And his friend and collaborator Snoop Dogg paid tribute to him on his Twitter page today, saying he was a 'true legend of hip-hop and R&B.'
He wrote: '[Nate] was one of my best friends and a brother to me since 1986 when I was a sophomore at Poly High [Long Beach Polytechnic High School] where we met.
'I love you buddy. You will always be with me forever and a day. You put the 'G' in 'G funk', you put the '1' in '213' and you put your stamp on everybody you ever did it with.
'I miss you because I am so sad but so happy I got to grow up with you, and I will see you again in heaven, because you know the slogan 'all dogs go to heaven.''