Regulators! Mount Up!

A call for all regulators to prepare for the evening is sounded. It seems likely that there are only two regulators to speak of, one Warren G. and one Nate Dogg, and these regulators do not include Fed Chairmen Ben Bernanke, the Federal Communications Commission, or the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.

(Warren G.)
It was a clear black night, a clear white moon
Warren G. is on the streets trying to consume
Some skirts for the eve so I can get some funk
Just rollin’ in my ride, chillin all alone

The night was notable for it’s meteorological clarity, and Warren G., a known regulator was out and about hoping to possibly meet members of the opposite sex while enjoying the quality time of driving alone in his vehicle.

(Nate Dogg)
Just hit the eastside of the LBC
On a mission trying to find Mr. Warren G.
Seen a car full of girls ain’t no need to tweak
All you skirts know what’s up with 213.

Nate Dogg, our other regulator inflects his initial thoughts on the night, identifying his location as the general area of southern California comprising the cities of Long Beach and Compton, and looking for his fellow regulator, Warren G. The song was written in 1994, a time before the widespread use of cell phones, so logisitical coordination was often much harder. Although Nate Dogg saw a car full of females, he was unfettered, his bravado tied to his membership in “213″ a rap group that had comprised himself, Warren G., and Snoop Dogg named after the Los Angeles area code.

(Warren G.)
So I hooks a left on 2-1 and Lewis
Some brothas shootin dice so I said “Let’s do this”
I jumped out the ride and said “What’s up”
Some brothas pulled some gats so I said “I’m stuck”

As Warren G.’s night progresses, he makes a left turn at 21st and Lewis in an unidentified location, though undoubtedly in the Long Beach/Compton metropolitan area. Upon turning, he sees a group of individuals gambling by playing dice (also referenced in “It was a good day”), so he decided to try his luck, indicating his desire to join in by addressing the group with “What’s up?”. Rather than break the existing group dynamic by agreeing to let him take part, they produced firearms, drawing them on Warren G. at which point he acknowledges that he is stuck.

(Nate Dogg)
Since these girls peepin me I’m a glide and swerve
These hookers lookin’ so hard they straight hit the curb
Wontcha think of better things than some horny tricks
I seen my homie and some suckas all in his mix

Because of the attention directed at Nate Dogg by the aforementioned car full of females, his behavior was altered so as to impress them. While being mesmerized by Nate Dogg’s presence, they carelessly hit the street curb in their vehicle. Though Nate Dogg was well aware of their interest in him, his attention was quickly diverted by the debacle befalling fellow regulator Warren G.

(Warren G.)
I’m gettin’ jacked, I’m breakin myself
I can’t believe, they taking Warren’s wealth
They took my rings, they took my Rolex
I looked at the brotha, said “Damn what’s next?”

Warren G. has fallen victim to an armed robbery, being forced to “break himself” by giving up his material possessions including his rings and luxury watch. Because of the longevity and severity of the ordeal, Warren G. even asks his captors how much more he will have to endure.

(Nate Dogg)
They got my homie hemmed up and they all around
Aint none of them seeing if they going straight pound for pound
I gotta come up real quick before they start to clown
I best pull out my strap and lay them busters down.

Nate Dogg observes the situation and realizes that they have surrounded Warren G., and refuse to take him on one at a time, instead using their strength in numbers to deprive Warren G. of his property. Knowing that stealth and speed will be key, Nate Dogg indicates that he needs the element of surprise to counter the attackers before the situation escalates, and that the best counter measure is to use his own firearm and eliminate those assailing Warren G.

(Warren G.)
They got guns to my head,
I think I’m goin’ down
I can’t believe this happening in my own town.
If I had wings I could fly
Let me contemplate
I glanced in the cut and I see my homie Nate.

Warren G. laments the peril of the situation, indicating that he thought that he may be close to death, the indignity heightened by being attacked by citizens of his own city. He momentarily dreams about flying away as he thinks about possible solutions to the situation when he catches a glimpse of fellow regulator Nate Dogg.

(Nate Dogg)
Sixteen in the clip and one in the hole
Nate Dogg is about to make some bodies turn cold
Now they droppin and yellin
It’s a tad bit late
Nate Dogg and Warren G. had to regulate

Nate Dogg’s firearm has a clip equipped with sixteen rounds, and one round is already in the chamber ready to fire, indicating a full supply of ammunition. The tables have turned as Nate Dogg mounts a counter-strike noting his shoot to kill strategy by saying soon their bodies will be dead and therefore no longer generating heat. As they fall victim to his superior firepower and combat training, their cries of desperation cannot save them. Although the lyrics indicate that both Nate Dogg and Warren G. effectively regulated the situation, Warren G.’s involvement in neutralizing his attackers is not specifically described.

(there is a brief interlude before Nate Dogg continues)
I laid all them busters down
I let my gat explode
Now I’m switching my mind back into freak mode
If you want skirts sit back and observe
I just left a gang of those over there on the curb

Nate Dogg gives closure to the previous situation by verifying that he eliminated all of Warren G’s assailants and used his firearm to it’s fullest potential. His mindset now turns back to romance with females, recalling the group of women who had been involved in a minor traffic accident by hitting their car against the curb just prior to the assault of Warren G.

(Warren G.)
Now Nate got the freaks
And that’s a known fact
Before I got jacked, I was on the same track
Back up back up cause it’s on
N-A-T-E and me
The Warren to the G.

Warren G. acknowledges the universally recognized charm Nate Dogg commands over women who are sexually emancipated, noting that before the incident, he was in the process of attracting females as well. The last three lines of the stanza have little significance and are merely self indulgent.

(Nate Dogg)
Just like I thought
They were in the same spot
In need of some desperate help
The Nate Dogg and the G child
Were in need of something else
One of them dames was sexy as hell
I said “ooo I like your size”
She said “My car’s broke down and you seem real nice, would ya let me ride”
I got a car full of girls and it’s going real swell
Next stop is the Eastside Motel

As Nate Dogg suspected, the females who had the traffic accident were still in the same location, and still in need of assistance as neither law enforcement nor the Automobile Club had arrived on the scene yet. Though they were in need of vehicular assistance, Nate Dogg and Warren G. were in need of romantic attention, and one of the females in the group was physically attractive to Nate Dogg, which he indicated to her. The attractive female was amiable to Nate Dogg’s affection and asked if he would give them a ride. Soon Nate Dogg’s car was at capacity with the group of females and they were headed to a motor inn, though there is no indication how they came to agree that they would go to a hotel rather than address the problem of their disabled vehicle, and disregarding state statutes which prevent individuals from leaving the scene of these types of traffic accidents.

(Warren G.)
I’m tweaking
Into a whole new era
G-funk
Step to this
I dare ya
Funk
On a whole new level

(Nate Dogg)
The rhythm is the bass and the bass is the treble

The song turns focus onto their ushering in of a new era of music they refer to as “G-funk”, which seems to be short for “Gangster Funk”, a harmonious style that often reflects the harsh life of inner city living, although this assessment has not been completely verified. Warren G. indicates that G-funk, whatever it may be, is a force to be reckoned with, and Nate Dogg interjects noting the importance of bass in the song’s structure as both the rhythm and treble of the tune.

(Warren G.)
Chords
Strings
We brings
Melody
G-funk
Where rhythm is life
And life is rhythm

Warren G. further espouses on G-funk stressing the integral role of rhythm in the genre itself and life in general.

(Nate Dogg)
If you know like I know
You don’t wanna step to this
It’s the G-funk era
Funked out with a gangsta twist
If you smoke like I smoke
Then you’re high like every day
And if your ass is a buster
213 will regulate

The last stanza starts off with Nate Dogg warning that if you are as smart as he is, you do not wish to challenge himself and Warren G. or their musical prowess. He further defines G-funk as the funk style of music people are familiar with, however, with a focus towards the gangster lifestyle. He notes that if you indeed smoke cannabis with the same frequency as himself, then you are under it’s effects on a daily basis before issuing one final warning. This warning indicates that if you are the type of individual who might cross one of them, they, in addition to Snoop Dogg, will regulate you possibly in the same manner as one of the unfortunate attackers they spoke of, or a group of women in a broken down car (whatever did become of them anyway?).