The 8 best G-Funk tracks of all time
G-Funk
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.
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Dr. Dre featuring Snoop Doggy Dogg / Nuthin' but a "G" Thang
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.
Ice Cube / It Was a Good Day
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.
Warren G & Nate Dogg / Regulate
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.
Snoop Doggy Dogg / Gin and Juice
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.
2Pac featuring Dr. Dre / California Love
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.
Luniz / I Got 5 on It
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.
Coolio / Fantastic Voyage
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.