The rapper became embroiled in a dispute with Death Row Records over the terms of his contract and the alleged withholding of royalty payments and left the label in 1998.
Snoop Dogg described the purchase of Death Row Records, the label that launched his career, as an “extremely significant” moment.
The American rapper said he hoped to build the “next chapter” of the label. It comes days before Snoop is due to perform at the Super Bowl LVI halftime show in Los Angeles, alongside Dr Dre, Eminem, Mary J Blige and Kendrick Lamar. Snoop Dogg, real name Calvin Broadus Jr, was born in Long Beach, California, and rose to fame after the release of his 1993 debut album, Doggystyle.
The album, released on the Death Row Records label, included singles such as Gin & Juice, Murder Was The Case and Doggy Dogg World.
I am excited and grateful for the opportunity to acquire the iconic and culturally significant brand Death Row Records, which has immense untapped future value,” the rapper said in a statement.
“It feels good to have ownership of the label that I was a part of at the beginning of my career and as one of the founding members. This is an extremely significant moment for me. I’m really looking forward to building the next chapter of Death Row Records. He later posted a picture on his own Instagram with the caption Bacc on Death Row.
Before his career success, a teenage Snoop spent time in prison for a drug offense before one of his first mixtapes impressed NWA co-founder Dre, who invited him to audition.
The release of Doggystyle catapulted him to commercial fame, selling millions of copies worldwide and he released his second, Tha Doggfather, in 1996.
But the rapper became embroiled in a dispute with Death Row Records over the terms of his contract and the alleged withholding of royalty payments, and left the label in 1998.
Despite this, the following decade brought more success with the success of the albums Paid Tha Cost To Be Da Boss, Tha Blue Carpet Treatment and Ego Trippin’. Other albums include Bible Of Love, I Wanna Thank Me and From Tha Streets 2 Tha Suites.
