I had the extreme pleasure of sitting down with hip-hop veteran: Warren G. Let me tell you– Warren is TRULY a G! Like a real gentleman, he was polite, respectful, and answered all my questions in full detail. A crisp white tee, nice chain and watch was the attire for our sit-down, and of course his cologne smelled so great I almost got distracted! Almost. We spoke on everything from his “Regulators” performance withTrey Songz, to his long-lasting friendship with Da Brat. We had a great time! Check it out :

Cocoa B: It’s such a pleasure to sit down with you, Warren. I’ve been watching your career closely for years, and you truly are a vet. From emceeing to dee-jaying and producing– you’ve done it all and lived to tell the tale! LOL. Let’s get right into things.  Tell us all about your new project!

Warren G: The latest project is called, ‘THE G FILES” got a lot of great people on there: Raekwon, Travis Barker, Snoop Dogg, Ray -J, RBX, Casey Davis (from Australia)… Then I have a bunch of young, fresh talent on there: Black Nick, Mr. Luck Holla, Juney Boy, BJ, Christian Davis– just a lot of great people on this new record. Something for the people to enjoy fa real!

Cocoa B: So, has Mr. Warren G been effected by the auto-tune takeover? Will we be hearing anything like that on this album, or are we keeping it true-school?

Warren G: Well, you know what Jigga say. It’s D.O.A! I didn’t even get a chance to hop on on that! So you definitely won’t hear it. Jigga already d.o.a’ed it! [LAUGHS]

Cocoa B: [LAUGHS] He sure did! Don’t know if people care though, because T-PAIN and RON BROWZ still going at it! LOL

Warren G: For real, as long as it’s a hit record, it’s cool. I just haven’t really been into it. I had an older record where I used it. It wasn’t released though. It was called, “Throw Your Hands Up [in the sky]“.I might just throw it out there for them to hear me doing my lil’ auto-tune thang. Who knows?

Cocoa B. : HAH! You might have to…. So tell me, how was it performing “Regulators” with Trey last night at hip hop honors, rather than with Nate. Was there any sadness that you felt, nostalgia, or something similar when you performed it?

Warren G: Nate wouldn’t have minded it. Plus Trey is an incredible artist, and he NAILED it. It wasn’t sad, it was rather a celebration to him. It was a dedication to Nate. It was huge for Trey– one of the biggest R&B male acts out right now to do this for Nate. We lettin him know, we loving him, and he’s a true G in this game. We will never forget that…

Cocoa B: When you did “Regulators” with Nate did y’all predict the level of success that subsequently came with that single?

Warren G: Naw. We were just making music that we thought people could relate to. Our story, and the story of those close to us. We wanted to tell that story, and that was basically what we wanted to accomplish. There’s no way we could have predicted THAT outcome, though.

Cocoa B: What inspired y’all to make that record?

Warren G: Well, it was a few things that when on in my hood, and I’d seen the whole story. The situation that went down in the song happened to some dudes I knew. But I couldn’t help em, because I was in the house. No heat, no nothing. And there were guns drawn on em. So I took my dude’s story, and wrote it in the way I thought he was feeling at the time. I made it into a story.

Cocoa B: Indeed, that was dopeness…. West Coast rap dominated the early to mid 90′s. What happened in your opinion that caused the shift of power back to the East in the late 90′s and early 00′s?

Warren G: All the companies merging caused big problems in the West. A lot of companies dropped out, things got tighter and tighter. Right now, it’s even tight. And I think the record companies are scared to deal with an artist like a Warren G, or a Jay-Z, because they know they gotta PAY US MORE. We been in the game long enough to know what we’re worth. With new artist, they may spend 150-200,000 to promote them, and that’s it.

Cocoa B: You’re so right. It is what it is, meng. If you could collab with any artist right now dead or alive– who would it be, and why?

Warren G: Hmmmmm. I’d have to say Jigga. I wouldn’t mind producing for him. I have a lotta respect for him, because he understands that you have to trust the producer and their vision for a track. If a producer that knows music tells you, you would sound good on a certain track, Jay’s the dude that’s smart enough to listen to that, and consider it. He respects producer’s talent.

Cocoa B: You’re right because kigga says when he heard DMX’s “Money, Cash, Hoes” beat he was like “What IS THIS, can i really rap to this”? But he gae it a shot, and it was a hit record. So you’re absolutely right about trusting the producer’s vision… Today I twittered about this interview, and some of your fans hit me with questions, so I would like to present them to you know.

Warren G: Great, sounds good let’s do it.

Cocoa B: Ok… In your opinion, do you feel that West Coast hip-hop will rise to the top again?

Warren G: It can. It most definitely can, but there have to be more avenues, and we need more unity. Right now there’s one avenue (Dr. Dre) and that’s it. He’s working on DETIX and once that’s done he can open up mroe avenues, but for now we rely on him heavily. And the unity has BEEN an issue. There’s no unity in West Coast rap, and that’s our downfall. I’mma need to sit down with Lyor and talk to him about avenues. Let me open up an aveneue and start West Coast Warner Bros. over here. We need that! [LAUGHS] Yeah! Holla at Mike Kaiser, lemme be the WEST COAST BOSS!

Cocoa B: [LAUGHS] Yes! I love it! We need that in our lives ASAP, do it!!! Ok, next question: Do Cali dudes still bang?

Warren G: [blank stare...] I mean seriously? [LAUGHS] Lemme put it straight like this: Cali is active.

Cocoa B: I like that, I like that. Next question (from my homie @choovegas) : Are you and Da Brat still cool after doing VH-1′s Celebrity fit club togather?

Warren G: You know what, I’m HELLA cool wit Brat. I need her address so I can write her a letter. Just wanna let her know I’m riding with her, and keep her head up. Once she gets out, whatever she needs career wise– beats, etc I got her to the fullest extent. That’s my homie right there!

Cocoa B: Awwww that’s soooo sweet! My photog and I will get you her address ASAP, no problems! Next question: do you still practice the tools you learned in fit club for your daily life?

Warren G: Off and on. I’m not gonna act like I’m a saint with it. I try to cut out the bread. My homeboys always ask me why I take the bread off a lot of the time. That’s one of my main problems– too much bread (carbs). That’s prolly why I got this lil gut back again [LAUGHS] but it’s all good. I take it in stride, and do what I can. I try to eat chicken breast, brown rice and vegetables when I’m at home.

Cocoa B: Ohhhh shoot, you cook, Warren?

Warren G: Oh yes, most definitely. I love to cook. Barbeque especially. Look out for “SNIFFIN GRIFFIN’s BBQ”. Griffin’s my last name. I’m coming out with that, so look out for me. I love to cook, but especially grilling, smoking and bbq’ing meat. I’m the master!

Cocoa B: How was it having the cameras in your face 24-7 on a reality show. How did it affect you?

Warren G: I ignored them. I really did. Oprah did a documentary, and she said the person you are behind the camera has to be the same person on camera. And I stayed true to it. I stayed Warren, and that was that. You have to stay true to the person you are.

Cocoa B: True, indeed. One of my friends told me about a new project spear-headed  by Craig Wilson and Russel Simmons. It’s a hip-hop hall of fame, and they want to build it up in the Bronx. What do you think, is this an idea who’s time has come?

Warren G: I think it’s an incredible idea. We have the rock n’ roll hall of fame, so now we need the HIP HOP HALL of FAME, and I know I will most DEFINITELY be in there!

Cocoa B: Hah! how could it be hall of fame without you Warren? Of course! You’re a G, you’ve gots to be there… Awww man, it looks like that’s our time! It was a pleasure interviewing you, you truly are a G and I look forward to hangin with you in November when you come back to do another show!

Warren G: Indeed, and thank you too!

Well, that’s it folks! Warren is such a humble dude– I almost forgot I was in the presence of a REAL LIFE VETERAN! The best part about being in this industry is coming across people like Warren with that humble attitude, and warm spirit. I hope he gets his wish to produce for Jay-Z, he deserves it! Please head out and cop “THE G FILES” Warrens new album– it’s HAWT! And check him out on MYSPACE: www.myspace.com/warreng and collow him on twitter: www.twitter.com/warrengeezy!