Since its inception in the 1990s, Death Row Records has changed hands several times. However, one of the legendary gangsta rap company's founders has returned to his roots and purchased the label. Snoop Dogg has purchased the Death Row brand from MNRK Music Group (previously eOne Music), which is managed by Blackstone, a renowned global investment business, through private equity funds.
The Hasbro toy business bought MNRK Music Group for $4 billion in 2019 and became the new owners of Death Row unintentionally, though the terms of the agreement were not announced. Hasbro announced that it had sold MNRK Music Group to Blackstone for $385 million in cash in April 2021. It's safe to say that the iconic Hip Hop group wasn't cheap.
“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 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.
“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.”
For a long time, Snoop Dogg, who currently serves as Def Jam Recordings' Executive Creative and Strategic Consultant, has been begging for the label's attention. Snoop Dogg informed hosts Gillie and Wallo on the Million Dollaz Worth of Game podcast in November 2021 that it should be under his hands.
“I think all of Death Row should be in my hands,” Snoop said at the 48 minute-mark. “I should be running that shit. Just like I’m [in] a position at Def Jam, Death Row means more to me because I helped create that. I think they should give me that and let me run that shit with the merchandise out, with the music all over the world. [Add] some new West Coast acts.”
Snoop Dogg has clearly re-aligned himself with his first record label. B.O.T.R. stands for Bacc On Death Row, which is the title of his upcoming album. "It’s just a lot of heat over there and it’s not being handled right.," he said in the same interview with Gillie and Wallo, suggesting the purchase was a possibility at the time. "But a little birdie told me it may fly my way and if it do, you’ll get everything that I told you … If I can get Def Jam poppin’, what could I do with Death Row? Just imagine that."
In honor of its 30th anniversary, Death Row Records opened its first ever online retail store in March. Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are available for Death Row fans in addition to clothes and music, starting with "Series 1: Nobody Does It Better," which is titled after the iconic Nate Dogg hit. In the first series, the song also served as the soundtrack for the limited-edition NFTs.
The Death Row label, which was founded by former CEO Suge Knight, produced a number of multi-platinum rap albums, including Dr. Dre's The Chronic, Snoop Dogg's Doggystyle, Tha Dogg Pound's Dogg Food, and Tupac Shakur's All Eyez On Me, among others.
Snoop Dogg is set to appear at the Super Bowl LVI Pepsi halftime show on Sunday with Dr. Dre, Eminem, Kendrick Lamar, and Mary J. Blige on Friday (February 11), two days before he joins Dr. Dre, Eminem, Kendrick Lamar, and Mary J. Blige for what is sure to be an amazing performance (February 13).
