Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg, two of the original Death Row Records artists, performing live. Photo Credit: Jason Persse / CC by 2.0About one month ago, Snoop Dogg declared that his newly purchased Death Row Records would “be an NFT label.” Now, famed Death Row releases including The Chronic and Doggystyle are missing from streaming services like Spotify.
A number of eagle-eyed Redditors just recently commented on – and expressed their frustration with – the Death Row Records streaming takedowns. At the time of this piece’s writing, Snoop Dogg’s aforementioned debut album, Doggystyle (1993), wasn’t live on Spotify, Apple Music, or Deezer, nor was Dr. Dre’s The Chronic (1992).
Moreover, Snoop Dogg’s Tha Doggfather (1996) has likewise been pulled from Spotify, though the 50-year-old’s newest Death Row release, BODR (short for “Bacc On Death Row”), remains available on all major streaming platforms. Also worth noting is that Tupac Shakur’s Death Row releases, including 1996’s All Eyez on Me, are currently present on Spotify and other services.
Early reports suggested that Snoop Dogg’s purchase of Death Row Records from MNRK Music Group (formerly eOne Music) excluded the label’s underlying song rights. During a recent interview with Tidal, Snoop Dogg relayed on the subject: “As far as 2Pac’s masters, 2Pac’s masters came back to him last year. But I got a great relationship with his estate, and I’m pretty sure we’re going to be able to work something out. … Same with Dr. Dre and The Chronic. I got The Chronic album.”
However, Dr. Dre’s legal team subsequently denied via a public statement that Snoop Dogg possessed the rights to The Chronic. If the latter contention was in fact correct, it’s possible that the longtime cryptocurrency enthusiast Snoop Dogg and his fellow Super Bowl LVI Halftime Show performer Dr. Dre reached an agreement behind the scenes.
Dr. Dre, who hasn’t released a studio album since 2015’s Compton,…
