Death Row Records
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, Snoop Dogg and 2Pac during the 1990s. At its peak, Death Row made over US $100 million annually.
By the late 1990s, the label began to decline after the death of its star artist, 2Pac, imprisonment of Suge Knight, and the departures of Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg. It was embroiled in controversies, lawsuits, and extreme violence by its artists and associates, despite enjoying financial success.
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 went bankrupt in 2012; the label was sold to Entertainment One, and it 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
1987–1992: Origins and the first generation
In 1987, 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 and Eazy-E were dishonest, they approached Dr. Dre about forming a label with them, away from Heller and Eazy-E. Allegedly using strong-arm tactics, Suge Knight was able to procure contracts from Eazy-E for the D.O.C., Dr. Dre, Jewell, 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, both the D.O.C and Suge Knight's business associate Michael "Harry-O" Harris have claimed to have suggested changing the name of the new label to 'Def Row' , 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, 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.
1992–1995: ''The Chronic'', ''Doggystyle'', and other releases
With the help of Kenner, Knight began signing young, inner-city California-based artists. Through Suge's connection with Dick Griffey, Griffey arranged for Death Row to contribute to 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. Soon after, Dr. Dre discovered and brought in Virginia artist The Lady of Rage, as well as his step-brother Warren G. Snoop Doggy Dogg brought in his friend Kurupt and his cousins Dat Nigga Daz, Nate Dogg, and RBX. The D.O.C. was retained for songwriting. With this stable of artists, work commenced on The Chronic, Dr. Dre's debut studio album.In 1992, Jimmy Iovine's Interscope Records negotiated a $10-million deal with Dr. Dre and Marion "Suge" Knight to finance and distribute Death Row. The meeting and negotiations were initiated by John McClain, who met Dre when he was recording his The Chronic. Original plans had called for the album to be released through Sony, but Sony passed on The Chronic due to Death Row's controversial nature and Dr. Dre's contractual status. After hearing the album, Iovine agreed to release it, although doing so required a complicated distribution agreement with Priority Records, Dre's label as a member of N.W.A. The Chronic was released in December 1992. The album, which was released on December 15 and peaked at number 3 on the Billboard Top 200, went on to sell 5.7 million records worldwide, popularizing the distinctive style of G-Funk. The Death Row roster consisted of Dre, Snoop, Daz, Kurupt, Nate Dogg, the Lady of Rage, the D.O.C., Jewell, RBX, and many more.
After Snoop Dogg found solo success through his features on The Chronic, Dre began producing Snoop Dogg's debut album Doggystyle throughout 1993. Snoop's debut was released on November 23, 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 by criticizing gangsta rap for being against American values, degrading to black women, and encouraging violence towards police officers. Throughout 1994, Death Row Records released the soundtracks Above the Rim and Murder Was the Case.
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 as well as DJ Quik distributed nearly 2,000 turkeys to the public. Death Row also donated turkeys the following year as well.
On March 13, 1995, Death Row Records hosted a private party at the El Rey Theatre, where Kelly Jamerson, a Rolling 60's Crip, was severely beaten by several Bloods, who were allegedly from Suge Knight's inner circle. As a result of his injuries, Jamerson died the next day at the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.
1995–1996: Signing 2Pac, Bad Boy Records feud, 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, after giving a brief comment of support for Shakur, Suge used his brief stage time mainly to disparage Sean "Puff Daddy" Combs, CEO of Bad Boy Records, the label then leading New York rap scene. Knight criticized Combs for his habit of ad-libbing on his artists' music as well as making numerous cameo appearances in his artists' music videos. Suge then invited artists seeking the spotlight for themselves to join Death Row. Eventually, Puff recalled that to preempt severe retaliation from his Bad Boy crew, 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 Jermaine Dupri's birthday party at the Platinum House nightclub in Atlanta, Georgia, Bad Boy's entourage entered a heated dispute with Suge and Suge's friend Jai Hassan-Jamal "Big Jake" Robles, a Campanella Park Piru 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. Several minutes later, outside the club, Puff's childhood friend and own bodyguard, Anthony "Wolf" Jones was involved in a heated altercation with others that ultimately led to Robles being fatally shot while entering a Limousine.
The attorneys of Puff and Jones 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, and Jones himself was fatally shot in Atlanta in November 2003 during an altercation with the Black Mafia Family. 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, 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.
Suge Knight's relationship with MC Hammer dates back to 1988. With the success of Hammer's 1994 album, The Funky Headhunter, 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, 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". After the death of Tupac in 1996, MC Hammer left the label.