Notes & Personnel Info |  | Personnel: Nate Dogg (vocals); Ludacris, Xzibit, B.R.E.T.T., Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Lil' Mo, The Eastsidaz, Fabolous, Jermaine Dupri, Kurupt, Pharoahe Monch (rap vocals); Megahertz, Mike City, Battlecat (various instruments); A.J. Luke, Marlon Williams, Anthony Mazza (guitar); Tim Izo Orindgreff (flute, saxophone); Printz Board (trumpet); Mike Elizondo (keyboards, bass); Rhemario Webber, Mel-Man, Fred Wreck, Howie Hersh (keyboards); Tony G (percussion); Barbara Wilson (background vocals). | | Producers include: Nate Dogg, Bink, Dr. Dre, Mike Elizando, Battlecat. | | Engineers include: CJ Devillar, Brian Frye, Darrell Thorpe. | | Personnel: A.J. Luke, Anthony Mazza, Marlon Williams (guitar); Tim Izo Orindgreff (flute); Printz Board (trumpet); Howard Hersh, Rhemario Webber, Mike Elizondo (keyboards); Tony G. (percussion); Barbara Wilson (background vocals). | | Audio Mixers: Kevin "KD" Davis; Manny Marroquin; Doug Wilson; Dr. Dre; Joe Warlick; Mauricio Iragorri; Phil Tan; Richard Huredia; Battlecat. | | Recording information: Encore Studios, Burbank, CA; Record One, Sherman Oaks, CA; SouthSide Studios, Atlanta, GA; The Enterprise, Burbank, CA; Trac Ken Place, Los Angeles, CA; Villiage Recorder, Los Angeles, CA. | | Photographer: Piotr Sikora. | | Music & Me technically isn't Nate Dogg's debut album. That would be G-Funk Classics (1998), a mishandled double-disc album released as an afterthought during the waning days of Death Row Records. But since G-Funk Classics was such a hodgepodge, and also since it fell upon deaf ears, it's understandable that Music & Me feels like Nate Dogg's solo debut album -- his first chance to shine on his own and elevate his reputation from featured guest to solo superstar. Released by Elektra, Music & Me is a well-crafted album on most counts, featuring first-rate production work by Megahertz, Bink, and Mel-Man, along with high-profile guest features by Xzibit, Pharoahe Monch, Jermaine Dupri, Dr. Dre, Kurupt, Ludacris, Snoop Dogg, and Fabolous (all of whom are returing the favor, for Nate Dogg was a featured guest on recent albums of theirs). Music & Me certainly sounds good while it's playing, and the revolving door of guest features keeps the proceedings interesting, if occasionally routine rather than exciting. If there's one quality lacking, however, it's a wealth of ace songwriting -- the productions are first-rate, the guests are talented, Nate Dogg himself is in good form, but the songs themselves are often generic. There are some exceptions, including such standouts as "I Got Love" and "Keep It G.A.N.G.S.T.A.," but too many of these songs are lyrically artless. This generally isn't a problem with Nate Dogg, since he usually is brought in by others to sing prewritten hooks, and so long as those hooks are catchy and sound good, it doesn't really matter however shallow they may be. Over the course of an entire album like this, on the other hand, where Nate Dogg is the focal point rather than a featured guest, there needs to be some substance -- lyrics and concepts that add up to something meaningful. Perhaps this goes to show that while Nate Dogg is a fantastic featured guest, a sure-fire hitmaker when brought in to sing a hook, he's no wordsmith. Nonetheless, Nate Dogg is vocally in fine form on Music & Me, an album that sounds good when it's playing, and fans will surely enjoy much of the album, which admittedly has been a long time coming, so long as they're not expecting anything deep or meaningful. ~ Jason Birchmeier | | Nate Dogg reunites with original gangsta, cousin and ex-213 bandmate Snoop Dogg on this tuneful excursion through the underbelly of West Coast gangstas and playas. Nate has a smooth if unspectacular voice, and the melody is roughed up by the lyrical content, which covers familiar gangsta territory in an unfamiliar way. He's also helped out by Lil Mo, Xzibit, the ubiquitous Ludacris, Dr Dre, and Kurupt, among others, who keep the cuts from falling into musical wallpaper territory with an array of hard lyrics that'll get under your skin in a most exquisite way after a couple of hearings. "Your Woman Has Just Been Sighted" has a nice quote from Tenor Saw's reggae hit "Ring the Alarm," while "Another Short Story" is a smooth soul foray into a failed love affair that provides a breather from the otherwise constant banging and hustling chronicled on the rest of the album. |
Musical Guests | | Dr. Dre | | Pharoahe Monch | | Xzibit | | Kurupt | | Ludacris | | Jermaine Dupri | | Fabolous | | Lil' Mo | | Tha Eastsidaz | | Snoop Dogg | | B.R.E.T.T. |
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