Snoop Dogg Buys Death Row Records
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Snoop Dogg is having a good week. In addition to prepping for his Super Bowl halftime show performance, the rapper just bought Death Row Records, the very label that released his 1993 debut, Doggystyle. Snoop purchased Death Row from MNRK Music Group for an undisclosed sum.
Death Row was founded in the early ’90s by Dr. Dre, Suge Knight, Dick Griffey, and the D.O.C. Snoop also released 1996’s Tha Doggfather via 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,” Snoop said via a press release, adding:
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.
This comes in advance of Snoop’s much-anticipated Super Bowl halftime show performance in Los Angeles with Dre, Eminem, Kendrick Lamar, and Mary J. Blige. This Sunday’s Super Bowl will also air Snoop’s latest odd-couple commercial with Martha Stewart where the two hock Bic EZ-reach lighters and trade smoking jokes.
This week also sees the release of Snoop’s latest studio album, B.O.D.R. (which stands for Bacc on Death Row), out on February 11.
And finally, before it drops on streaming services, Snoop is partnering with Gala Games to release B.O.D.R. on blockchain as an exclusive stash box of NFTs. “If anything is constant, it’s that the music industry will always be changing,” Snoop said. “Blockchain tech has the power to change everything again and tip the table in favor of the artists and the fans, and we’re going to be right at the front of the pack with this Gala Music deal.” The Stash Box of Snoop’s music in NFT form is out today (February 9). Check it out here.