Nate Dogg Unleashed

Absence from the spotlight usually spells doom for contemporary musicians, especially in the extremely fickle hip-hop realm.

One artist hoping to buck this trend is Snoop Dogg, whose first album in two years was released this week by Master P’s No Limit Records. Another is Nate Dogg, who with Snoop and Warren G created the blend of singing and rapping now known as G-funk.

After rising to prominence with widely heralded singing performances on such tracks for Death Row Records as Snoop’s “Ain’t No Fun,” Thug Life’s “How Long Will They Mourn Me” and the Warren G duet “Regulate,” Nate saw his career put on hold as Death Row struggled after Dr. Dre, its most potent producer, left the label, and its co-founder, Marion “Suge” Knight, was sentenced to prison for probation violation.

Nate’s debut solo project, the double-disc “G-Funk Classics Vol. 1 & 2,” released last month on his own Dogg Foundation Records, was first advertised by Death Row more than four years ago.

“I’m basically in control of what’s going on [now],” says Nate, 28. “It makes it a lot easier when you can make your own decisions. I can do what I want to do. You can be more creative when you’re not feeling like a slave. When you’re on a record label, they have you like that.”

Nate Dogg will be joined on stage Sunday by Warren G at the fifth annual 92.3 the Beat Summer Jam at Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre. The concert, which is sold out, will also feature performances from Big Punisher, Jermaine Dupri, Brian McKnight, Monica, Timbaland & Magoo, A Tribe Called Quest and others.

The concert is just the latest in a series of events that have Nate optimistic about a career that should have been launched in earnest years ago. Nate says he was released from Death Row because the company breached its contract with him over accounting issues. Death Row’s attorney, David Kenner, declined to comment.

After being released from his contract, Nate founded Dogg Foundation Records late last year. He hopes his company will emerge as a full-fledged label. The next Dogg Foundation project will be a compilation featuring fledgling artists signed to the company. Nate also has plans to make rap’s first musical, which he hopes will be released direct-to-video.

“I’m very happy about what’s happening, but at the same time I’m very nervous ‘cause I know I’ve got to get out there and promote, let people see me,” says Nate, whose real name is Nathaniel Hale. “There’s a whole lot of competition out there right now.”

The commercial showing of “G-Funk Classics” will likely determine the company’s future--at least in the short term--because Nate is the only artist with a recognizable name on the label. The single “Nobody Does It Better” has been a big hit in Southern California, and now has made the national Top 10.

While he was trying to resolve his contract problems over the years, Nate continued recording in order to stay fresh musically. These newer songs make up the new set’s second volume, “The Prodigal Son.”

The two-disc collection of 31 songs should please longtime Death Row fans. The laid-back production was handled by Death Row veterans Daz Dillinger, Johnny “J” and Priest “Soopafly” Brooks, among others. As in his previous work, Nate sings largely about women and life on the streets. A throng of guests, including Snoop and Tha Dogg Pound’s Kurupt, counter Nate’s slow, drawn-out, deep-voiced crooning with smooth raps.

In a business where many artists arrive and depart at breakneck speed, Nate Dogg is banking that his fans will still gravitate to his original style.

“I don’t know how to do nothing else,” Nate says. “I started out doing what I do and I try to stick to what I’m doing. If it’s not broke, I’m not going to try to fix it.”

BE THERE

Nate Dogg at the 92.3 the Beat Summer Jam, Sunday at Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre, 8800 Irvine Center Drive, Irvine, 11 a.m. Sold out. (714) 855-4515.