Soothing The Savage Beast

12/19/2001 4:00 PM, Yahoo! Music
David John Farinella

Nate Dogg is back in town after eight weeks of promoting his sophomore album, Music And Me. He's got a visitor at the door of his bedroom. "What, baby?" he says, while taking the phone away to talk to his child. "I'll be there in a minute." This month, there are a lot more people looking for Nate Dogg.

Blowing out a nervous laugh, Dogg explains he'd enjoy this holiday time home more if his album hadn't just come out this month. "Yeah, man, if I wasn't so nervous about this album," he says. But he's done this before, so why is he so nervous? "Yeah, but I'm always anxious." OK, but let's say Music And Me becomes a major hit. What then? "Uh, I don't know. I'm start stressin' out about my next album," he answers with a laugh. "That's about it. That's how I look at it, man. It's always the future. Today might be sunny as hell, but what does tomorrow have for me?"

If Music And Me is any indication, Dogg is up for some good times. The album is a star-studded affair, with guests such as Ludacris, Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, and Xzibit joining the soulful fray, yet he wasn't looking for flavor-of-the-day artists to appear. "It was whoever was tight," he explains. And Dogg is happy with the results. "Yeah, I love this album, man. I'm real satisfied with the album."

Of all the songs on the album, the title track is the one that says the most about Dogg. "That's really my relationship to my music and where I would be if I didn't have it," he reveals. "There was no telling where I would be if I didn't know how to do this music. Sometimes I'd be about to lose my mind and want to knock somebody in the head or something, and I could listen to a song and just chill out. It calms the savage beast."

On "I Got Love," Dogg shows his love for hip-hop. "[The song] came from me showing I've got love for hip-hop and music, and to just spread peace instead of a bunch of bull," he states. "After all that we've been through over the last few years, somebody needs to have love for something."

While this is only Nate Dogg's second proper release, he's added his vocal talents to at least 51 songs for artists such as Snoop Dogg (his mate in the group 213), Dr. Dre, 2Pac, and Warren G, to name but a few. Along the way, he's learned a handful of lessons that's influenced this release. "You've got to bring your heart into your music," he says. "If you can't feel it, then nobody else will feel it. You have to be able to feel your music and put your heart and soul into it and not just go in there, put some wack stuff together, and leave to hit the clubs."

Though he's nervous, he's thinking good things. "I always think good things," he says confidently. "I'm prepared for the worst, but I expect the best. Always. That's why I put my message in my music. I've got to have faith in myself."