Nate Dogg - Snoop Pays Tribute To Nate Dogg At Festival Showcase

He was joined onstage at Austin, Texas' Whitley building by Nate Dogg's sidekick Warren G and Diddy for a rendition of the hip-hop anthem Regulate.

Snoop told fans, "That's, like, my brother. Me and Nate were friends since 1986, so it's a little bit deeper.

"This is somebody who started with me. We dreamed the same dream and our dreams came true, and now he's no longer with us. So it's a little hard to deal with, but, in the spirit of Nate Dogg, we're dealing with it because we know he would want us to celebrate and have a good time. That's the spirit he possessed."

The rapper also remembered slain stars Tupac Shakur and Notorious B.I.G. during his hits set, which included a cover of House of Pain's Jump Around.

Nate Dogg, 41, passed away in Long Beach, California, in the early hours of Tuesday morning (15Mar11).