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Snoop Dogg buys Death Row Records, the label that launched his career

By Bob D'Angelo, Cox Media Group National Content Desk
By Bob D'Angelo, Cox Media Group National Content Desk

Snoop Dogg has bought the record label that launched his career.

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The hip-hop legend acquired the Death Row Records brand from MNRK Music Group, a firm that is controlled by private equity funds managed by Blackstone, the investment firm announced the sale in a news release on Wednesday.

Terms were not disclosed.

Death Row was founded in 1992 by Dr. Dre, Suge Knight, the D.O.C. and Dick Griffey, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

“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, 50, 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.”

Dr. Dre’s first solo album, “The Chronic,” and Snoop Dogg’s debut, “Doggystyle,” are considered hip-hop classics, The Associated Press reported.

Tupac Shakur became the label’s star artist later in the 1990s before he was shot and killed in Las Vegas in 1996 while riding in a car driven by Knight, the AP reported.

Shakur’s death brought about the label’s decline.

Death Row Records filed for bankruptcy in 2006 and was acquired at auction three years later for $18 million by WIDEawake Entertainment, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

David Kestnbaum, a senior managing director at Blackstone, said he is looking forward to Snoop Dogg taking over the reins of the label.

“We are excited to put the Death Row Records brand back in the hands of a legend like Snoop Dogg,” Kestnbaum said in a statement. “We wish him success in the years ahead as the brand moves forward under his leadership and vision.”

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Photos: Snoop Dogg through the years Here are some memorable photos of Snoop Dogg, whose real name is Calvin Broadus Jr., through the years. (Alexandra Wyman/Invision for Levi's/AP Images)


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