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Rapper Snoop Dogg buys Death Row Records
Snoop Dogg arrives at the premiere of the film ‘The Beach Bum’ at ArcLight Hollywood. Photo: Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP/dpa
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The deal caused a sensation in the music world: rapper Snoop Dog bought the notorious record label Death Row Records. Not only did he release his debut album there – Tupac Shakur was also once under contract.
US rapper Snoop Dogg (50) has bought the legendary record label Death Row Records.
The musician and the previous owner, the investment company Blackstone, announced the deal without naming the purchase price. “It feels good to own the label I belonged to when I started my career,” Snoop Dogg said in a statement. This is an “extremely important moment” for him.
Leading label for gangsta rap
As a young rapper, Snoop Dogg – initially trading under the name Snoop Doggy Dogg – released his debut album «Doggystyle» on Death Row Records in 1993. The label was founded two years earlier by rappers Marion “Suge” Knight and Dr. Dre co-founded. Death Row Records became America’s West Coast premier gangsta rap label. Tupac Shakur (1971 – 1996) also released his music there. In 2006, the once influential hip-hop mogul Knight filed for bankruptcy and eventually had to sell his record company.
Snoop Dogg, who also starred in films like “Dolemite Is My Name” or “Scary Movie 5”, is one of the most successful US rappers. He has announced his new album “BODR” for Friday. Along with Eminem, Mary J. Blige, Dr. Dre and Kendrick Lamar he contests the half-time show at the Super Bowl spectacle on Sunday evening (local time).