Sad news came across the wire last night as it was reported that Nathaniel “Nate Dogg” Hale had passed away.

[READ: R.I.P. ~ Nathanial “Nate Dogg” Hale Dead at 41 + Snoop Dogg’s Emotional Reaction ~ VIDEO]

No cause of death was revealed last night and an autopsy is pending, however Hale’s family & close friends feel like they already know the answer…According to TMZ, Nate Dogg’s family believes the singer’s death was caused mainly due to complications stemming from the two strokes he suffered over the past couple of years.

The singer was bed ridden & partially paralyzed after his last stroke, which occurred in 2008.

The singer’s close friend and manager Rod McGrew said that Nate’s death was unexpected because he was actually making significant progress in his recovery from that most recent stroke.

According to McGrew … Nate was “95% recovered from the first stroke in 2007” … when the second stroke occurred in 2008 … leaving Nate partially paralyzed and causing partial memory loss.

But McGrew says Nate had “cognitively fully recovered” — meaning he got his memory back and was fully alert and aware all the way up to his final days.

McGrew also released a statement on behalf of himself and Nate’s family which states:

“We appreciate the enormous outpouring of response from all over the world. We greatly appreciate that and thank everyone for their prayers and support.”

The statement continues, “We know that Nate will be hanging out with his good friends 2Pac and Biggie.”

Nate’s official cause of death has not been released.

R.I.P. Nate Dogg…