Customer Reviews

I Want It All

5 star:		(38)
4 star:		(20)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

The legacy of Long Beach rap leads back quite a few years. The sweet sounds of Long Beach hip-hop are guarenteed to make you feel good. Warren G was one of the pioneers of this style of rap, better known as G-funk. This style of rap is famous for its sweet and smooth electric keyboards, subtle guitars, and soulful swinging. Warren G is a true genius of this style, staying true to it throughout his whole musical life. His album I Want It All features only the best in G-funk, with soulful swinging and smoothly flowing beats. One great thing about G-funk is its natural feel and jazzy, laid back demeanor. His very own group, 213, named for the Long Beach area code at the time, also included friends Snoop Doggy Dogg and Nate Dogg, is in my mind my second favorite rap group of all time, after The Dogg Pound. The swinging, smoothly-flowing manner of I Want It All is what makes it one of the greatest of all time, and one of the greatest of this year.

The highlights on this album include the jazzy "Gangsta Love", which features his partners RBX, Kurupt and Nate Dogg, and flows just like the water, not mentioning the strong and confident performances from all, "Why Oh Why", which features Daz Dillinger and Kurupt for a bouncing street-hard track with excellent keyboards, "Dollars Make Sense", a slower track featuring Crucial Conflict and once again, Kurupt, and Warren's proteges Reel Tight, for an intense track filled with masterfully fast raps. The best track is probably "I Want It All", laced by so many bright instruments, trumpet, alto saxophone, guitar and keyboards, not to mention Warren and Mack 10 turning in wonderful performances. "Havin' Things", another great Long Beach track with Jermaine Dupri and Nate Dogg with swinging keyboards. Once again, you figure out that the perfect combination is Nate and Warren G. "You Never Know" features Snoop Doggy Dogg turning in an outstanding performance, although Warren steals the show. The sweet "My Momma (Ola Mae)" is a heartfelt dedication to Warren's fallen mother Ola Mae Sanders. In this song, he reminisces on how his mother helped him throughout his childhood. The swinging track "G-Spot" swings very well with sparkling guitars. Warren is splendid lyrically on this track and the chorus is very well done. The bouncing "Dope Beat" is where we join Warren solo for a genuine West Coast track, the laid back "World Wide Riders" features his group 5 Footaz for a keyboard-laced track. Another one of the greatest tracks on the album is "Game Don't Wait (213 Reunion)", where 213 unite for the most memorable track on the album. It's great to hear them all together again. Nate Dogg's smooth singing laces the track, and Warren and Snoop hold it together with tight raps. Also, there is "I Want It All (Special East Coast Remix)", though not as good as the original, it features Memphis Bleek, Drag-On and Tikki Diamond for a very good track.

I recommend this album very highly for any hip-hop fan. This is best if you like West Coast rap, especially if you are a fan of Long Beach rap. A remarkable thing about this album is Warren's ability to combine gangsta tales and positivity. A true classic for Long Beach rap.

By 1999, West Coast hip hop was advancing past g-funk on the heels of influential albums like 2001 and Tha Streetz Iz a Mutha, ushering in a hard, fast, electronic sound in favor of the familiar slow, woozy, soulful g-funk sound that had dominated the coast for the past five years. As one of the forefathers of g-funk, this left Warren G in a strange predicament, but on his third album, 1999's "I Want It All," Warren just continues to do what he does best, and that is produce beautiful, laidback hip hop. The more I listen to all of his albums, the more I'm convinced that he's one of the best producers the west coast has ever had to offer; maybe even better than his half-brother Dr. Dre (Warren's sound is a little more focused, smooth, and musical; I like his ear for music better). Again, Warren adjusts his sound from his previous effort, 1997's ambitious Take a Look Over Your Shoulder, which was largely influenced by smooth R&B and pop music. "I Want It All" is often every bit as smooth as his first two albums, and maintains the same appeal with hook-heavy structures, a laidback approach, and rich instrumentals. But most of all, his creative genius stands out once again. He abandons his woozy synths for some more live-sounding instrumentation, with lots of horns and guitars, but the sound is still smooth and dense. Again, the rapping is mostly handled by guests, including Nate Dogg, Snoop Dogg, Daz Dillinger, Kurupt, RBX, Mack 10, Crucial Conflict, Jermaine Dupri, Phats Bossalini, Reel Tight, El DeBarge, Val Young, Eve, Drag-On, Shadow, Neb Love, K-Bar, Slick Rick, Memphis Bleek, and Tikki Diamonds. With all these guests, lyrically it sometimes feels like a compilation, but Warren never leaves the spotlight, and it keeps a really smooth, friendly vibe. When Warren raps, he has a really likable persona, a very conversational flow, and he sounds like someone you'd want to hang out with. He's not menacing or gangster, he enjoys life and music. While I don't like it quite as much as his first two albums, Warren G's "I Want It All" is another fine effort by the production genius, and one I highly recommend.

After the intro, the album kicks off with "Gangsta Love," an excellent opening collabo with Nate Dogg, Kurupt, and RBX. The gorgeous beat has beautiful bass and smooth sax instrumentation, it's one of Warren's best beats on the album and the MCs lace it with light, laidback lyricism. Nate also offers a great performance on this track. Warren, Daz, and Kurupt rap about their struggles hustling over an upbeat track on "Why Oh Why." Another great collabo is the Crucial Conflict and Kurupt number "Dollars Make Sense," which is anchored by another fine West Coast beat and nice verses. The title track has a great feel to it, a real classy-sounding track with rich horns and keyboards, Mack 10 guests. Warren's verses take a step back, and he looks at his career as a humble man. Jermaine Dupri and Nate Dogg provide good performances on the well-produced "Havin' Things," and it's followed by possibly my favorite song here, "You Never Know." A sunny, funky beat allows Snoop, Phats Bossalini, and Warren to drop some conscious lyrics, and the hook by Reel Tight is nice. Warren dedicates "My Momma (Ola Mae)" to his mother, on a solo track with catchy, low-key production. "G-Spot" is an enjoyable soulful, emotional number featuring El DeBarge & Val Young on the hook. The production here is another highlight. Warren adjusts his sound to suit his Ruff Ryder guests on "We Got That," it sounds like an average Ruff Ryders track, and although it's good it doesn't stand out. "Dope Beat" is aptly titled, a simple song with smooth vibes, and "World Wide Ryders" is another excellent track, it sounds a lot like something from Take a Look Over Your Shoulder. The cool "Game Don't Wait," a 213 reunion, and twangy "We Give You a Chance" with Slick Rick are solid late-album cuts. The album closes with a nice remix to the title track and an outro by Flavor Flav.

Warren G makes feel good music, and any time I pop one of his LPs into the player, it helps me relax and feel good. His constantly laidback vibes make for perfect listening on any occasion, and his musical genius can be appreciated on so many levels. It's definitely got a lot of mainstream appeal, but if you can't get into these beats then you should get your ears checked. "I Want It All" is another one for the collection for fans of Warren, g-funk, and West Coast hip hop.

underrated like all the west coast stuff that came out after pac;s death still this is slamming more cool beats features snoop dogg, nate dogg, xzibit, mack 10, eve, drtag on, and jermine dupri warren g has done it again.

"Regulate... G Funk Era" was tight... and this is almost a continuation of that album. "Dope Beat" reminds me of "Do You See" a little. This is however, much more laid back then "Regulators" was. With a new label deal, he must have more freedom now. He must have had fun doing this one, because it shows very well in the music. The best improvement over "Regulators" is the fact that there really aren't any skits, (except the Intro and Outro, which aren't really skits).

Same thing he's always done, not a lot of senseless violence, not swearing just to say bad words, and a tight old-school Hip-Hop sound. Some of the songs are corny though, "World Wyde Ryders" and "We Got That" come to mind (the lyrics don't even make sense). "Game Don't Wait," and "You Never Know" are almost ballads of some sort, and "If We Give You A Chance," and "My Momma (Ola Mae)" are kind of catchy... Not a bad album at all.

The best songs on the LP are "I Want It All" + the remix, "Gansta Love," "Why Oh Why," "You Never Know," "My Momma (Ola Mae)," "G-Spot," "Dope Beat," "Game Don't Wait," and "If We Give You A Chance." That's quite a bit.

Bottom Line: If you liked "Regulate... G-Funk Era," when it came out (and especially if you still do), you will definitely love this album.

For the years Warren was missin from the rap game..hip-hop struggled to find the replacement to his laid back west-coast style. With his return, it seems they r still lookin. Warren will always be Warren, and returns with a easy-flowing style that anybody can listen to. But it seems somthin is missin...the hype just isn't there. Don't get me wrong... Warren still dominates with this album, getting help from tight tracks like "I want it all" and "dope beat" and strong guest appearances. A definte must to any west-coaster.

After another 2 and a half year hiatus Warren returns with another solid cd. Just as good as his previous two, although this one heavily features other artists (only 2 songs don't have someone on them). The Production is, as always on his albums, tight and the beats are great through thewhole album. Warren does 11 of the 14 songs, Soopafly does 1, and Vada Nobles does 2. Has 1 classic, 3 average songs and the rest are good or great. I'd definitely recommend it for any G-Funk fan.

#2 - 9.5 (f/ Nate Dogg, Kurupt, & RBX)
#3 - 9 (f/ Daz Dillinger & Kurupt {Dogg Pound})
#4 - 10 (classic f/ Crucial Conflict - great beat and relaxing)
#5 - 7 (f/ Mack 10)
#6 - 8.5 (f/ Nate Dogg & Jermaine Dupri)
#7 - 8 (f/ Snoop Dogg, Phats Bossilini & Reel Tight)
#8 - 8.5 (dedicated to his late moms)
#9 - 9 (about the g-spot f/ El DeBarge & Val Young)
#10 - 8.5 (f/ Eve, Drag-On, & Shadow)
#11 - 7.5
#12 - 7 (f/ Neb Love & K-Bar)
#13 - 8 (f/ Nate Dogg & Snoop Dogg (213))
#14 - 8 (f/ Slick Rick & Phats Bossilini)
#15 - 8.5 (f/ Memphis Bleek, Drag-On, tikki Diamonds)

Warren Griffin III -- b. 11/10/70 -- Long Beach, CA
LONG BEACH - 213

check all my reviews

The legacy of Long Beach rap leads back quite a few years. The sweet sounds of Long Beach hip-hop are guarenteed to make you feel good. Warren G was one of the pioneers of this style of rap, better known as G-funk. This style of rap is famous for its sweet and smooth electric keyboards, subtle guitars, and soulful swinging. Warren G is a true genius of this style, staying true to it throughout his whole musical life. His album I Want It All features only the best in G-funk, with soulful swinging and smoothly flowing beats. One great thing about G-funk is its natural feel and jazzy, laid back demeanor. His very own group, 213, named for the Long Beach area code at the time, also included friends Snoop Doggy Dogg and Nate Dogg, is in my mind my second favorite rap group of all time, after The Dogg Pound. The swinging, smoothly-flowing manner of I Want It All is what makes it one of the greatest of all time, and one of the greatest of this year.

The highlights on this album include the jazzy "Gangsta Love", which features his partners RBX, Kurupt and Nate Dogg, and flows just like the water, not mentioning the strong and confident performances from all, "Why Oh Why", which features Daz Dillinger and Kurupt for a bouncing street-hard track with excellent keyboards, "Dollars Make Sense", a slower track featuring Crucial Conflict and once again, Kurupt, and Warren's proteges Reel Tight, for an intense track filled with masterfully fast raps. The best track is probably "I Want It All", laced by so many bright instruments, trumpet, alto saxophone, guitar and keyboards, not to mention Warren and Mack 10 turning in wonderful performances. "Havin' Things", another great Long Beach track with Jermaine Dupri and Nate Dogg with swinging keyboards. Once again, you figure out that the perfect combination is Nate and Warren G. "You Never Know" features Snoop Doggy Dogg turning in an outstanding performance, although Warren steals the show. The sweet "My Momma (Ola Mae)" is a heartfelt dedication to Warren's fallen mother Ola Mae Sanders. In this song, he reminisces on how his mother helped him throughout his childhood. The swinging track "G-Spot" swings very well with sparkling guitars. Warren is splendid lyrically on this track and the chorus is very well done. The bouncing "Dope Beat" is where we join Warren solo for a genuine West Coast track, the laid back "World Wide Riders" features his group 5 Footaz for a keyboard-laced track. Another one of the greatest tracks on the album is "Game Don't Wait (213 Reunion)", where 213 unite for the most memorable track on the album. It's great to hear them all together again. Nate Dogg's smooth singing laces the track, and Warren and Snoop hold it together with tight raps. Also, there is "I Want It All (Special East Coast Remix)", though not as good as the original, it features Memphis Bleek, Drag-On and Tikki Diamond for a very good track.

I recommend this album very highly for any hip-hop fan. This is best if you like West Coast rap, especially if you are a fan of Long Beach rap. A remarkable thing about this album is Warren's ability to combine gangsta tales and positivity. A true classic for Long Beach rap.

Warren G is the half brother of Dr Dre and its obvious that talent runs in the family from this cd. I bought regulate...the g funk era and i was craving more warren G(regulate...the g funk era was only 36 minutes long). This cd, i want it all is exactly what i was lookin for. Warren has the best flow and has learned to produced from dre which is a deadly combo. Look out for Dope beat and the title track; i want it all on this cd (my perosnal favorites)

Sure this CD may be not be Regulate but should we really hold every CD Warren makes up to that standard? In any case "I Want It All" finds Warren updating his stlye a little. Don't worry he hasn't gone dirty south or defected to the Wu-Tang but the sound definatly isn't a stale rehash of either of his old records. The problem with this CD is that the most promising songs simply don't live up to themselves. For example the reuion of 213 (Snoop and Nate Dogg along with Warren) had to be the most anticapated song on the disc but something went wrong with Snoop. It sounds like there's something stuck in his throat and his lyrics... well let's just say when you toss in the words "You can make mine extra cheesy" the lyrics themselves become exactly that, pretty cheezy. What this album does have going for it are songs you wouldn't expect such as Dollars Make Sense, Gangsta Love, Havin' Things, and You Never Know, where Snoop actually gets the voice and lyrics hooked up. So despite the weak effort of 213 this album is still stuck in my head and my stero where it's been the only thing playing for nearly a month.

After dropping a (relatively) weak second album Warren G comes back and this time he doesn't dissapoint at all! His new album brings us what Warren G does the best - smooth and laid back Long Beach G-Funk. But I feel like he took his game (production wise) on a higher level. Out of 14 songs there are maybe 3 or 4 that aren't good. But the other 10 are just BANGIN'! Warren G also uses the help of many guest artists from rappers like Snoop Dogg, Tha Dogg Pound, Nate Dogg and Jermaine Dupri to some East Coast rappers like Drag-on, Eve and Tikki Diamond. You also get Midwest grous Crucial Conflict on perhaps the best song on the album. And these are just some of the guests - there are more. On this album Warren G proves again that he's one of the 5 best producers on the West Coast. His rapping skills were never something worth saying a lof about, but he's still very solid on the mic, and like many good producers who also rap (such as Dr. Dre, Ant Banks and others) he knows how to fit his rapping to the beats perfectly. I also think that lyrically he's better than his first 2 albums, and he actually deals with more topics than the previous ones. Overall, I really love this album. Maybe it's not a 5 star album like the all-time classic "Regulate - G Funk Era" (that sold about 4 million copies!), but it's definitely better than the last album, and I feel that Warren G tried a few new direction in terms of beats, while still giving us, the public, some the G-Funk sound he helped create. This album didn't get a lot of success nationwide, since the label didn't promote it like it should have, but to me it's a winner, and Warren G is on top of his game.