Death Row Records

About Death Row Records

Death Row Records is a record label that was founded in 1991 by Dr. Dre and Suge Knight, and was once home to some of rap's biggest names, including 2Pac, Dr. Dre, Snoop Doggy Dogg and Tha Dogg Pound (Kurupt and Daz Dillinger).

Death Row has sold nearly 50 million units worldwide, and generated close to $750 million in revenue. The label was also once home to RBX, The Lady of Rage, Michel'le, Danny Boy, Bow Wow, DJ Quik, J-Flexx, Sam Sneed, Mark Morrison, MC Hammer, Tha Realest, Crooked I, O.F.T.B., Eastwood, and Gina Longo (notable for being the only white artist signed to the label). In addition, the late Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes of TLC was signed on and working on an album when she died in an automobile accident. On July 15, 2008, the label was sold to the independent label of Global Music Group, at an auction for $24 million.

While Dr. Dre was trying to leave Ruthless Records, he was introduced to Suge Knight, who was a bodyguard for The D.O.C. at the time. With Dr. Dre, Suge Knight, and The D.O.C., set out to found their own label which they called Future Shock Records and then later renamed it to Death Row Records. Knight would later explain his reasoning for the company in a 1996 interview with Vibe Magazine: "We called it Death Row because most everybody had been involved with the law. The majority of our people were parolees or incarcerated-no joke. We got people that were really on Death Row and still is." After a year long battle with Eazy-E and Jerry Heller, who still had disputes over where Dre was signed and on what terms, and a botched deal with Dick Griffey's Solar Records, funding Death Row was accomplished via financial support from Interscope Records. Interscope would then act as a distributor for Death Row Records for the next six years. The label's 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, RBX and, most notably, Dr. Dre's new protege Snoop Dogg (then known as Snoop 'Doggy' Dogg). The album quickly exploded into 1993, eventually topping the Billboard's Top 200 Albums chart; selling over three million copies.