Snoop Dogg Reveals Dr. Dre Didn't Initially Approve Of His Purchase Of Death Row Records — 'Why Would He Bring That Back Into His Life?'

Dr. Dre had his doubts about Snoop Dogg securing ownership of Death Row Records.

Both Hip-Hop artists and businessmen were signed to the label in the ’90s before parting ways. Snoop Dogg’s decision to leave the label in 1997 was difficult, as he faced consecutive challenges.

“See, that’s what you gotta understand. Ni–as broke my spirit,” he explained on the “The 85 South Comedy Show” podcast. “They broke me, man. They broke my spirit. Look, ‘Doggystyle,’ workin’ on [The] Doggfather, win my murder case, Dre leaves, Tupac get killed, Suge going to jail, Death Row want to kill me. That’s all in the same year.”

Fast-forward to 2022, and Snoop Dogg reclaimed his time, returning to the label not as an artist but as an owner. As AFROTECH™ previously reported, he acquired Death Row Records from the Blackstone-controlled MNRK Music Group.

“It feels good to have ownership of the label I was part of at the beginning of my career and as one of the founding members. This is an extremely meaningful moment for me,” Snoop Dogg said in a news release at the time. 

While he remained optimistic about bold decisions, such as pulling Death Row Records’ catalog from streaming platforms and later leveraging the metaverse to generate $40 million to compensate artists, not everyone shared his vision. In fact, he reveals that Dr. Dre was initially hesitant to support the business move.

“Oh, he didn’t like it,” Snoop Dogg said, according to Vibe. “Nah, he didn’t like it when I bought Death Row. He was vocal about it, he said it. He spoke to it, but at the same time, he didn’t know what I was doing. Nobody did.”

He added, “It just look like, ‘Why the f–k is he buying a bag of problems when he’s living a life of success and not having to deal with the [problems]? Why would he bring that back into his life?'”

However, for Snoop Dogg it was all about legacy and he viewed his absence from the label as “unfinished business.” With time, it appears Dr. Dre has come around.

“He f–king loves it. He represents it, he’s down with it,” Snoop Dogg expressed, per Vibe.