Snoop Dogg now owns Death Row Records

LOS ANGELES — Snoop Dogg has taken over a popular record label that launched his stellar career.

The rapper-mogul acquired Death Row Records’ brand from MNRK Music Group, which is controlled by a private equity fund managed by Blackstone, the investment firm announced Wednesday. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Snoop Dogg said he’s excited about acquiring the label’s brand.

“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,” the 50-year-old 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.”

Snoop Dogg found his springboard to success during the 1990s while on Death Row Records. The label was founded in 1992 by Dr. Dre, Suge Knight, the D.O.C., and Dick Griffey in the immediate aftermath of the breakup of N.W.A.

David Kestnbaum, a senior managing director at Blackstone, said he’s looking forward to seeing Snoop Dogg at the helm of Death Row.

“We are excited to put the Death Row Records brand back in the hands of a legend like Snoop Dogg,” Kestnbaum said. “We wish him success in the years ahead as the brand moves forward under his leadership and vision.”

The label’s records, including Dre’s first solo album “The Chronic” and Snoop Dogg’s debut “Doggystyle,” are considered classics of the hip-hop genre that defined an era.

Tupac Shakur became the label’s star artist later in the ’90s before he was shot and killed in Las Vegas in 1996 while riding in a car driven by Knight. Shakur’s death brought on the decline for the label, which led to decades of decline for Knight himself.

Knight lost Death Row after it went into bankruptcy in 2006. He served time in prison and had a knack for being near violence that eventually caught up with him.

“Snoop is clearly the executive to take Death Row into its next 30 years,” said Chris Taylor, president, and CEO of MNRK Music Group.

HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA – MARCH 28: Snoop Dogg attends the Los Angeles Premiere Of Neon And Vice Studio’s “The Beach Bum” at ArcLight Hollywood on March 28, 2019 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Amy Sussman/Getty Images)

Blogs

TEYANA TAYLOR TO HAVE THROAT SURGERY

TEYANA TAYLOR TO HAVE THROAT SURGERY

Teyana Taylor told her fans that she needs to have emergency throat surgery. In her IG Story posted on Wednesday, Taylor said her doctor found a non-cancerous growth on one of her vocal cords. Taylor said she had been dealing with voice problems and some discomfort for a while. She’s glad that doctors caught the…

MEGAN THEE STALLION TO HOST NEW SERIES

MEGAN THEE STALLION TO HOST NEW SERIES

Megan Thee Stallion just added a couple more titles to her resume. The Hot Girl Coach is slated to star in a new K-pop competition series for Apple TV+ alongside Psy. It’s called KPopped. The concept is simple — Western artists team up with K-pop stars to reimagine some of their hits. The Western artists…

DIDDY WANTS OUT OF JAIL BEFORE SENTENCING

DIDDY WANTS OUT OF JAIL BEFORE SENTENCING

Attorneys for Sean “Diddy” Combs are trying to get their client released before his October sentencing. On Tuesday, Diddy’s lawyers petitioned Judge Arun Subramanian to release Combs on a $50 million bond and allow him to live in his Miami mansion. Combs is currently awaiting sentencing in Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Center. Earlier this month, Combs…

MUSIC CITY ICON GAIL MASONDO PASSES ON

MUSIC CITY ICON GAIL MASONDO PASSES ON

All of us plant seeds. And the thing about those seeds is you never know where they will sprout or how much of a harvest they will manifest. Because Gail Hamilton Masondo was my mother, I know, for certain, that when she moved to Nashville, she had absolutely no idea of the kind mark that…