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What happens when the most notorious gangsta rap label Death Row Records is resurrected as a Canadian-based catalogue imprint? VIBE connects the dots to find out the future of the once-feared West Coast power.

Death Row Records. The name alone evokes the early ‘90s dominance of the most profitable and controversial gangsta rap label in music history. The groundbreaking West Coast imprint is known just as much for its classic roster of game-changing, influential talent (Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Tha Dogg Pound, 2Pac) and its notorious, two-fisted CEO Suge Knight as it is for brazen tales of recording studio beatdowns, gang-related beefs, arrests, and murder. Which is why the 2009 acquisition of the once mighty imprint by Toronto-based company Wideawake Entertainment was met by a perplexed reception.

Now the Canadian company is working to clean up the legacy of the bankrupted Death Row, with a series of high-profile catalog releases and projects. “We had an $18 million debt so things are going to be done a certain way,” Wideawake/Death Row President John Payne tells VIBE of the company’s no-nonsense strategy. Payne’s ties to the label goes back to 1991 when he worked as a studio engineer for Knight and Dr. Dre, who first founded the company operation under the banner Future Shock before it went on to sell more than 50 million albums.


"This is unreleased 2Pac, no remastering or remixing. These songs could've been 2Pac's next record if he were still alive"


“The good thing about Death Row is the music has always stood the test of time,” Payne continues. “You can pick up albums like The Chronic and Doggystyle and still listen to them. But the problem with the label is people as well as the media have dwelled on the negative. It’s kept Death Row in a one-dimensional place. So in order to sell records, they pushed negativity when it wasn’t necessary because the artists were talented enough to let that speak for them. We would like to give Death Row it’s fair chance to be seen and heard correctly without the drama, murder or court cases.”

Payne says that one revelation he took away while going through the hundreds of unreleased tracks from the Death Row vault was the surprising quality of R&B music left over. The first release from the revamped label, crooner Danny Boy’s It’s About Time, is already in stores. The Atlanta-based singer joined Death Row when he was 15-years-old, and went on to record classic tracks with 2Pac (“I Ain’t Mad At Cha,” “Picture Me Rollin,’” “Toss It Up”).

“We are trying to do reach out to all the Death Row artists who never got their chance,” says Payne. “A lot of people are not aware of Danny Boy beyond 2Pac. We have his participation, so that’s great.”

For Danny, the chance to finally release his Death Row debut album is bittersweet. “I would never go back to Death Row as an artist,” says the vocalist, who was one of the last artists to remain by Suge Knight’s side following its successful ‘90s run. “There were so many good things that came from that situation, but there was also so much pain. Suge was like a father to me, but he also treated me dirty. I understand the business, and I knew that Wideawake was a catalogue company that has control over a lot of my material. So I thought it would be a great business move to put myself in position to do business with them.”

But while Wideawake/Death Row is open to do business with other former Death Row artists, Payne says that there’s one individual you won’t see working with the imprint: Suge Knight. The once feared music mogul has experienced a litany of legal drama, personal issues and public embarrassments including a 2002 prison conviction for violating parole, a 2006 bankruptcy and a 2009 beatdown he suffered during a 2009 NBA All-Star party.

TAKIN' SHOTS: DEATH ROW'S MOST ICONIC PHOTOS

“Suge has no connection to the label whatsoever,” Payne adamantly maintains. “It’s out of bankruptcy…it’s not his label. He has no influence and he cannot tell us what to do. But I did personally speak to him a few weeks ago after hearing about all the stuff that’s been going on in his life. We were friends a long time ago in the beginning. He called me and we just chatted. I wish the guy well.”

While it’s not clear if Wideawake/Death Row will find future chart success, the label is swinging for the fences with some of its upcoming releases. In addition to Danny Boy, an unreleased June album featuring Long Beach, California rapper and Slaughterhouse member Crooked I will hit the shelves. There’s also the much-talked about unreleased debut from former Dr. Dre protégé and producer Sam Sneed, who found success with his 1994 hit “U Better Recognize” and co-produced such Dre classics as “Keep Their Heads Ringin,’” and “Natural Born Killaz.” But the company is really banking on a posthumous project from late music icon 2Pac set for this Christmas.

“This is unreleased 2Pac…no remastering or remixing,” Payne says of the set. “The songs are from a collection of tracks that were recorded during his Death Row days around All Eyez On Me. I believe that these songs could have been 2Pac’s next record if he were still alive.” —Keith Murphy

Kroketten I ist das erste Row Album, das ich mir holen werde.

Dein erstes Album von Wideawake/DR oder generell von Death Row??

WideAwake Ent Group:

Dr. Dre - The Chronic Re-Lit
Snoop Doggy Dogg - Vol. 1-Lost Sessions
Ultimante Death Row Box Set + T-Shirt
Kurupt - Down & Dirty
Danny Boy - It's About Time

angekündigt:
Crooked I - Hood Star
2pac - ?
Sam Sneed - ?
... und weiteres ...

Wie ist die Danny Boy eigentlich???

Erstmal thanks für die Liste... was ist an der Kurupt so dreist?

btw. wann wurde denn die Sam Sneed offiziell von WIDEawake angekündigt?
In deren Forum wird zwar viel über ein Sam Sneed Album spekuliert, aber noch nichts bestätigt.