We honored the 20th anniversary of one of the most influential hip hop albums of all time on SKEE Live this week: Warren G’s Regulate… G Funk Era. Comments have been streaming in on twitter from fans reminiscing on how important that album was to them, with many saying music today just isn’t the same.

It then dawned on me how often I hear those words, and I’ve even caught myself saying it before. Music isn’t the same. It never is, and it’s not supposed to be. Music is an art and has no true grading system. What appeals to one may not appeal to another.

Regulate was one of the first CD’s I bought. I probably played it as much as any album when i was a kid. I vividly remember listening to it all summer in my walkman- from the school bus to my parents car. Even though the album was recorded and largely about the inner workings of the streets in long beach in the 90’s, for me ill always associate this album with my own childhood in Minnesota.

To me, the 90's in general was the golden era of music. It’s funny though- I’ve noticed every generation has said the same thing. To those born in the generation before me it was all about Prince, NWA, Def Leppard, and so forth, which were slightly before my time. I would later go back and discover how incredible these artists and music were, but they don’t compare to the 90's for me personally simply because i didn’t have childhood memories with them.

However, to those growing up in the 80’s, this was obviously the golden era of music. The same thing goes for every generation before. I remember my parents saying music wasn’t what it used to be when I was in love with my 90’s music, as the 60's in their head was clearly the golden era for music for them because this was their first experience.

Your childhood years are not only some of the best in your life, but the ones you learn the fastest in and create your first memories. The formula is simple- whatever music you listned to will stay with you through eternity.

It’s obvious we all have our own opinions, and thats fine. What bothers me is when others criticize or state that music isn’t real anymore. When Warren G and Nate Dogg dropped Regulate, especially using a Michael McDonald sample, elders at the time criticized it as unoriginal music with no soul or uniqueness. Looking back in time today, Warren G & Nate Dogg single handedly invented the sub genre of G Funk and have become icons worldwide.

I know I never want to be that old man putting down anything new. Lets embrace it all and evolve together as one culture. Lets not treat this generation the way others did to us in the past. Lets not put others down because we feel they aren’t “real.” Lets stop what many of us do now- simply criticizing todays artists for a sound that may not be as familiar to us. Music is art. Lets encourage this and future generations to simply follow their heart and be artists. We will always be in the golden age of music.