Nathaniel Hale, or Nate Dogg as you might know him, was born in Long Beach, California. He grew up in Clarksdale, Mississippi until he was 14, when he moved back to Long Beach. He died there in 2011 at the age of 41 from complications of multiple strokes.
Nate Dogg grew up in Baptist home with a pastor for a father. Like so many other musicians, he started singing in his family's church as a kid and kept at it until he was 16.[1] And apparently his love of gospel stayed with him. In his last years, he left the hip hop scene and formed a gospel choir called Innate Praise.[2]
And just as gospel never left him, it doesn't look like his devotion to God went anywhere either. God and the Lord show up in many of Nate Dogg's songs, like "First We Pray" where he sings,
Heavenly father shine your light on me/ I know I promise to slow down on this weed[3]
I couldn't find any direct quotes from Nate about his relationship with God, how often he went to church, or whether he prayed every night–let us know in the comments if you find anything–but I have little doubt that he was a man of God all the way until the end.
Not big on the executive branch
Politically, Nate Dogg doesn't seem to have been very impressed. It doesn't look like he had anything to say about Obama, but he was pretty sick by the time his country elected its first black president. But he doesn't have anything to say about anyone else either.
In fact, the rapper's run-ins with the law might indicate that he didn't think much of government authority. He certainly doesn't appear to have thought much about gun or drug laws. He was even arrested on terrorism charges once for allegedly beating his girlfriend and trapping her inside her own home.[4] So anyway, maybe politics wasn't very high on his list of priorities.
Again, if you know something I don't, drop us a line in the comments. Otherwise, we'll stick with non-political for the Dogg.
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