Death Row Records

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Death Row Records
Image:Deathrowlogobig.jpg
Founded	1991
Founder(s)	Suge Knight Dr. Dre
Distributing label	Koch Records
Genre(s)	Hiphop
Country	US
Web address	http://www.deathrowrecords.net

Death Row Records is a record company that was founded in 1991 by Suge Knight and Dr. Dre, and was once home to some of rap's biggest names, including: Dr. Dre, Snoop Doggy Dogg, Tupac Shakur and Tha Dogg Pound. The label was also once home to RBX, The Lady of Rage, Michel'le, Danny Boy, and Gina Longo (distinguished for being the first, and only, white artist signed to Death Row).

1 History
2 Pending court takeover
3 Death Row Records News
4 Further reading
5 Discography
6 See also
7 External links

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History

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Beginnings

While Dr. Dre was leaving Ruthless Records, he was introduced to Suge Knight through his friend The D.O.C., to whom Suge was a bodyguard at the time. With Dre's musical savvy and Suge's business sense, the two set out to found their own label.

Funding Death Row was accomplished by rather sinister means. Much of the money used to start the label allegedly came from known drug dealer Harry-O (in 1995, however, Suge disavowed any relationship with the imprisoned gangster). It is rumored that further funding came from extorting money from rapper Vanilla Ice. Knight, meanwhile, received additional financial support from Interscope Records, which in exchange would distribute its records.

The labels first release was The Chronic, the solo debut from Dr. Dre, in December 1992. Featured on the album were newcomers: Daz, Kurupt, The Lady of Rage and, most notably, Dr. Dre's new protege — Snoop Dogg (then known as Snoop Doggy Dogg). The album quickly exploded into 1993, peaking at #1 on Billboard's Top 200 Albums Chart, going triple platinum. Later that year, Death Row released the Doggystyle, the debut album from Snoop Dogg. Debuting at #1, it wound up besting The Chronic in sales, and made both Snoop Dogg and Death Row Records hiphop hottest commodities by 1994. Also in 1994, Death Row released the multi-platinum soundtracks to Above The Rim and Snoop's Murder Was The Case.

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Early criticism

With acclaim came criticism. While riding high on the commercial success of Dr. Dre and Snoop Doggy Dogg, Death Row was blasted by several activist groups and public figures in the media for its glorification of the violence associated with the gangsta rap image that most of its artists promoted. The criticism grew louder by the summer of 1995, as dissenters zeroed in on Death Row's highly publicized forthcoming release, Doggfood — the debut release by Tha Doggpound.

The flak made the shareholders in Interscope Records parent company, Time Warner, nervous. So much so that the company sold all of its shares in Interscope to MCA Music Entertainment. Doggfood, meanwhile, was postponed from its intended June release date to November.

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The addition of 2Pac

As the controversy with boycotters and Time Warner was adding fuel to Death Row's engine; Suge Knight, in the meantime, posted bail for the-then incarcerated Tupac ("2Pac") Shakur — in exchange for his signing with Death Row. At the time, 2Pac and Death Row shared mutual disdain for the fledgling New York-based Bad Boy Records, along with its CEO Sean Combs and seminal star The Notorious B.I.G.

Upon Shakur's release from prison, he immediately went to work on his Death Row debut album, All Eyez On Me. The album was released in early 1996, topped the albums charts, and going 9x platinum, became the labels biggest commercial success to date. The escalating tension between 2Pac and Biggie (as well as Death Row and Bad Boy), meanwhile, fueled what would was eventually called "East coast/West coast rap war." What was to follow would be a year-long dispute in which several Death Row artists fired verbal assaults at East Coast artists. Among those who took lyrical shots were: Snoop Dogg, Tha Dogg Pound, 2Pac (and his group, Tha Outlawz). The list of those dissed by Death Row included (but is not limited to): Capone-N-Noreaga, Mobb Deep, The Fugees, Luke of the 2 Live Crew, Nas, Jay-Z, Lil' Kim, the Junior M.A.F.I.A., and Da Brat.

Death Row artists who acknowledged Bad Boy Records, or those who didn't support the feud, were looked down upon by 2Pac. Lady of Rage commented in an interview that 2Pac had once called her the "weakest link in Death Row" because she wouldn't insult Bad Boy. 2Pac also spoke ill of Dr. Dre for having not testified for Snoop during his murder trial, for discouraging the West Coast-East Coast tension, and for his having departed the label in early 1996. 2Pac is alleged to have stopped speaking to Snoop, his close friend, because he stated on-air that he respected Bad Boy Records.

Despite the infamous feud, Suge Knight had planned to open a New York chapter of the label to be called Death Row East. Eric B. was slated to head that label. In an interview, Tupac named rappers they planned to sign, from Big Daddy Kane to the Wu-Tang Clan. The branch, however, was never formed.

2Pac was shot and killed in Las Vegas in September 1996, while riding on the passenger side in a car driven by Suge Knight. Soon after, Knight was sentenced to nine years in prison for a parole violation, relating directly to a fight that both he and 2Pac were involved in on the night of his death. As a result of Dr. Dre's having previously left the company, 2Pac's death, and Knights incarceration, Death Row Records imploded almost instantly.

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Post 1996

Interscope Records sold its stake in Death Row Records and broke ties with the company in 1997, forcing the label to take up distribution with Priority Records.

By 1998, Snoop, RBX, Jewell, and Kurupt had all left the label. Nate Dogg, Lady of Rage, and Daz soon followed. Death Row's saving grace is the fact that it owns the master tapes of the recordings that these artists made while they were on the roster, which is where most of the money comes from.

In 2001, upon his release from prison, Suge renamed his label "Tha Row" and announced his new roster, headed by a gifted Long Beach rapper named Crooked I. Tha Row also signed Left Eye of TLC, under the name N.I.N.A. (New Identity Non-Applicable). There were rumors that Knight was holding something over the rapper that "persuaded" her to sign the contract, but these were never expounded upon. Left-Eye was later tragically killed in a car accident before anything could come of the deal.

Several out-of-print releases from Tha Row were re-released like Tha Doggfather and, most importantly, Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory — the concept album by Tupac as Makaveli. Death Row's attempt at a comeback, however, lagged, as their new releases were all compilations; the label failed to release any solo records by "Tha Row Inmates", with the exception of unreleased 2Pac albums.

Suge was branded a hypocrite when, after blasting people for exploiting 2Pac's legacy, specifically Master P's use of his Pac copycat artist Krazy, he signed his friend "Tha Realest" as a "Row inmate", whose rapping style bore an uncanny resemblance to that of 2Pac.

On the 2001 Too Gangsta For Radio compilation, several skits were aimed at enemies of Tha Row. The intro had a Snoop impersonator, fresh from a nightmare, using his wife to call up Suge Knight's prison to make sure he was still there. On "Fuck Dre", Tha Realist, Twist (not to be confused with Chicago rapper Twista) and Lil' C-Style, formerly of the LBC Crew, recorded a skit where Dr. Dre rapes a potential signee, and on K-9's "Gangsta'd Out", a skit portrayed Eminem as a tool of the Ku Klux Klan.

At 2:30 am on May 27, 2003 several bullets were fired by an unknown person or persons at the Beverly Hills offices of Death Row Records, damaging the front door, windows and wall of the offices. Earlier that year, an LA S.W.A.T. team raided the Death Row offices, looking for evidence of gang murders and drug dealing.

It has been said The Game, currently an Aftermath Entertainment artist, was in talks with Suge to join Death Row while also considering a deal with Bad Boy, though nothing came of it.

2004 was a bad year for Suge. His most promising artist Crooked I finally had enough of waiting and left the label. Long postponed R&B singer Danny Boy, meanwhile, left the label in 2004, though its not been announced yet. Kurupt also left in 2005 to team up with his old friends Daz Dillinger and Snoop Dogg to reunite Tha Dogg Pound. In 2005 Death Row Records signed Petey Pablo.

It is rumored that they are working on signing Shyne and Mystikal, although Shyne is rumored to sign with The Black Wall Street & The Inc. Records aka Murder Inc.

After weeks of speculation, Queens, NY bred rapper Lakey The Kid and Suge Knight recently revealed to New York's Hot 97 that Lakey The Kid is signed to Death Row East, and will be the flagship artist for the label. Death Row East was 2Pac's idea but didn't materialize until ten years after his death.

Lakey's Death Row Debut album is due for release in September 2006.

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Pending court takeover

On April 3, 2006, it was reported that a court-appointed receiver is set to acquire Death Row assets to auction off. Suge Knight has missed several court-mandated appearances over his assets. Michael Harris, an imprisoned drug dealer, says that Knight owes him money because he helped fund the label's founding. [1]

On April 4, 2006, Death Row Records filed for bankruptcy protection. [2] Knight will run the company while the matter is before the courts.

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