multi-platinum status from the Recording Industry Association of America.

Across a career that began in 1990, Warren G has built a steady catalog of albums, collaborations, and side ventures that extend his influence well beyond recording sessions. He is credited with discovering Snoop Dogg, having introduced the young rapper to his stepbrother, Dr. Dre, an introduction that helped shape the trajectory of West Coast rap. Over more than three decades he has remained active as a recording artist, a producer for hire, a touring performer, and an entrepreneur in food and sports.

Early Life and Background

Warren Griffin III was born on 10 November 1970 and grew up in Long Beach, California, the only son of Warren Griffin Jr., an airplane mechanic, and Ola, a dietician. He had three sisters, and his parents divorced when he was four years old, after which he was raised by his mother in East Long Beach. In 1982, at the age of twelve, Griffin moved in with his father in North Long Beach, where he met his stepmother Verna and her three children from a previous marriage. One of those children was Andre Young, later known worldwide as Dr. Dre, who would become both stepbrother and musical mentor.

Griffin attended Jordan High School in Long Beach, where he played football. He was also drawn to music from a young age, absorbing the late-1980s rap scene that was transforming Los Angeles County. The household exposed him to studio work early, as Dr. Dre was already a member of the electro-rap group World Class Wreckin’ Cru and was on the cusp of helping to define gangsta rap. This environment gave Griffin an unusually close view of how beats were built and how careers could be launched.

His adolescence, however, was not without difficulty. In 1988, at the age of seventeen, Griffin was jailed for gun possession. While incarcerated, he adopted the stage name Warren G, a moniker that would follow him for the rest of his career. After his release he worked at the Long Beach shipyards, but his focus soon shifted permanently to music once Dr. Dre taught him how to use a drum machine and turned him on to beat-making as a craft.

Path to Music

By 1990, Warren G had formed the trio 213 with two of his longtime running mates, Nate Dogg and Snoop Dogg, practicing and recording in the modest studio inside the V.I.P. record store in Long Beach. The group cut a demo tape and circulated it informally across Los Angeles County, drawing attention in Compton, Pomona, Watts and South Central. After Dr. Dre finally agreed to listen, he welcomed the trio into his home and studio in Calabasas, where Griffin contributed ideas to Dr. Dre’s debut solo album The Chronic and helped introduce Snoop Dogg’s vocal style to a wider audience.

Warren G, however, did not want to spend his career in the shadow of his stepbrother and friend. He chose to sign with Russell Simmons’s Def Jam Recordings in New York City, betting on his own melodic, more romantic approach to G-funk. His big break came in 1993, when he met director John Singleton at Dr. Dre’s studio. Singleton invited Griffin to produce Mista Grimm’s “Indo Smoke” for the soundtrack of the film Poetic Justice, and the track’s success led directly to his record deal with Def Jam.

Warren G Career

Early Career (1990–1993)

During 1990, Warren G, Nate Dogg and Snoop Dogg operated as the trio 213 and contributed to the emerging G-funk sound emanating from Long Beach and the greater Los Angeles area. The trio dissolved when Warren G connected Snoop Dogg and Nate Dogg to Dr. Dre, setting in motion the solo careers of both rappers and the launch of Death Row Records. Warren G himself returned to Long Beach and worked at the local shipyards while writing and producing in his home studio, gradually refining a smoother, more melodic style that would become his trademark.

His first widely heard production credit was “Indo Smoke” by Mista Grimm, featuring Warren G and Nate Dogg, which appeared on the Poetic Justice soundtrack in 1993. The track’s success caught the ear of Russell Simmons and led to a record deal with Def Jam Recordings. That same year he also appeared on Snoop Dogg’s Doggystyle album, featured on “Ain’t No Fun (If the Homies Can’t Have None)” alongside Nate Dogg and Kurupt, giving him his earliest national exposure as a performer.

Breakthrough (1993–1996)

Warren G’s mainstream breakthrough arrived with the single “Regulate” (featuring Nate Dogg), released on the Above the Rim soundtrack through Death Row Records in April 1994. The duet spent twenty weeks on the Billboard Hot 100, eighteen of them in the Top 40, including three weeks at number two in May, and was certified platinum by the RIAA in August 1994. It later reached 2x multi-platinum certification through digital downloads in January 2017 and stood at number one on the MTV charts that summer. At the 1995 Grammy Awards, “Regulate” earned nominations for Best Rap Performance and Best Rap Solo Performance.

“Regulate” also served as the lead single from Warren G’s debut album, Regulate… G Funk Era, released in June 1994. The album sold a million copies in three days, debuted at number two on the Billboard 200, and was certified 3x multi-platinum by the RIAA in August 1994. Its follow-up single, “This D.J.”, peaked at number nine on the Hot 100 and was certified gold in September 1994, while “Do You See” reached number forty-two. Across 1994 and 1995, Warren G was featured on companion albums from the Twinz and the Dove Shack, and in 1996 he appeared on Snoop Dogg’s Tha Doggfather on the track “Groupie”.

His follow-up album, Take a Look Over Your Shoulder, was released in March 1997 and certified gold by the RIAA. Its single “What’s Love Got to Do with It”, featuring singer Adina Howard, reached number two on the UK Singles Chart and number thirty-two on the Billboard Hot 100, while “I Shot the Sheriff” peaked at number twenty. In July 1998, he teamed up with Nate Dogg for the duet “Nobody Does It Better”, which peaked at number eighteen on the Hot 100. His third album, I Want It All, arrived in October 1999, was certified gold in November 1999, and produced the single “I Want It All” (featuring Mack 10), which peaked at number twenty-three on the Hot 100.

Notable Works and Milestones

Warren G’s signature works remain the 1994 album Regulate… G Funk Era and its lead single “Regulate” (featuring Nate Dogg), both certified multi-platinum and considered cornerstones of the G-funk era. The Long Beach trio 213, completed by Snoop Dogg and Nate Dogg, finally released a full album, The Hard Way, in 2004, marking an important reunion moment for the group.

Indie Career (2005–Present)

Released in October 2005 on Hawino Records, In the Mid-Nite Hour was Warren G’s fifth album and his first without a major label. Heavily featuring 213 groupmates Nate Dogg and Snoop Dogg, it was a low-budget, self-produced project that critics described as a faithful continuation of his G-funk roots. His sixth album, The G Files, followed in September 2009 and added a modern electro edge to his classic soul-driven sound, with the single “100 Miles and Running” featuring Nate Dogg, recorded before Nate’s strokes in 2007 and 2008, and Raekwon of the Wu-Tang Clan.

In 2015, Warren G released the EP Regulate… G Funk Era, Part II, an extended play featuring archived recordings of Nate Dogg, who had died in 2011, alongside contributions from E-40, Too Short, Jeezy and Bun B. In 2019, he launched a line of barbecue sauces and rubs called Sniffin Griffin’s BBQ, inspired by his father, who was a cook in the United States Navy. In October 2025, he collaborated with Howlin’ Ray’s to create a pop-up kitchen in Long Beach, and in 2025 he joined the ownership group of the Long Beach Coast of the independent Pioneer League, beginning with the 2026 season.

Warren G Award Nominations

Warren G received nominations at the 37th Annual Grammy Awards for Best Rap Performance and Best Rap Solo Performance, both tied to his 1994 singles “Regulate” (featuring Nate Dogg) and “This D.J.”. These two nominations stand as his most prominent recorded recognition from a major music-award body and helped cement his standing as a leading voice of West Coast rap during the mid-1990s.

Warren G Awards Won

Warren G’s commercial awards include a multi-platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America for his debut album Regulate… G Funk Era, along with platinum and multi-platinum certifications for the single “Regulate”. His albums Take a Look Over Your Shoulder (1997) and I Want It All (1999) were each certified gold by the RIAA, as were individual singles such as “This D.J.” and “What’s Love Got to Do with It” in select international markets.

Warren G Family

Warren G is the only son of Warren Griffin Jr., an airplane mechanic and former U.S. Navy cook, and Ola, a dietician, and he has three sisters. His father later married Verna, whose son from a previous marriage is the producer and rapper Dr. Dre, making Dr. Dre Warren G’s stepbrother. In 2019, Warren G launched a barbecue-sauce line, Sniffin Griffin’s BBQ, that he has publicly credited to his father’s love of cooking and outdoor grilling.

Personal Life

Warren G has been married to Tennile Griffin since 1998, and the couple has six children together. His oldest son, Olaijah, played college football for the USC Trojans at cornerback from 2018 to 2020, earning all-conference honors in 2019 and 2020, and was signed by the NFL’s Buffalo Bills as an undrafted free agent in April 2021. In recent years, Warren G has spoken about embracing family life, cooking, and storytelling, and he has channeled his interests into ventures such as his barbecue-sauce brand and his ownership stake in the Long Beach Coast baseball team.