Death Row Records

Nineties hip-hop powerhouse

Death Row Records was a hip-hop record label founded in 1991, central to the West Coast gangsta rap movement of the 1990s.

The label launched careers of Dr.

Dre, Snoop Dogg, and Tupac Shakur, and produced landmark albums that defined the era.

The name evokes prison's death row—a deliberate provocation matching the label's reputation for controversy, including its association with gang culture and the 1996 murder of Tupac.

The label collapsed amid legal troubles and the 2001 imprisonment of co-founder Suge Knight.

legacy

Tupac Shakur

Dr. Dre · Snoop Dogg · Nate Dogg · Danny Boy

controversy

violence

Harmful physical force

incarceration · threats · contract disputes · FBI investigation · witness intimidation · Vanilla Ice · strong-arm tactics

decline

bankruptcy

Legal status when insolvent

label

music videos

Visual accompaniments to songs

marketing · promotion · signing · royalties · publishing · masters · catalog · Time Warner

Categories
Opposites
corporate image/ethos

Death Row RecordsColumbia Records

Oldest surviving American label

Atlantic Records

Family

death, record, deaths, rows, records, dead, deadly, deadness, deathly

Familiarity
Top 500,000
Profile
Mostly American · Concrete · Negative · Rated PG-13