Snoop Dogg announced on Wednesday (9 February) that he’s the new owner of Death Row Records.
The 50-year-old “Drop It Like It’s Hot” rapper, whose real name is Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr, reportedly bought the record company from MNRK Music Group.
Founded in 1992 by Dr Dre, Marion “Suge” Knight, The D.O.C. and Dick Griffey, Death Row Records is responsible for launching the career of artists like Tupac Shakur and Snoop Dogg himself.
Snoop Dogg released his famed albums Doggystyle and Tha Doggfather via Death Row Records before leaving for No Limit Records in 1998.
In 2006, Death Row Records filed for bankruptcy following controversy and criminal activity which involved co-founder Knight, who remains behind bars.
Knight pleaded no contest to voluntary manslaughter in 2018 after which he was given a 28-year-long prison sentence — 22 years for the hit-and-run charge and another six years for it being a third strike because of run-ins with the law and violating probation.
Snoop Dogg reportedly struck a deal with MNRK Music Group, the previous owners of Death Row Records.
“I am thrilled and appreciative of the opportunity to acquire the iconic and culturally significant Death Row Records brand, which has immense untapped future value,” Snoop Dogg said in a statement.
“It feels good to have ownership of the label I was part of at the beginning of my career and as one of the founding members.”
“This is an extremely meaningful moment for me,” he added. “I would like to personally thank the teams at Blackstone, MNRK and especially David Kestnbaum, who worked collaboratively with me over several months to make this exciting homecoming a reality. I’m looking forward to building the next chapter of Death Row Records.”
During an interview on the podcast Million Dollaz Worth of Game in November last year, Snoop Dogg said he should be running Death Row Records.
“I think all of Death Row should be in my hands,” he had said.
The veteran rapper had gone on to say that he wished he had a role at Death Row similar to the one he has at multinational Def Jam Recordings where he works as an executive creative and strategic consultant: “I should be running that s***. Just like I’m [in] a position at Def Jam, Death Row means more to me because I helped create that.”
Snoop Dogg continued by saying he would have signed artists such as YG, Ty Dolla Sign and Roddy Ricch if he had been given control of the label five years ago.
