Death Row Records is synonymous with hip-hop, rising to the top of the music industry in the mid-90s as it gave birth to the careers of Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre, and the late Tupac Shakur. After cementing itself as the main force to be reckoned with in gangsta rap, Death Row would go on to post annual gross revenue of $100 million. Unfortunately, controversies and legal troubles eventually forced Death Row to file for bankruptcy in 2006, after which it was sold to Entertainment One in 2013 before being bought by Hasbro in 2019 and then the Blackstone investment company in 2021.
After several ownership changes and the imprisonment of its former CEO and founder, Suge Knight, things have come full circle as Snoop Dogg, whose real name is Calvin Broadus Jr., has acquired Death Row Records.
Snoop, who was then known as Snoop Doggy Dogg, was a prominent member of Death Row’s roster back in the 90s. After featuring on Dre’s 1992 breakout album, The Chronic, Snoop would go on to set a new record as the fastest-selling debut album at the time with 1993’s Doggystyle. Snoop’s 1996 follow-up, Tha Doggfather, was also a huge hit for Death Row after going platinum.
According to the official press release, Snoop is “thrilled and appreciative of the opportunity to acquire the iconic and culturally significant Death Row Records brand, which has immense untapped future value.” Snoop added that it “feels good” to own the label that played a huge role at the beginning of his career. The 50-year-old rapper describes it as an “extremely meaningful moment”.
The press release makes no mention of how much Snoop paid to acquire Death Row, but it comes at an opportune time for the award-winning rapper. He is set to release his new album, BODR or Bacc on Death Row, on Sunday, the same day he will perform along with Dre and other hip-hop artists at the Super Bowl.
Speaking of the Super Bowl on Sunday, audiences have plenty to look forward to outside of the showdown between the Los Angeles Rams and the Cincinnati Bengals. Between Amazon Prime Video’s The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power and the DCEU’s Black Adam, as well as several others, audiences will want to keep their eyes glued at Super Bowl LVI.
