Snoop Dogg revealed that he and Dr. Dre were briefly at odds over his decision to purchase Death Row Records. During a recent interview with AP News, Snoop Dogg opened up about Dr. Dre’s initial reaction. For those who may need a reminder on how it all went down, Snoop acquired the label from MNRK Music Group, which was formerly known as eOne Music, in 2022.
Prior to his purchase of the label, Death Row Records filed for bankruptcy in 2006 before eventually being acquired by WIDEawake Entertainment Group in 2009.
WIDEawake’s own bankruptcy resulted in the label being sold to eOne Music in 2013. Death Row Records became a division of Hasbro at one point until eOne was bought by Blackstone in 2021. Snoop’s acquisition of the iconic label that launched his career was met with skepticism, even from his longtime mentor and collaborator.
“Oh, he didn’t like it,” Snoop Dogg admitted bluntly when asked about Dre’s response. “He broke up about it. He said it. He spoke to it. He didn’t like it.”
To elaborate, Snoop Dogg shared that Dr. Dre and others close to him were puzzled by the decision mainly due to the financial issues Death Row faced prior to his acquisition of the imprint in 2022.
“But at the same time, he didn’t know what I was doing—nobody did,” he said. “It just looked like, ‘Why the f### is he buying a bag of problems when he’s living a life of success and not having to deal with it? Why would he bring that back into his life?’”
Snoop Dogg, however, had a different perspective. For him, the move was about legacy and redemption—along with tying up loose ends pertaining to the “unfinished business” he felt needed to be handled.
“They didn’t understand what I seen,” he said. “I seen my legacy. I seen certain things that were connected to me that needed to be finished as far as my unfinished business. And also to protect my legacy by putting some beautiful music in Death Row and putting some happy times in Death Row and some life rather than death.”
However, Snoop went on to explain how as time passed that Dr. Dre’s opinion evolved. In fact, he says that his longtime collaborator has now turned into the biggest supporter of the label.
“He loves it,” he said. “He represents it. He’s down with it. I bought all the homies Death Row jackets. He was like, ‘Where my Death Row jacket at?’ I said, ‘I didn’t know you wanted one, cuz’.”
Snoop Dogg originally signed with Death Row Records in 1992, under the leadership of Dr. Dre and Suge Knight — who co-founded the label together in 1991. Snoop’s debut album, Doggystyle, became a seminal release in Hip-Hop history following its release on the label in 1993.
Fast forward nearly three decades, and Snoop’s acquisition of the label in early 2022 was part of a strategic move to reclaim and revitalize his artistic legacy. In addition to the pair releasing their collaborative album Missionary via the label earlier this month, Snoop has orchestrated the return of multiple legacy artists to Death Row Records, including The Eastsidaz and Tha Dogg Pound. He’s also signed a handful of new artists, including standout R&B artist October London.
Check out the short film for their collaborative album Missionary in the video below.
