At Last Snoop Dogg Acquires Death Row Records

Rap legend Calvin Broadus Jr. aka Snoop Dogg is the new owner of Death Row Records.

 

It was confirmed that the Hip-Hop mogul acquired the famed imprint from MNRK Music Group, controlled by private equity funds managed by investment firm Blackstone.

 

In a statement published by Business Wire, Snoop announced, “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.

 

“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. 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.”

 

Snoop was an artist on Death Row Records between 1991 and 1998.

 

He debuted as a protege of label co-founder Dr. Dre on the soundtrack single “Deep Cover.” Snoop played a crucial feature role on Dre’s 1992 solo debut, The Chronic, then became a superstar on his own 1993 debut, Doggystyle.

 

The Long Beach, California native released 1996’s Tha Doggfather and soundtrack releases between those official albums.

 

His contract was sold to No Limit Records in 1998 (for a reported $4 million), which began a period of animosity between Snoop and Death Row’s other founder, Marion “Suge” Knight.

 

Artists on Death Row dissed and threatened Snoop and his affiliates, while Knight frequently attacked Snoop’s character in interviews, billboards, and more.

 

Snoop has since made peace with Suge Knight, who is incarcerated for the 2015 killing of Terry Carter, which took place near the set of Straight Outta Compton.

 

 

 

Recently, Snoop declared that he wanted to be an executive at Death Row, which has changed hands since Knight lost it in bankruptcy 15-plus years ago. In the mid-1990s, Snoop founded Doggystyle Records—named after his classic 1993 Death Row debut.

 

There, he often worked with other former Death Row affiliates, including Nate Dogg, Tha Dogg Pound, The Lady Of Rage, Bad Azz, Tray Deee, Mac Shawn, and many others.

 

At present, Tha Doggfather is consulting for Def Jam.He revealed that he signed Benny The Butcher to a major label solo deal in November.

 

 

“I went looking for this [Def Jam] job because I wanted to be the CEO of Death Row Records and basically take over the merchandise and re-release their music, do documentaries, and possibly do my life story,” Snoop told GQ in late 2021. Previously, he served as an exec at Priority, the same distribution company and label that brokered Snoop’s Death Row exit in 1998—after just two albums and a compilation.

 

The move comes ahead of Snoop’s Super Bowl Halftime Show appearance this Sunday (February 13) and that day’s B.O.D.R. (Bacc On Death Row) album release.

 

Snoop will be sharing the stage with Death Row’s co-founder, Dr. Dre.

 

Dre welcomes two artists from his current venture, Aftermath Entertainment—Eminem and Kendrick Lamar, along with Mary J. Blige in the concert.

 

 

Earlier this week, Snoop released a snippet of a new, Battlecat-produced song featuring a fellow former Death Row artist, Nate Dogg, as well as the late singer’s son: