Death Row Records

American record labelTemplate:SHORTDESC:American record label

* Dr. Dre
* Suge Knight
* Dick Griffey
* Create (digital)
* AMPED Distribution (physical) (current)
* Interscope
* Priority
* Koch (former)
 Genre | * West Coast hip hop
* R&B
* G-funk

**Death Row Records** is an American record label that was founded in 1991 by The D.O.C., Dr. Dre, Suge Knight, and Dick Griffey. The label became a sensation by releasing multi-platinum hip-hop albums by West Coast-based artists such as Dr. Dre (*The Chronic*), Snoop Dogg (*Doggystyle*, *Tha Doggfather*), Tha Dogg Pound (*Dogg Food*), and 2Pac (*All Eyez on Me*) during the 1990s. At its peak, Death Row was making over US$100 million a year.

By the late 1990s, the label began to decline after the death of its star artist, Tupac, imprisonment of Suge Knight, and the departures of Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg. Although Death Row was enjoying financial success, it was embroiled in controversies, lawsuits, and violence by its artists and associates. Death Row Records filed for bankruptcy in 2006 and was auctioned to WIDEawake Entertainment for $18 million on January 15, 2009. The owner of WIDEawake bankrupted in 2012 and the label was then sold to Entertainment One, then became a division of Hasbro until April 2021 when eOne Music was sold to The Blackstone Group. Snoop Dogg bought Death Row from MNRK Music Group in February 2022, intending to revive the label.

## History

In 1986, N.W.A's Dr. Dre signed to Eazy-E's Ruthless Records. As head of production at the label, Dr. Dre produced a large number of Ruthless projects, many of them successful; feeling the pressures of having to produce so many acts and feeling he was underpaid, Dr. Dre became frustrated with Ruthless. After the departure of Ice Cube in 1989 over financial disagreements with Jerry Heller, Suge Knight and the D.O.C. went over the books with a lawyer. Convinced that Jerry Heller was dishonest, they approached Dr. Dre about forming a label with them, away from Heller. Allegedly using strong-arm tactics, Suge Knight was able to procure contracts from Eazy-E for the D.O.C., Dr. Dre and Michel'le.

Dr. Dre and Suge Knight along with partners the D.O.C. and Dick Griffey began the process of starting a record label and music partnership in anticipation of Dr. Dre's departure from Ruthless. Although the name of their new music venture was originally called **Future Shock**, the D.O.C. claimed to have suggested changing the name of the new label to '**Def Row'**  (a play on the Def Jam), but rights to the name were already owned by the Unknown DJ, who also happened to be one of Dre's former music associates in the 1980s. Unknown stated in an interview that he created the name "Def Row" for a potential deal to start another record label under Morgan Creek. However he later sold the naming rights to Dr. Dre and his partners in July 1991 and by 1992 the name changed to its eventual title of **Death Row Records**. Knight approached Michael "Harry-O" Harris, a businessman imprisoned on drug and attempted murder charges. Through David Kenner, an attorney handling Harris's appeal, Harry-O set up **Godfather Entertainment**, a parent company for the newly christened Death Row.

Knight approached Vanilla Ice (Robert Van Winkle), using management connections with Mario "Chocolate" Johnson, claiming Johnson had produced and co-written the song "Ice Ice Baby", and had not received royalties for it. After consulting with Alex Roberts, Knight and two bodyguards arrived at The Palm in West Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, where Van Winkle was eating. After shoving Van Winkle's bodyguards aside, Knight sat down in front of Van Winkle, staring at him before asking "How you doin'?" Similar incidents were repeated on several occasions, including alleged attempts to lure Vanilla Ice into a van filled with Bloods and Crips, before Knight showed up at Vanilla Ice's hotel suite on the 15th floor of the Bel Age Hotel, accompanied by Johnson and a member of the Los Angeles Raiders. According to Vanilla Ice, Knight took him out on the balcony by himself, and implied he would throw Vanilla Ice off unless he signed the rights to the song over to Knight; Van Winkle's money helped fund Death Row. Death Row was initially located at the intersection of Westwood Blvd and Wilshire Blvd, later to be relocated to the intersection of Wilshire Blvd. and San Vicente Blvd.

### *The Chronic*

With the help of Kenner, Knight began signing young, inner-city California-based artists and arranged for Death Row Records to handle the soundtrack for the 1992 film, *Deep Cover*. The single, "Deep Cover", established Dr. Dre as a solo artist and a young Snoop Doggy Dogg as his protégé. Work soon began on *The Chronic*, Dr. Dre's debut solo album, which heavily featured Snoop and the rest of the label's core roster.

The album, which peaked at number 3 on the Billboard Top 200, went on to sell 5.7 million records worldwide, establishing the West Coast in the hip-hop industry and popularizing the distinctive style of G-Funk. The Death Row roster consisted of Dre, Snoop, Daz, Kurupt, Nate Dogg, Lady of Rage, the D.O.C., RBX, and many more. Later on, Death Row artist Lil 1/2 Dead's contract was later sold to Priority Records where he released his debut album *The Dead Has Arisen*.

### *Doggystyle*

After finding solo success, Dr. Dre began crafting Snoop Dogg's debut album *Doggystyle*; the process took two years. Snoop's debut was released in 1993 due to public demand and high pressure from retailers. Though unfinished, it outperformed *The Chronic* at Quadruple Platinum, and garnered similarly glowing reviews. Soon after the release of the album, Snoop Dogg was charged with murder, fueling the debate that politicians C. Delores Tucker and vice presidential candidate Dan Quayle sparked Template:Citation needed by criticizing gangsta rap for being against American values, degrading to black women, and encouraging violence towards police officers.

### Death Row Thanksgiving

On November 22, 1994, at the offices of The Brotherhood Crusade in Los Angeles, Suge Knight and several artists from Death Row such as Tha Dogg Pound and DJ Quik distributed nearly 2,000 turkeys to the public. Death Row also donated turkeys the following year as well.

### Signing 2Pac, Bad Boy Records feud and Dr. Dre's departure

After an August visit to see 2Pac at Clinton Correctional Facility in northern New York state, Suge traveled southward to New York City to join Death Row's entourage to the 2nd Annual Source Awards ceremony. Already reputed for strongarm tactics on the Los Angeles rap scene, Suge used his brief stage time mainly to disparage Sean "Puff Daddy" Combs, boss of Bad Boy Entertainment, the label then leading New York rap scene, who routinely performed with his own artists. Before closing with a brief comment of support for Shakur, Suge invited artists seeking the spotlight for themselves to join Death Row. Eventually, Puff recalled that to preempt severe retaliation from his Bad Boy orbit, he had promptly confronted Suge, whose reply—that he had meant Jermaine Dupri, of So So Def Recordings, in Atlanta—was politic enough to deescalate the conflict.

Still, among the fans, the previously diffuse rivalry between America's two mainstream rap scenes had instantly flared already. And while in New York, Suge visited Uptown Records, where Puff, under its founder Andre Harrell, had started in the music business through an internship. Apparently without paying Uptown, Suge obtained the releases of Puff's prime Uptown recruits Jodeci, its producer DeVante Swing, and Mary J. Blige, all then signing with Suge's management company.

On September 24, 1995, at a party for Dupri in Atlanta at the Platinum House nightclub, a Bad Boy circle entered a heated dispute with Suge and Suge's friend Jai Hassan-Jamal "Big Jake" Robles, a Bloods gang member and Death Row bodyguard. According to eyewitnesses, including a Fulton County sheriff, working there as a nightclub bouncer, Puff had heatedly disputed with Suge inside the club, whereas several minutes later, outside the club, it was Puff's childhood friend and own bodyguard, Anthony "Wolf" Jones, who aimed a gun at Big Jake who was fatally shot while entering Suge's car.

The attorneys of Puff and his bodyguard both denied any involvement by their clients, while Puff's lawyer added that Puff had not even been with his bodyguard that night. Over 20 years later, the case remains officially unresolved. Yet immediately and persistently, Suge blamed Puff, cementing the enmity between the two bosses, whose two record labels dominated the rap genre's two mainstream centers.

In October 1995, Knight visited 2Pac in prison again and posted $1.4 million bond. 2Pac began work on his Death Row album, kicking off his tenure by insulting the Notorious B.I.G., Junior M.A.F.I.A. and Puff Daddy (the founder of Bad Boy Records), whom he accused of setting him up to be robbed and shot at Quad Studios on November 30, 1994, as well as Mobb Deep, Jay-Z, A Tribe Called Quest, De La Soul, Jimmy Henchman, the Fugees and Nas. Tha Dogg Pound's debut album, *Dogg Food*, continued the label's streak of commercial successes; its members – rappers Kurupt and Daz Dillinger – then joined Snoop in ridiculing New York rappers with their single "New York, New York", featuring Snoop Dogg. The video, set in New York City, New York, was also heightened when the set was fired upon in a drive-by. After the shooting, Snoop Dogg and Tha Dogg Pound filmed scenes kicking down a building in New York. The single provoked a response called '"L.A., L.A." by East Coast rappers Capone-N-Noreaga, Tragedy Khadafi, and Mobb Deep.

Another report was that Sam Sneed was beaten in one of the label's meetings by a group of Death Row affiliates, led by Suge Knight and 2Pac. According to Daz Dillinger, the reason this happened was that Sam Sneed had too many East Coast rappers in his "Lady Heroin" music video. Disillusioned with the direction of Death Row, artists RBX and the D.O.C. chose to leave, after which Suge Knight exercised tighter control over the rest of the roster. *Dogg Food* was not produced by Dr. Dre but was mixed by Dr. Dre, a further testament to Dre's dwindling involvement with Death Row. Dr. Dre also grew tired of Knight's violence within the label, although he contributed toward two tracks on 2Pac's *All Eyez on Me*. The rest of the tracks on the album, however, were mostly produced by Daz Dillinger and Johnny J, despite Dr. Dre being nominally titled as Executive Producer. 2Pac's behavior reportedly became erratic as he continued his verbal wars with the Notorious B.I.G., Bad Boy Records, Puff Daddy, Mobb Deep, and Prodigy, including many violent confrontations with many of those rappers at some points. On March 22, 1996, due to the infighting, Dr. Dre officially left Death Row Records to found Aftermath, which provoked 2Pac to turn against Dr. Dre.

### MC Hammer's involvement and departure

Suge Knight's relationship with MC Hammer dates back to 1988. With the success of Hammer's 1994 album, *The Funky Headhunter* (featuring Tha Dogg Pound), Hammer signed with Death Row in 1995, along with his close friend, Tupac. The label did not release the album of M.C. Hammer's music (titled *Too Tight*), although he did release versions of some tracks on his next album. However, Hammer did record tracks with Shakur and others, most notably the song "Too Late Playa" (along with Big Daddy Kane and Danny Boy). After the death of Tupac in 1996, MC Hammer left the label.

### Tupac Shakur's murder and Suge Knight's incarceration

Formerly a united front of artists, Death Row's roster fractured into separate camps. Daz, now head producer, worked on Snoop Dogg's second album *Tha Doggfather*, which featured Bad Azz and Techniec of his LBC Crew, Warren G and Nate Dogg of his group 213 and Tha Dogg Pound. 2Pac shut himself into the studio with Hurt-M-Badd and Big "D", crafting *The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory* - unlike *All Eyez on Me*, it was devoid of high-profile Death Row guest appearances, instead showcasing The Outlawz and Bad Azz, and had a much darker tone. Suge Knight was now barely reachable by his staff, and employees were assaulted as punishment for not following orders.

During a trip to Las Vegas, Nevada, for a Mike Tyson boxing match, 2Pac was interviewed on the possibility of  **Death Row East**, an East Coast branch of Death Row. It was also during this time that Alex Roberts and David Kenner had been seen at Suge Knight's Vegas Club 662, in discussion about the possibility of having Roberts' New York underworld connections help pave the way for Death Row East. Though names from Big Daddy Kane and The Wu-Tang Clan to Eric B. and Craig Mack were mentioned, the label never formed; On September 7, 1996, Suge Knight and 2Pac were caught on surveillance camera at the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas attacking gang member Orlando Anderson, who was a member of the Southside Compton Crips street gang. Later that night, 2Pac was shot four times in a drive-by shooting in the front seat of Suge Knight's BMW 750iL waiting at a red traffic light at crossroads; en route to Knight's Las Vegas Club 662; despite living six days in critical condition, 2Pac died on September 13, 1996. He was 25 years old.

2Pac's "The Don Killuminati: 7 Day Theory" was released in November 1996, just one week before Snoop Dogg's "Tha Doggfather". Both albums achieved Multi-Platinum sales. On February 28, 1997, Suge Knight was convicted of parole violation and sentenced to nine years in prison, causing Interscope to drop their distribution deal with the label. Suge Knight's control over the label diminished, as Nate Dogg was able to leave, followed by Snoop Dogg and Kurupt. After the release of her solo album Necessary Roughness, The Lady of Rage left. Daz Dillinger departed in 1999 after the release of his debut album Retaliation, Revenge and Get Back, but produced for Big C-Style, and he later formed Dogg Pound Records. Kurupt returned to the label in early 2002 upon Suge Knight's release from prison on August 6, 2001.

### Death Row Records UK

In 2001, Knight decided to enter the UK market with Death Row Records operating as an independent record label in conjunction with the Ritz Music Group, a company known for its success with Irish country music artists such as Daniel O'Donnell The joint-venture signed British R&B singer Mark Morrison to a five-year deal with Death Row Records UK, with a single called "Thank God It's Friday" and an album called *Innocent Man* scheduled for a 2002 release. However, the single did not chart in the UK and the album ended up being released by footballer Kevin Campbell's record label 2 Wikid, before being re-issued in 2006 by Mona Records.

### Second generation exodus (Tha Row Records)

Maintaining artistic control from behind bars, Suge Knight launched smear campaigns against his former artists, most notably Snoop Dogg, death threats were exchanged, and Snoop Dogg responded by publicly dissing Suge Knight, leaving the label, and later releasing a diss track named "Pimp Slapp'd", critically acclaimed by music magazine *Complex*. The label supported itself with releases pulled from vaults—most successfully various posthumous 2Pac albums, along with Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg re-releases and then-unreleased compilation records such as *Suge Knight Represents: Chronic 2000*. He signed new talent, including Crooked I who had been lighting up the Californian underground with his rhyming ability, particularly the Wake Up Show with Sway & King Tech. Suge Knight also signed Left Eye, member of the R&B girl group TLC

Despite bad blood, Kurupt would again sign with Suge Knight in exchange for the position of Vice President, which sparked a feud between himself and Daz Dillinger and Snoop Dogg. He began work on *Against tha Grain*; his verbal feud with his former partners continued from 2002 to 2005. Left Eye signed with Death Row after finishing her solo deal with Arista who released her first album *Supernova* in 2001. At this time, Death Row changed into **Tha Row Records**. Lopes joined to record a second solo album under the pseudonym N.I.N.A. (New Identity Not Applicable), while also working on TLC's new album *3D*. N.I.N.A. was cancelled after her death in April 2002. The album was leaked online in 2011.

After promoting his new talent from prison, directing a campaign against his former artists and exacerbating the conflict between Daz Dillinger, Snoop Dogg and Kurupt, Suge had still yet to release any albums by his new artists. After Kurupt's second departure, *Against tha Grain* was released; soon after, citing dissatisfaction with serving five years on the label and seeing no release, Rapper Crooked I left Death Row, eventually filing a gag order on Knight to prevent him from interfering with him finding a new deal. Petey Pablo, who had signed in 2005 and started the never-released album *Same Eyez on Me*, left along with rapper Tha Realest in 2006.

### Bankruptcy

On April 4, 2006, both Death Row Records and Suge Knight simultaneously filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection following the appointment of a Receiver to acquire and auction off assets of both Death Row Records and Suge Knight in the civil case filed by Lydia Harris against Suge Knight. Among those listed as unsecured creditors to Death Row include the Harrises ($107 million), the Internal Revenue Service ($6.9 million), Koch Records ($3.4 million), Interscope Records ($2.5 million) and a number of artists previously signed to the label. Suge Knight eventually lost control of Death Row Records and his personal assets when Chapter 11 Trustees took over both cases.

### Ownership changes

WIDEawake Entertainment Group was created in 2006 by Lara Lavi.

On January 15, 2009, Death Row Records was successfully auctioned to entertainment development company WIDEawake for US$18 million. WIDEawake Entertainment made a leveraged purchase of Death Row Records in part thanks to financing provided by New Solutions Financial Corporation. On January 25, 2009, an auction was held for everything found in Death Row's office after it filed for bankruptcy.

Both WIDEawake and New Solutions Financial were based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. New Solutions by the end of 2009 began to squeeze Lara Lavi out of WIDEawake Entertainment by restricting her ability to access funds they had lent her for Deathrow. By November 2009 Lara Lavi was removed from WIDEawake entertainment and Robert Thomson of New Solution Financial had taken over day-to-day operations. Lavi then sued her former company, Ontario-based WIDEawake Entertainment Group, New Solutions Financial Corporation and New Solutions Managing Director Robert Thompson in New York County Court on November 19, 2009. New Solutions Financial Corporation was eventually exposed as a Ponzi scheme.

Of note was the Death Row electric chair which went for US$2,500.

Since the acquisition, the company has continued to release material from its vast archives of materials acquired in the sale. Noteworthy releases include previously unreleased material from such artists as Snoop Dogg, Kurupt, Danny Boy, Crooked I, Sam Sneed, LBC Crew and O.F.T.B. Since the acquisition of the material, Death Row, under the management of WIDEawake, has made many positive steps towards improving the image of Death Row by making good on its promise to make royalty payments to many of the artists, producers, and songwriters with commercially released material under the label. On Record Store Day, April 18, 2012, the label issued a free Death Row "Record Store Day" CD sampler which included music from Petey Pablo and Danny Boy.

*The Chronic Re-Lit* was released on September 1, 2009. The album contained *The Chronic* re-mastered with seven bonus songs from the vault by Snoop Doggy Dogg, CPO, Kurupt, Jewell, plus a DVD containing music videos, a Dr. Dre interview, a Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg mini movie, and 1992 television commercials for the original *The Chronic* release.

*Snoop Doggy Dogg – Death Row The Lost Sessions Vol 1* was released October 13, 2009 and contains 15 previously unreleased tracks with four being produced by Dr. Dre.

*Death Row The Ultimate Collection* was released on November 24 and was a special box set containing three audio CDs (one greatest hits disc and two discs of unreleased content), one DVD of music videos which includes the unreleased Dr. Dre music video "Puffin' On Blunts" and a limited edition Death Row T-shirt. The set boasts over 20 unreleased tracks by Snoop Doggy Dogg, Tha Dogg Pound, the Lady of Rage, Lord Autopz and Petey Pablo. During this period, there was a distribution venture between Entertainment One, WIDEawake, and Death Row.

On December 10, 2012, New Solutions Financial Corp., the Canadian company that owned WIDEawake Death Row, had gone bankrupt and sold both the label and catalog to a publicly held company. In 2013, Entertainment One purchased the rights to the Death Row catalog. The Group invested £175 million in content rights and television programmes in the year (2012: £135.8 million) and £4.2 million ($6 million) to purchase the music library assets of Death Row. Death Row had a Pop-Up event in Los Angeles on April 10, 2019.Template:Citation needed

On August 23, 2019, American toy company Hasbro announced a $4 billion purchase of eOne, making them the owners of Death Row Records. In April 2021, Hasbro and Entertainment One announced it would sell-off eOne Music to The Blackstone Group. The acquisition was completed in June 2021.

### Revival through Snoop Dogg and third generation

On February 9, 2022, ahead of the release of his next album and his appearance in the Super Bowl LVI halftime show, Snoop Dogg announced that he would acquire the rights to the Death Row Records trademarks from MNRK Music Group (the renamed eOne Music). The sale did not immediately include rights to the label's catalog, but it was reported that he was nearing a deal to acquire the catalogs of himself and other Death Row artists from MNRK. On February 11, 2022, Snoop Dogg released his third studio album on Death Row Records, marking a 26-year lapse from the label.

Snoop Dogg's purchase of Death Row Records did not include the rights to Tupac or Dr. Dre's albums originally. On March 4, 2022, in an interview with Tidal, Snoop Dogg stated he acquired the rights to all the albums previously released on Death Row Records, including his debut studio album *Doggystyle* and Dr. Dre's *The Chronic.* Despite the interview, Dr. Dre's lawyer, Howard King, later refuted the "false reports" two days later, stating the rapper still remains total control of *The Chronic*. On April 18, 2022, it was announced that Death Row Records would have its own streaming service, which pays higher royalties to its artists than main music streaming services.

## Notable artists

### Current artists

 Mount Westmore | 2022–Present
 Suga Free | 2022–Present

## See also

* Death Row Records artists
* From Compton to Long Beach

## Notes

1. ↑ <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>"Death Row Records Co-Founder Involved In Fatal Hit-And-Run". *NPR*. Associated Press. January 30, 2015. Archived from the original on April 7, 2020. Retrieved April 7, 2020. It was founded by Tracy "The D.O.C." Lynn Curry, Andre "Dr. Dre" Young, Knight and Richard Gilbert "Dick" Griffey.
2. ↑ Straight Outta Dallas: How Texas Artist D.O.C. Helped Jump-Start Death Row Records (September 6, 2016). "He, Dre and Suge did, in fact, soon quietly launch a label called Futureshock, named for a Curtis Mayfield song. Their fourth partner in the venture was Dick Griffey, the cofounder of Soul Train Records and founder of Solar Records. The name wouldn't stick. "Futureshock Records?" Suge said. "That sounds like some bullshit. It's gonna be called Death Row...Dick Griffey, also an original Death Row founder, later testified that Suge Knight "secretly incorporated" Death Row and "transferred into it all of the assets" from their original partnership. In 1997 — with Suge behind bars — Griffey and D.O.C. successfully sued Death Row, alleging that they'd been cut out of the label's profits."
3. ↑ SNOOP DOGG, RELEASES LATEST ALBUM, B.O.D.R. (BACC ON DEATH ROW) OUT TODAY. snoopdogg.com.
4. ↑ IRS Raps Death Row Headquarters (January 6, 2005).
5. ↑ <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>"Snoop Dogg acquires Death Row Records". BBC News. February 10, 2022. Retrieved February 10, 2022.
6. ↑ Ro, Ronin (1999). *Have Gun Will Travel: The Spectacular Rise and Violent Fall of Death Row Records*. Broadway Books. ISBN 0385491352.
7. ↑ Warner To Acquire Death Row Records?. *HipHopDX* (February 6, 2008).
8. ↑ Hasbro No Longer Owns Death Row Records (April 28, 2021).
9. ↑ Snoop Dogg Now Officially Owns Death Row Records. Complex Magazine.
10. ↑ Snoop Dogg Acquires Death Row Records. Pitchfork (2022-02-09). Retrieved on February 15, 2022.
11. ↑ *Ruthless* (Heller/Reavill, 2007) Template:ISBN
12. ↑ *Ice Cube: Attitude* (McIver, 2002) Template:ISBN
13. ↑ Interview with DOC (March 26, 2006).
14. ↑ <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>"Erotic D Interview- Part 1 (June 2008)". *Dubcnn.com*. Archived from the original on August 10, 2013. Retrieved August 7, 2013.
15. ↑ <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>Corcoran, Michael (January 25, 1996). "Dead man rapping". *Dallas Observer*. Archived from the original on October 27, 2017. Retrieved October 26, 2017. "I'm the one who told Dre to change the name to Death Row," Curry says.
16. ↑ Westhoff, Ben (November 19, 2012). The Making of *The Chronic*. "The name Death Row came from my partner, Unknown [DJ]. Initially it was supposed to be Def Row, as in Def Jam. D-E-F. And Dre bought the name Def Row and changed the name."
17. ↑ Template:Cite podcast
18. ↑ Template:Cite magazine
19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 Welcome to Death Row (Video 2001) (September 25, 2001).
20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 20.2 Sullivan, Randall (2003). *LAbyrinth: A Detective Investigates the Murders of 2Pqc and The Notorious B.I.G., the Implication of Death Row's Suge Knight, and the Origins of the Los Angeles Police Scandal*. Grove Press. p. 56. ISBN 0-8021-3971-X.
21. ↑ Template:Cite magazine
22. ↑ Recording Industry Association of America Template:Webarchive. RIAA. Retrieved on July 11, 2011.
23. ↑ Jon Pareles (November 14, 1999). Music; Still Tough, Still Authentic. Still Relevant?. *The New York Times*. Retrieved March 18, 2008.
24. ↑ 24.0 24.1 *Rollin' with Dre: The Unauthorized Account: An Insider's Tale of the Rise, Fall, and Rebirth of West Coast Hip Hop* (Williams/Alexander, 2008) Template:ISBN
25. ↑ Recording Industry Association of America Template:Webarchive. RIAA. Retrieved on July 11, 2011.
26. ↑ Doggystyle - Snoop Dogg - Songs, Reviews, Credits - AllMusic.
27. ↑ Snoop Doggy Dogg Trial: 1995–96 – A Rising Rap Star, Murder Was The Charge, Jury Frees Snoop Dogg, Suggestions For Further Reading Template:Webarchive. Law.jrank.org. Retrieved on July 11, 2011.
28. ↑ Good Works. Billboard (December 10, 1994).
29. ↑ 1995-11-21 / Tupac & Death Row Records Members At The Brotherhood Crusade Headquarters. 2PacLegacy (May 22, 2016).
30. ↑ Westhoff, Ben (September 12, 2016). How Tupac and Biggie went from friends to deadly rivals. *Vice.com*.
31. ↑ 31.0 31.1 31.2 31.3 31.4 31.5 31.6 Parker, Derrick; Diehl, Matt (2007). *Notorious C.O.P.: The Inside Story of the Tupac, Biggie, and Jam Master Jay Investigations from the NYPD's First "Hip-Hop Cop"*. New York: St. Martin's Griffin. pp. 113–116. ISBN 9781429907781. https://books.google.com/books?id=aW1CdaYjwDgC&pg=PA113. Retrieved May 20, 2020.
32. ↑ 32.0 32.1 32.2 Ramirez, Erika (December 4, 2014). Throwback Thursday: Suge Knight Disses Diddy at 1995 Source Awards. *Billboard.com*.
33. ↑ 33.0 33.1 Simmons, Nadirah (August 3, 2016). Today in 1995: The 2nd Annual Source Awards makes hip hop history. *The Source*.
34. ↑ Template:Cite magazine
35. ↑ 35.0 35.1 Sullivan 2003, noting *Newsweek* report Template:Webarchive
36. ↑ <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>Egbert, Bill (February 27, 2001). "Hip Hype & Rival Rap, by Bill Egbert". *Daily News*. New York. Archived from the original on July 4, 2010. Retrieved July 24, 2010.
37. ↑ <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>Philips, Chuck (January 17, 2001). "Possible link of 'Puffy' Combs to fatal shooting being probed". *Los Angeles Times*. Archived from the original on April 5, 2020. Retrieved May 17, 2020.
38. ↑ <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>Noel, Peter (February 13, 2001). "Big bad Wolf". *The Village Voice*. Archived from the original on June 27, 2020. Retrieved May 17, 2020.
39. ↑ Dansby, Andrew (January 18, 2001). Report infuriates Puffy camp. *RollingStone.com*. Penske Business Media, LLC.
40. ↑ During the 1995 Source Awards, the rap genre's bicoastal paradigm was still so entrenched that when rap duo Outkast, from Atlanta, won as best new group, the audience booed, setting up Outkast member Andre's momentous response, ultimately, "The South got something to say" [N Simmons, "Today in 1995: The 2nd Annual" Template:Webarchive, *The Source*, August 3, 2016].
41. ↑ Rap Research Archive (January 3, 2011).
42. ↑ MC Hammer Interview - part 1. daveyd.com (June 1997).
43. ↑ MC Hammer. MTV.
44. ↑ MC Hammer. MTV.
45. ↑ Burgess, Omar (March 18, 2009). Death Row Records: The Pardon | Rappers Talk Hip Hop Beef & Old School Hip Hop. HipHop DX.
46. ↑ MC Hammer Interview - part 2. daveyd.com (June 1997).
47. ↑ What had happened was MC Hammer (March 2009).
48. ↑ <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>Philips, Chuck (September 6, 2002). "Who Killed Tupac Shakur?". *Los Angeles Times*. Archived from the original on November 9, 2012. Retrieved July 15, 2012.
49. ↑ <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>Philips, Chuck (September 7, 2002). "How Vegas police probe floundered in Tupac Shakur case". *Los Angeles Times*. Archived from the original on March 18, 2013. Retrieved October 8, 2013.
50. ↑ Rap Mogul 'Suge' Knight Sent to Prison for 9 Years. *Los Angeles Times* (March 1, 1997).
51. ↑ Interscope Music Group – Company History Template:Webarchive. In 1996, Alex Roberts was arrested at his home in Malibu and released on a $1,000,000 bond pending further investigation under a grand jury indictment involving organized crime ties including money laundering, extortion and racketeering charges. Fighting his case for 4 1/2 years out on bail he was finally taken into custody November 19, 2001 in Los Angeles, California Superior Court and sentenced to state and federal charges amounting to five years of prison time. His refusal to cooperate with federal authorities also lead to any reduced sentence including his deportation to Europe even though he had been raised in the USA since birth, holding dual citizenship. Fundinguniverse.com. Retrieved on July 11, 2011.
52. ↑ Christina Saraceno (August 8, 2001). Suge Knight Leaves Prison. Rolling Stone.
53. ↑ Scott, Cathy. *Las Vegas Sun*, "The death of Tupac Shakur one year later" Template:Webarchive, September 6, 1997
54. ↑ Template:Cite magazine
55. ↑ Daniel O'Donnell | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company.
56. ↑ MARK MORRISON | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company.
57. ↑ Archive-Joe-DAngelo. Suge Knight Hit With Legal Doggie Mama Drama.
58. ↑ Snoop Talks Beef With Suge (November 30, 2006).
59. ↑ The 50 Best Hip-Hop Diss Songs.
60. ↑ Template:Citation
61. ↑ http://www.streethop.com/interviews/126054-dpg-dogg-pound-reunited.html Template:Webarchive
62. ↑ Suge Knight Interview Template:Webarchive. Ukmusic.com. Retrieved on July 11, 2011.
63. ↑ Life After Death Row: Crooked-I, Russel Simmons, Master P, Loon, Bun-B, WC, Jay Cee: Movies & TV Template:Webarchive. Amazon.com. Retrieved on July 11, 2011.
64. ↑ Walker, Verbal. (February 21, 2005) Crooked I's Restraining Order | Get The Latest Hip Hop News, Rap News & Hip Hop Album Sales Template:Webarchive. HipHop DX. Retrieved on July 11, 2011.
65. ↑ Moss, Corey. (July 25, 2005) Petey Pablo Eyez Tupac, Teams With Timbaland, Lil Jon – Music, Celebrity, Artist News Template:Webarchive. MTV. Retrieved on July 11, 2011.
66. ↑ Daily News – : Tha Realest Leaves Tha Row, Preparing Debut Album Template:Webarchive. Allhiphop.com (March 31, 2005). Retrieved on July 11, 2011.
67. ↑ <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>"A 48-year-old Toronto mother goes gangsta: How Death Row Records came to Canada". Archived from the original on July 29, 2020. Retrieved February 22, 2020 – via The Globe and Mail.
68. ↑ Brown, Karina (November 19, 2009). Deathrow Records Struggles for Life.
69. ↑ <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>"Electric chair is hot item at Death Row auction". *The Orange County Register*. Archived from the original on June 28, 2009.
70. ↑ Dr. Dre's Chronic Get Expanded Re-Release Template:Webarchive. MTV.com. Retrieved on August 19, 2009
71. ↑ Snoop Dogg – Death Row: The Lost Sessions Volume 1 | Read Hip Hop Reviews, Rap Reviews & Hip Hop Album Reviews Template:Webarchive. HipHop DX (October 13, 2009). Retrieved on July 11, 2011.
72. ↑ Death Row Records To Release Box Set Including Work From Tupac, Snoop Dogg & Dr. Dre Template:Webarchive. Keepittrill.com. Retrieved on July 11, 2011.
73. ↑ WIDEawake Death Row Records Reportedly Being Sold In Wake Of Parent Company's Bankruptcy. *HipHopDX* (December 5, 2012).
74. ↑ Results Announcement.
75. ↑ Death Row Records Is Now Owned by the Hasbro Toy Company.
76. ↑ Ingham, Tim (April 26, 2021). BLACKSTONE IS BUYING EONE MUSIC FROM HASBRO IN $385M CASH DEAL.
77. ↑ Vlessing, Etan (June 29, 2021). Hasbro Closes eOne Music Business Sale for $385M.
78. ↑ Tapp, Tom (February 9, 2022). Snoop Dogg Buys Death Row Records Brand Just Days Before Super Bowl Halftime Showcase. Retrieved on February 10, 2022.
79. ↑ Snoop Dogg Acquires Death Row Records (February 9, 2022).
80. ↑ Aswad, Jem (February 9, 2022). Snoop Dogg Acquires Death Row Records.
81. ↑ Template:Cite magazine
82. ↑ Wilson, Elliott (March 4, 2022). Snoop Dogg: Boss Moves.
83. ↑ Kreps, Daniel (2022-03-06). Dr. Dre Stills Owns 'The Chronic' Despite 'False Reports' of Death Row Ownership (en-US).
84. ↑ Caraan, Sophie (April 18, 2022). Snoop Dogg To Launch Death Row Records App With Streaming Platform. Retrieved on April 26, 2022.
85. ↑ Jake Paine (September 5, 2011). YGD Top Dogg Recalls Controversies While At Death Row Records, New Album.
86. ↑ Dr. Dre: The Chronic. RIAA.

## Further reading

* *Have Gun Will Travel: The Spectacular Rise and Violent Fall of Death Row Records*, Ronin Ro, Doubleday, 1998, 384 pages, Template:ISBN
* *Labyrinth: A Detective Investigates the Murders of Tupac Shakur and Notorious B.I.G., the Implications of Death Row Records' Suge* by Randall Sullivan, Atlantic Monthly Press, April 2, 2002, 384 pages, Template:ISBN
* *The Killing of Tupac Shakur*, by Cathy Scott, Huntington Press, 2002 (2nd ed), 235 pages, Template:ISBN
* *Welcome to Death Row*, Director: S. Leigh Savidge & Jeff Scheftel, (Video) 2001

## External links

* Death Row Records – Official YouTube

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