Music innovator, rapper and entrepreneur Snoop Dogg has big plans for the legendary record label Death Row Records, which he recently acquired — including a plant to become an integral feature of the metaverse.
During a chatroom session on the audio sharing platform Clubhouse with fans earlier this week, the hip hop icon revealed that he is working to bring Death Row Records label into the world of NFTs. Snoop Dogg said he will be “putting our artists through the metaverse and through a whole other chain of music.”
Snoop goes on to liken his plans to Web3 ascension to the label’s meteoric rise to prominence during the hip-hop boom of the 90’s.
“Just like when we broke the industry when we were the first independent to be major, I want to be the first major in the metaverse.”
Death Row Records – from innovation to failure and back
Death Row Records was originally founded by Dr. Dre and Suge Knight in 1991. Their top stars Tupac Shakur, Dr. Dre, and Snoop Dogg propelled the label to becoming a multi-platinum hip-hop hit factory.
The label fell from grace following multiple controversies regarding Suge Knight’s character and history of violence as well as the tragic death of Shakur. The label filed for bankruptcy in 2006 and bounced around different owners including Hasbro at one point.
In February 2022, Snoop Dogg took ownership of the label days before his Super Bowl halftime performance headlined by fellow artists Dr. Dre, Mary J. Blige, Kendrick Lamar, Eminem, 50 Cent & Anderson Paak.
Snoop has had an affinity for cryptocurrency and blockchain technology, having build a personal NFT collection worth more than $17 million under the name Cozomo de’ Medici — a collection which includes a CryptoPunk worth around $4.6 million and ten Meebits NFTs, 3D avatars created by Larva Labs.
It seems Snoop Dogg will continue to champion the shake up of the music industry with releases including his latest album, ‘B.O.D.R.’ (‘Bacc On Death Row’), as part of continued efforts to make music accessible in the realm of the metaverse.
The rapper released the record in partnership with Gala Music this week and the music/NFT release garnered more than $45 million in sales in just 6 days.