Paying Our Last Respects to Nate Dogg in Long Beach

​This morning, we headed over to the New Hope Baptist Church in Long Beach to pay our last respects to Nate Dogg, who died on March 15. (It's open to the public until 4 p.m. today).

We got there just as the church doors opened; there were about 150 people in line. A few were wearing "RIP Nate Dogg" shirts; one man had a hand-painted, silk-screened portrait of Nate Dogg. Although there are no cameras allowed inside the venue, we were able to take a photo of the church entrance; a portrait of Nate Dogg was hanging by the guest books.
Nate Dogg's open casket was set up by the pulpit; on the casket was a bouquet of roses, edged with gold. Nate Dogg looked older and thinner than in recent photos; he was wearing a hat and holding his cane.

We said a prayer and thanked him for sharing his talent with the world, then walked out of the church.

One thousand tickets are reportedly being released for a his funeral and life celebration tomorrow, but organizers at the church say the event is invite-only.