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A.K.A.
Tha Row

See Also: Crooked I, Danny Boy, Tha Dogg Pound, The Lady Of Rage, Michel'le, N.W.A., Petey Pablo, Tha Realest, 2Pac, Lake, Sam Sneed, J-Flexx, MC Hammer, G.P. & Above The Law

Albums
Above The Law - The Death Row E.P.
Above The Rim
Christmas On Death Row
Chronic 2000: Still Smokin'
Crooked I - The Death Row Collection
Danny Boy - It's About Time
Daz Dillinger - Retaliation, Revenge, And Get Back
Death Row's Greatest Hits
Death Row Records 20 Years Promo
DJ Age Presents Death Row Unreleased And Unleashed
Tha Dogg Pound - Dogg Food
Tha Dogg Pound - 2002
Dr. Dre - The Chronic
Dr. Dre - The Chronic Re-Lit & From The Vault
DysFunktional Family
G.P. - The Beast E.P.
Gang Related
Gridlock'd
Kurupt - Against The Grain
The Lady Of Rage - Necessary Roughness
MC Hammer - 2Tight
Michel'le - Hung Jury
Murder Was The Case
2nd II None - The Shit
Snoop Doggy Dogg - Doggystyle
Snoop Doggy Dogg - Tha Doggfather
Snoop Dogg - Dead Man Walkin'
Snoop Doggy Dogg - Greatest Hits
Too Gangsta For Radio
2Pac - All Eyez On Me
Makaveli - The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory
2Pac - R U Still Down? (Remember Me)
2Pac - Greatest Hits
2Pac + Outlawz - Still I Rise
2Pac - Until The End Of Time
2Pac - Better Dayz
2Pac - Nu-Mixx Klassics
2Pac - Live
2Pac - Nu-Mixx Klazzics Vol. 2 (Evolution: Duets And Remixes)
20 To Life: Rare And Dangerous Volume 1
The Ultimate Death Row Collection

Mixtapes
David Blake - The Death Row Sessions EP
Death Row Stories
Death Row Records Unreleased Hits Vol. 1
Death Row Unreleased Hits Vol. 2
DJ 1 Mic - Death Row: This Is It (The Definitive Collection)
DJ Total Presents Death Row Untouchable Radio
Inside Death Row: The Best Of...And More
Lake And Death Row East Present The 848 Mixtape
Nipsey Hussle - Death Row Demo
Petey Pablo - Life On Death Row
Sounds Of Tha Row
Too Gangsta For Radio Vol. 2
Too Gangsta For Radio Vol. 2 Vol. 2

Singles
Death Row Records: Full Pardon (Sampler)
Dr. Dre & Snoop Doggy Dogg - Deep Cover (Single)
Dr. Dre - Keep Their Heads Ringin' (Single)
2Pac - California Love (Single)
2Pac - California Love (White Label Vinyl)
2Pac - How Do U Want It (Single)
2Pac - I Ain't Mad At Cha (Single)
2Pac - Hit 'Em Up (Single)
Makaveli - Hail Mary (Single)
Makaveli - Toss It Up b/w Hail Mary (Single)
2Pac - Happy Home (Single)
2Pac + Outlawz - Baby, Don't Cry (Keep Ya Head Up II) (Single)
2Pac - Breathin' (Vinyl Single)
2Pac - They Don't Give A Fuck About Us (Single)
2Pac - Runnin' (Dyin' To Live) (Single)
2Pac - Loyal To The Game (Bonus Tracks Promo)
2Pac - Untouchable (Vinyl Single)

DVDs
Death Row Uncut (DVD)
Welcome To Death Row (DVD)

Bio From Wikipedia
Death Row Records was a record label that was founded in 1991 by Dr. Dre and Suge Knight, and was once home to some of West Coast hip hop's most well-known Rappers, including 2Pac, Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg and Tha Dogg Pound (Kurupt and Daz Dillinger).

Death Row has sold nearly 50 million albums worldwide, and generated close to $750 million in revenue. The label was also once home to RBX, The Lady Of Rage, Warren G, K-Solo, Michel'le, Danny Boy, DJ Quik, Petey Pablo, Tha Realest, and Crooked I. In addition, the late Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes of TLC was signed on and working on an album when she died in a car accident in Honduras.

In the late '80s, producer Andre "Dr. Dre" Young was a member of the gangsta rap group N.W.A., signed to fellow member Eric "Eazy-E" Wright's Ruthless Records. As head of production at the label, Dre produced a large number of Ruthless projects, many of them high-selling; feeling the pressures of having to produce so many acts, Dre became interested in his own label, talking to Heller at one point about setting one up under Ruthless. After the departure of Ice Cube over financial disagreements with group manager/label co-founder Jerry Heller, artist and friend The D.O.C. and friend Suge Knight went over the books with a lawyer. Convinced that Heller was dishonest, they approached Young about forming a label with them, away from Heller and Eazy-E. Allegedly using strong-arm tactics, Knight was able to procure contracts from Eazy for The D.O.C., Dr. Dre and singer Michel'le.

Knight approached successful rapper Robert "Vanilla Ice" Van Winkle, using management connections with rapper Mario "Chocolate" Johnson, claiming that Johnson had written and produced the song, and had not received credit or royalties for the song. Knight and two bodyguards arrived at The Palm in West Hollywood, where Van Winkle was eating. After shoving Van Winkle's bodyguards aside, Knight and his own bodyguards sat down in front of Van Winkle, staring at him before finally asking "How you doin'?" Similar incidents were repeated on several occasions before Knight showed up at Van Winkle's hotel suite on the fifteenth floor of the Bel Age Hotel, accompanied by Johnson and a member of the Oakland Raiders. According to Van Winkle, Knight took him out on the balcony by himself, and implied that he would throw Van Winkle off unless he signed the rights to the song over to Knight. Knight also approached Michael "Harry-O" Harris, a businessman incarcerated on drug and attempted murder charges. Through David Kenner, a criminal attorney handling Harris's appeal, Suge and Harry-O set up Godfather Entertainment, a parent company for the newly-christened Death Row Records.

With Kenner's legal expertise as incentive, Knight began signing young inner-city California artists and arranged for Death Row to handle the soundtrack for the 1991 Lawrence Fishburne/Jeff Goldblum film Deep Cover. The single, "Deep Cover", established Dre as a solo artist and a young Snoop Doggy Dogg as his protégé. Work soon began on The Chronic, Dre's solo album, which heavily featured Snoop and the rest of the label's core roster. Its singles, "Fuck Wit' Dre Day (And Everybody's Celebratin')" and "Nuthin' but a "G" Thang", saw Dre and Snoop responding to disses by Eazy-E and other artists at Ruthless over Dre' leaving the label and N.W.A.

The album went on to sell three million records, establishing the west coast in hip-hop and popularizing the distinctive style of g-funk. Continuing to release albums boycotting Dre, Eazy-E claimed the success of the album and its singles netted him nearly as much money as it did Young, though the album became Death Row's first landmark release and solidified the status of the label and its artists.

By 1995, the label began to flood with Knight's cronies--friends and gang members fresh out of jail, as well as off-duty police officers later implicated in the Rampart scandal, working as security. Emboldened, Knight began taking more control of the label and further sought the spotlight, while Dr. Dre receded into the background, shying away from the increasingly violent atmosphere and Suge's newfound volatility. C. Delores Tucker's pressure to conform extended to a joint proposal by herself and a Warner executive to set up a record label with Knight to put out content-controlled rap music, which Knight billed as a breach of contract, resulting in a switch in distribution from Time Warner to Interscope. At the '95 Source Awards, the Death Row roster's performance garnered a poor reception from the mainly east coast audience; Knight also made comments pertaining to Bad Boy Entertainment CEO Puff Daddy, sparking friction between the two labels (and, later, the two entire coasts). Soon Knight would sign highly controversial rapper Tupac "2Pac" Shakur, incarcerated on a second-degree rape conviction, after agreeing to post Shakur's bail. At the same time, a rift between Michael and Lydia Harris and Suge and David Kenner began to grow, with the latter pair denying Harris's involvement in the company and refusing to take his phone calls.

Tupac immediately began work on his Death Row album, kicking off his tenure by insulting Notorious B.I.G. and Puff Daddy, who he accused of setting him up to be robbed and shot earlier that year, as well as Bad Boy Entertainment, Mobb Deep and Nas. Tha Dogg Pound's debut album, Dogg Food, continued the label's streak of commercial successes; its members, rappers Kurupt and Daz Dillinger, joined Shakur in ridiculing New York rappers with their single "New York, New York," featuring Snoop Dogg. The video, set in New York City, featured giant versions of the rappers stepping on buildings--tensions were also heightened when the set was fired upon in a driveby. Disillusioned with the direction of Death Row, artists RBX and The D.O.C. chose to leave, after which Knight exercised tighter control over the rest of the roster. Dogg Food was not produced by Dr. Dre, a further testament to Young's dwindling involvement with his own label. Though he contributed two tracks to 2Pac's All Eyez On Me, it was mostly produced by Daz and Johnny J. Shakur's behavior reportedly became erratic as he continued verbal wars with Mobb Deep, Nas, Biggie, The Fugees and Jay-Z; in response to supposed sleights by Dre, and encouraged by Knight, Shakur also turned on the label's co-founder and former head producer. In 1996, Dre left Death Row to form Aftermath Entertainment.

Formerly a united front of artists, Death Row's roster fractured into separate camps. Daz, now head producer, worked on Snoop Dogg's sophomore album Tha Doggfather, which featured Bad Azz and Techniec of his L.B.C. Crew, Warren G and Nate Dogg of his group 213 and Kurupt and Daz of Tha Dogg Pound. 2Pac shut himself into the studio with little-known producers Hurt-M-Badd and Big "D", crafting The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory--unlike All Eyez On Me, it was devoid of high-profile Death Row guest appearances, instead showcasing Shakur's The Outlawz and Bad Azz. Knight was now barely reachable by his staff, and employees were routinely assaulted as punishment for not following order.

During a trip to Las Vegas for a Mike Tyson fight, Shakur was interviewed on the possibility of Death Row East, an east coast branch of the record label. Though names from Big Daddy Kane and the Wu-Tang Clan to Eric B. and K-Solo were mentioned, the label would never be formed; three days later, Tupac, Knight and others were caught on camera assailing gang member Orlando Anderson. Later that night, Shakur was shot several times while in a car with Suge; despite living for several days in critical condition, the rapper died on September 13th, 1996. The impact on Death Row was immediate; Knight was investigated in the murder, convicted of parole violation and sentenced to nine years' prison time, causing Interscope to drop its distribution deal with the label. His control over the label diminished, Nate Dogg was able to leave, followed by Snoop Dogg and Kurupt; after the release of his own and The Lady Of Rage's solo albums, Daz and Rage followed suit. The general consensus since then amongst the former roster is that Knight had something to do with the killing of Shakur, though these claims are unsubstantiated.

Maintaining artistic control from behind bars, Knight launched smear campaigns against several of his former artists, most notably Snoop Dogg. The label supported itself with releases pulled from vaults--most successfully various posthumous 2Pac albums, along with Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg re-releases and then-unreleased compilation records such as Suge Knight Presents: The Chronic 2000 and Snoop Dogg: Dead Man Walkin'. He signed new talent, including Crooked I, Left Eye of TLC, Top Dogg and Tha Realest, picking up affiliates Spider Loc and Eastwood. He also appointed former Ruthless Records artist Cold 187um head producer, to oversee the 2Pac album Until The End Of Time and unauthorized Dogg Pound release 2002. Despite bad blood, Kurupt would again sign with Suge Knight in exchange for the position of Vice President, which sparked a feud between himself and former friends Daz and Snoop Dogg. Mentoring Crooked I, he began work on Against The Grain; his verbal feud with his former partners continued from 2002 to 2005.

After promoting his new talent for years from prison, directing a campaign against his former artists and exacerbating the conflict between Daz and Kurupt, Suge had still yet to release any albums by his living artists. In 2004, Spider Loc signed a deal with G-Unit and enjoined a verbal bout with rapper The Game, leaving Knight and Death Row behind. After Kurupt's second departure, Against The Grain was released; soon after, citing dissatisfaction with serving five years on the label and seeing no release, Crooked I also left Death Row, eventually filing a gag order on Knight to prevent the mogul's interference with his finding a new deal. Petey Pablo, who had signed in 2005 and started the never-released album Same Eyez on Me, left along with rapper Tha Realest in 2006.

2005 Suge Knight's implication in the 1997 murder of The Notorious B.I.G.. in Los Angeles, California. A federal informant provided testimony that Los Angeles police officers David Mack and Rafael Perez--both implicated in the Rampart scandal--worked as security for Death Row when off-duty, and that they and Suge Knight had conspired to have Biggie killed after a party the rapper attended on the night of his murder. However, testifying in a wrongful-death lawsuit brought by B.I.G.'s mother and widow, he went back on his testimony, claiming it as hearsay. In the same case, a second prison informant named Kenny Boagni claimed that Mack and Perez were indeed on the label's payroll at the time. The case was eventually declared a mistrial, and criminal investigation reopened, though a second suit has thus far brought no claims against Knight directly.

Knight was also investigated in '05 for paying a man to punch Dr. Dre as he accepted a lifetime achievement award at the 2004 Vibe Awards; though he denies the claim, the assailant apparently told Santa Monica police that Knight offered him $5,000 for the job. A lawsuit was brought against him by Lydia Harris, resulting in a court order to pay her $107 million in profits owed after she'd been forced from the label. The judgment resulted in Knight declaring bankruptcy in 2006, after turning down Warner Music Group's offer to buy at $25 million, and made to auction off all assets of the label.

'06 also saw Dr. Dre bring a lawsuit against the label demanding rights to The Chronic, by reason of unpaid royalties. By 2008, it was reported separately that Susan Berg, president of Global Music Group, bid on the label at auction for $24 million, and that Warner had topped her bid by reiterating its $25 million dollar offer, but neither sale went through; questions regarding Knight's financial status surfaced when he sued Kanye West over a shooting/robbery at the rapper's birthday party.

On January 15 of 2009, Death Row Records was successfully auctioned to entertainment development company WIDEawake Entertainment Group, Inc. for $18 million. New owner Lara Lavi, CEO of WIDEawake, expressed her intent to set up an online destination store of Death Row material, as well as renewing relationships with former Death Row artists.

On January 25 of 2009, an auction was held for everything found in the Death Row Records office after the company filed for bankruptcy. Of note was the Death Row Records electric chair which went for $2500.

After purchasing Death Row Records, WIDEAwake CEO Lara Lavi and Senior Vice President John Payne were interviewed by HipHopDX on March 18th, 2009. Payne, who was with Death Row in its early days and had overseen the Deep Cover soundtrack, helped identify the music, artwork and videos for the board of trustees. It includes some highly-rumored songs and albums such as "Hit 'Em Up 2" by 2Pac, material by 2Pac and fellow deceased Death Row artist Lisa "Left-Eye" Lopes under the name N.I.N.A. (Name Is Not Applicable), alternate versions and cut songs from Dr. Dre's The Chronic, and even Gospel and R&B. Lavi has met with Snoop Dogg, Tha Dogg Pound and Crooked I, and--working with the artists, under their parent company WIDEAwake--the two plan to release multimedia box-sets of music, artwork, and DVDs from Death Row Records, and are planning to use some of the revenue generated to benefit Afeni Shakur's Tupac Amaru Shakur Center for the Arts. In an interview with Anton Batey, Lara Lavi indicated that they plan on releasing Shakur's music in its original form.

On "Record Store Day" April 18, 2009, the label has issued a free Death Row "Record Store Day" CD sampler, which included Petey Pablo's "Pay for the Pussy," Crooked I's "Hoodstar," and Danny Boy's "Do What You Do." On May 14th, John Payne announced that the label plans to re-release Dr. Dre's The Chronic. Remastered to work with current equipment, and featuring new songs recorded in the same time frame as the album, the project will be called The Chronic Re-Lit. In addition to this, he announced a competition in which fans may submit verses over Dre production, which will not be featured on the album.

Official Sites: Death Row, TrySomethingNew, MySpace, Facebook, YouTube & Fuckin' Twitter