Nate Dogg

### Bio

Nathaniel Dwayne Hale (August 19, 1969 – March 15, 2011), known professionally as Nate Dogg, was an American singer and rapper. He gained recognition for providing guest vocals for a multitude of hit rap songs between 1992 and 2007, earning the nickname "King of Hooks".

### Labels

Death Row, Doggystyle, Elektra, Atlantic,Nate Dogg Inc. , Love & Happiness

### Spouse

LaToya Calvin (?–2011)

Hale began his career in the early 1990s as a member of 213, a trio he formed in 1990 with his cousin Snoop Dogg and friend Warren G. In 1994, he was featured on the latter's hit single "Regulate", which reached number two on the *Billboard* Hot 100 and served as a breakout success for both artists. Nate Dogg would soon become a fixture in the West Coast hip hop genre, regularly working with Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, and Xzibit in the 1990s; his deep vocals became sought after for hooks, and he would expand to work with a larger variety of artists in the 2000s, such as Eminem, 50 Cent, Fabolous, Mos Def, and Ludacris. As a featured artist, Nate charted 16 times on the *Billboard* Hot 100, and in 2003 reached number one via 50 Cent's "21 Questions". Nate Dogg also was notably featured on Dr. Dre's "The Next Episode" and Eminem's "'Till I Collapse". In addition to his guest work, Nate Dogg released three studio albums, as well as a string of moderately successful singles of his own in the 1990s.

### Early Life

Nathaniel Dwayne Hale was born on August 19, 1969, in Long Beach, California. Hale met Warren G at Long Beach Polytechnic High School. As a youth, he sang at Long Beach's New Hope Baptist Church, where his father was a pastor. He also sang at Life Line Baptist Church in Clarksdale, Mississippi.

At age 17, Hale dropped out of high school, left home, and 30 days later enlisted in the Marines. He was stationed at Camp Schwab in Okinawa Prefecture, Japan, in the Materiel Readiness Battalion of the 3rd Force Service Support Group, which supplied ammunition to most of the Pacific. After three years as an ammunition specialist, he was discharged in 1989. Hale would recall that he joined the military because he "wanted to see if he was a man".

### Legal Issues

Hale was charged for a 1991 robbery of a Check Changers shop and for a 1994 robbery of Taco Bell in San Pedro, but was acquitted.

In 1996, he was convicted of a drug offence in Los Angeles County.

On June 17, 2000, for allegedly assaulting his former girlfriend and setting her mother's car on fire in Lakewood, Hale was charged with kidnapping, domestic violence, terrorist threats, and arson. Dr. Dre posted a $1 million bond. The charges were dismissed while he pleaded no contest to illegal gun possession by a felon, and received a $1,000 fine and three years' probation.

On April 12, 2002, a tour bus carrying Hale, while outside of Kingman, Arizona, was found with two pistols and four ounces of cannabis, whereby he was booked and then released on $3,500 bond. The next month, the weapon charges were dropped for his guilty plea on a drug charge, and he was sentenced to probation, community service, and drug counseling.

In July 2006, Hale was charged with misdemeanor aggravated trespassing, telephone harassment, battery assault, dissuading a witness from reporting a crime, and breaking a restraining order. On March 20, 2008, pleading guilty to trespassing and battery, he lost gun-ownership rights for ten years, received three years' probation, and was ordered to a domestic-violence intervention program.

On June 23, 2008, after allegedly threatening his estranged wife by emails and chasing her on Interstate 405, Hale was charged with two felony counts of criminal threats and one count of stalking. He pleaded not guilty. In April 2009, as the alleged victim had failed to contact prosecutors, the charges were dropped. Incidentally, he was also convicted of driving under the influence of drugs