# The 8 Best G-Funk Tracks of All Time

Los Angeles hip-hop rebuilt around slow tempos, a whining Moog lead and Parliament basslines played live rather than sampled. From 1992 it was the commercial centre of rap and the most sonically relaxed music ever made about violence.

- **Origin:** Los Angeles, California, 1992
- **Tempo:** 85–100 BPM
- **Also known as:** gangsta funk, west coast hip-hop, death row sound
- **Tracks:** 8
- **Updated:** 2026-08-29
- **Canonical page:** https://waxonia.com/genre/g-funk/

## The list

### 1. [Dr. Dre featuring Snoop Doggy Dogg](https://waxonia.com/artist/dr-dre-featuring-snoop-doggy-dogg/) — [Nuthin' but a "G" Thang](https://waxonia.com/track/dr-dre-featuring-snoop-doggy-dogg--nuthin-but-a-g-thang/)

*1992 · Death Row*

A Leon Haywood loop, a synth whine and two people sounding entirely untroubled. The template, delivered so completely on the first attempt that the genre spent five years elaborating it.

Also on: [The Waxonia Desk — The Hundred](https://waxonia.com/selection/the-desk-the-hundred/).

[Search Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/search/Dr.%20Dre%20featuring%20Snoop%20Doggy%20Dogg%20Nuthin'%20but%20a%20%22G%22%20Thang) · [YouTube Music](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=8GliyDgAGQI)

### 2. [Ice Cube](https://waxonia.com/artist/ice-cube/) — [It Was a Good Day](https://waxonia.com/track/ice-cube--it-was-a-good-day/)

*1992 · Priority*

The Isley Brothers under a lyric that lists ordinary things not going wrong. The most affecting record in West Coast rap, and it achieves that entirely by describing an absence.

Also on: [The Waxonia Desk — The Hundred](https://waxonia.com/selection/the-desk-the-hundred/).

[Search Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/search/Ice%20Cube%20It%20Was%20a%20Good%20Day) · [YouTube Music](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=h4UqMyldS7Q)

### 3. [Warren G & Nate Dogg](https://waxonia.com/artist/warren-g-and-nate-dogg/) — [Regulate](https://waxonia.com/track/warren-g-and-nate-dogg--regulate/)

*1994 · Death Row*

A Michael McDonald sample, a story told in alternating verses, and Nate Dogg singing hooks nobody else could have sold. Perfect construction from beginning to end.

Also on: [1994](https://waxonia.com/theme/nineteen-ninety-four/), [The Waxonia Desk — The Hundred](https://waxonia.com/selection/the-desk-the-hundred/).

[Search Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/search/Warren%20G%20%26%20Nate%20Dogg%20Regulate) · [YouTube Music](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=1plPyJdXKIY)

### 4. [Snoop Doggy Dogg](https://waxonia.com/artist/snoop-doggy-dogg/) — [Gin and Juice](https://waxonia.com/track/snoop-doggy-dogg--gin-and-juice/)

*1993 · Death Row*

Snoop's timing is the whole record — behind the beat, unhurried, audibly enjoying himself. Rap's most relaxed vocal performance sits on top of Dre's most disciplined arrangement.

[Search Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/search/Snoop%20Doggy%20Dogg%20Gin%20and%20Juice) · [YouTube Music](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=fWCZse1iwE0)

### 5. [2Pac featuring Dr. Dre](https://waxonia.com/artist/2pac-featuring-dr-dre/) — [California Love](https://waxonia.com/track/2pac-featuring-dr-dre--california-love/)

*1995 · Death Row*

A Joe Cocker interpolation, a talkbox and Shakur newly out of prison. The genre at maximum scale, and the last moment before the whole enterprise turned tragic.

[Search Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/search/2Pac%20featuring%20Dr.%20Dre%20California%20Love) · [YouTube Music](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=J7_bMdYfSws)

### 6. [DJ Quik](https://waxonia.com/artist/dj-quik/) — [Tonite](https://waxonia.com/track/dj-quik--tonite/)

*1991 · Profile*

A year early and technically ahead of everybody. Quik played and mixed his own records, and the swing on this one is finer than anything Death Row managed.

[Search Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/search/DJ%20Quik%20Tonite) · [YouTube Music](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=qOcrDKk0OGU)

### 7. [Luniz](https://waxonia.com/artist/luniz/) — [I Got 5 on It](https://waxonia.com/track/luniz--i-got-5-on-it/)

*1995 · Noo Trybe*

Oakland rather than Los Angeles, and proof that the sound had escaped one label's control. The Club Nouveau flute loop is one of rap's most recognisable four bars.

[Search Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/search/Luniz%20I%20Got%205%20on%20It) · [YouTube Music](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=ERtkpnXLrL4)

### 8. [Coolio](https://waxonia.com/artist/coolio/) — [Fantastic Voyage](https://waxonia.com/track/coolio--fantastic-voyage/)

*1994 · Tommy Boy*

The genre's warmest record, built on a Lakeside disco song and pointed at escape rather than territory. Included because g-funk is remembered as menacing and was frequently nothing of the kind.

[Search Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/search/Coolio%20Fantastic%20Voyage) · [YouTube Music](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=anFD_aYi5GQ)

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