Death Row Records
The label that made over $100 million annually at its peak.
Death Row Records is an American record label founded in 1991 by The D.O.C., Dr. Dre, Suge Knight, and Dick Griffey. It became a sensation by releasing multi-platinum hip-hop albums by West Coast artists like Dr. Dre (The Chronic), Snoop Dogg (Doggystyle, Tha Doggfather), and 2Pac (All Eyez on Me, The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory) during the 1990s. At its peak, Death Row made over US $100 million annually. The label declined after 2Pac's death, Suge Knight's imprisonment, and the departures of Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg, despite its earlier financial success.
- Founded by
- The D.O.C., Dr. Dre, Suge Knight, Dick Griffey
- Key artists
- Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, 2Pac
- Genre
- West Coast hip-hop, G-funk
- First major release
- Dr. Dre's The Chronic (1992)
- Status
- Filed for bankruptcy in 2006; auctioned in 2009; bought by Snoop Dogg in 2022
Lore & Background
Death Row Records was born from tensions at Ruthless Records. After Ice Cube left in 1989 over financial disagreements with Jerry Heller, Suge Knight and The D.O.C. reviewed the books with a lawyer. Convinced Heller and Eazy-E were dishonest, they approached Dr. Dre about forming a new label. Using strong-arm tactics, Knight secured contracts for The D.O.C., Dr. Dre, Jewell, and Michel'le from Eazy-E. The label was originally called Future Shock, then 'Def Row' (a play on Def Jam), but rights were owned by the Unknown DJ, who sold the naming rights to Dr. Dre and his partners in July 1991. By 1992, the name changed to Death Row Records. Knight approached Michael 'Harry-O' Harris, a businessman imprisoned on drug and attempted murder charges, who set up Godfather Entertainment as a parent company. Knight also pressured Vanilla Ice into signing over royalties for 'Ice Ice Baby,' using that money to help fund Death Row.
Reader's Guide
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, 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. The label's history is marked by controversies, lawsuits, links to organized crime, and extreme violence by its artists and associates, despite its financial success.
Did You Know?
- Death Row Records was originally called Future Shock, then 'Def Row,' before the name was changed in 1992.
- The label made over US $100 million annually at its peak.
- Suge Knight pressured Vanilla Ice into signing over royalties for 'Ice Ice Baby' to help fund Death Row.
- Death Row filed for bankruptcy in 2006 and was auctioned for $18 million on January 15, 2009.
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