Death Row Records — Dr. Dre, Tupac and Snoop Dog — Acquired by Hasbro
Monday, August 26, 2019
Hasbro’s blockbuster deal to acquire eOne — the British entertainment company that owns Peppa Pig — also brought to the Pawtucket company the ownership of Death Row Records' catalog of music.
The blockbuster deal was announced on Thursday after the close of the markets.
The all-cash transaction valued at approximately £3.3 billion -- or $4 billion -- is a gamechanger in the entertainment and toy industry. eOne owns a cadre of brands including Peppa Pig and the record label which was founded by Dr. Dre, Suge Knight, and The D.O.C.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTAt the height of gangsta rap, the label was earning more than $150 million in revenue.
Death Row Records
Albums included Dr. Dre’s The Chronic, which includes singles, "Fuck Wit Dre Day," "Let Me Ride," Nuthin' but a 'G' Thang;” Christmas on Death Row and the single "Santa Clause Goes Straight to the Ghetto;” and Gang Related with the single "Made Niggaz."
"In the mid-1980s, the music industry was shaken up with the birth of gangster rap. Artists such as Schoolly D and N.W.A produced hits such as "PSK What Does It Mean" and "Fuck Tha Police." This new music genre portrayed images of gangs, guns, violence, and sexism, yet it was well received and became very popular in the span of just a few years. By the early 1990s, gangster rap had a home at the top of the charts. Some of the artists responsible for this were Dr. Dre and Eazy-E, both former members of N.W.A., Snoop Doggy Dogg, Tupac Shakur, and Ice-T. While each of these rappers showcased a unique style, the underlying messages in their work depicted acts of violence, discrimination, and sex in a way that made them appear commonplace and acceptable, when in fact they are not," wrote Anthony M. Giovacchini in Poverty & Prejudice: Media and Race.
How did the eOne get ownership of Death Row? It bought the catalog of songs by many of the biggest names in early hip hop in an auction.
“WIDEawake Death Row and its catalog is reportedly being sold to a publicly held company, HipHopDX has exclusively learned," reported HipHopDX in 2012.
Promotional photograph of Tupac Shakur by Albert Watson. Copyright MTV Networks and Amaru Entertainment, copyright 2003 FAIR USE
Not Hasbro’s First Connection to Gangsta Rap
In August 2017, Hasbro's comic con-style event, intended to be family-friendly, featured special guest performer Flo Rida - who is mainstream now - but had in his career promoted drug dealing in songs that are highly misogynistic, violent, and weave the "N-Word" into the lyrics.
Hasbro's HASCON said the event is family-friendly. "From fan favorites to family fun, grown-ups and kids alike are invited to celebrate the power of play at this first-of-its-kind "con"!"
The event offered small children the opportunity to try out for a Hasbro commercial, "AUDITION! Youths ages 3-15 can audition to potentially appear in a Hasbro TV commercial or piece of entertainment!"
The three day-event took place at the Providence Convention Center.
"This is 'gutter culture' in my opinion. Now I'm not in favor of stopping it, having been with the ACLU. But I think it's corrosive," said former State Representative Ray Rickman, who now runs the non-profit Stages of Freedom, which "promotes and celebrates African American culture for the entire community and provides programs to empower youth," of the lyrics of some of Flo Rida's songs.
"A lot of young people, if this wasn't here, they'd do something better. I have long dialogues with young people about the n-word," said Rickman. "On the bus, you couldn't go a block without hearing a 15-year-old use it. They told me they had the power to use it. I said no you don't -- it's been used a certain way for 300 years."
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