Byron Nelson
Earlier this month, it was announced that Snoop Dogg acquired Death Row Records from the Blackstone-controlled company MNRK Music Group.
Per Business Wire, The rap legend will be at the helm of the brand for years to come as its new owner. Snoop joined Death Row in 1993 to launch his critically acclaimed debut album, Doggystyle.
Snoop Dogg highlighted how excited he is to have acquired such an important cultural brand like Death Row.
“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,” the rap icon said. “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.”
If you are not familiar with the label Dr. Dre, Suge Knight, The DOC, and Dick Griffey started it in 1991; Death Row welcomed some of the greatest rappers from the west coast in hip-hop history. Snoop is one of those legendary artists who made his debut on the label, so it’s perfectly normal that he now takes the reins.
In an interview with TMZ, Suge Jacob Knight said of Snoop purchasing Death Row Records was a victory for the west coast.
“It’s a victory for the West Coast” and that he is happy just like everyone else. “I’m just happy it’s coming back to the West Coast,” he said. “And now, hopefully we can start winning because we lost Nipsey [Hussle], we lost Kobe [Bryant] — I mean, we lost a lot of things even after my dad went to jail, we started losing.”
Knight added, “Even after my dad went to jail, we started losing. Hopefully, we start winning with the Rams and start winning now. I’ve seen the comments that think, ‘Suge Knight’s punching the air,’ but nah, we cool. We just gotta do business right and start winning. Hip Hop is like the WWE, it’s the fans that create narratives, it’s what it is. Eazy-E and my pops were cool, Snoop and my pops were cool, a lot of people are cool in the industry. People just don’t understand that. I hope people understand we’re not punching the air, we’re working. Hopefully, we’re all on the same page.”
However, on Clubhouse in the Hip Hop Trends room, Knight shared his honest opinion of Snoop purchasing the legendary label.
“See that ain’t even true, I’ll let the media do its work, but at the end of the day, I can’t talk too much about that. There’s a lot of legal action that I can’t talk about,” said Knight at the 27:35 mark of the Clubhouse Recording.
“I know people want to ask those questions. I know people want to ask the juicy stuff. I try my best to help y’all out with that, but that’s all I gotta say with that one.”
