The dome in Hale's hometown of Long Beach is adjacent to the historic ship the Queen Mary and was the former home of Howard Hughes' airplane folly, the Spruce Goose.
Organizers had sought a more central location for the funeral, but none proved large enough for the numbers of expected mourners. A private dinner was planned after the service.
Hale started out singing in church choirs, then formed a group with Snoop Dogg and Warren G while the trio was in high school in Long Beach.
His almost monotone vocal stylings anchored some of rap's most seminal songs and helped define the sound of West Coast hip-hop on tracks usually produced by Dr. Dre and performed by rappers like Snoop Dogg, Tha Dogg Pound and Warren G. He remained sought after as a singer more than a decade after his original success, supplying vocals to more recent tracks by 50 Cent and Ludacris.
Hale dropped out of high school, was dishonorably discharged from the Marines and dabbled in the drug trade before finding success as Nate Dogg on Dr. Dre's classic 1992 album "The Chronic."
Late in life, he was plagued by legal and health problems, including at least two strokes in 2008.
