However marketable gangsta' rap appeared to executives in the industry, it could also be seen that with sales came scandal for which publicly held companies had to answer. At the time of Death Row's creation, the only successful gangsta' rap album had been N.W.A.'s "Straight Outta Compton," the lyrics of which had ignited a flurry of political controversy and public outrage. Gangsta' rap, however, with its explicit lyrics and overtly subversive edge, was a subgenre of rap, the willfully controversial nature of which promised to be an inherent risk to large music labels. Though the mid-1980s had seen the popularization of rap, with such groups as Public Enemy, Run D.M.C., and LL Cool J selling millions of albums, the genre thus far had been essentially viewed as a new form of dance music, with antecedents in the soul and funk sounds of the 1970s. In the early 1990's the commercial viability of gangsta' rap was still unknown. "The Chronic" proved to be an immediate commercial and critical success, remaining on Billboard's Top Ten for over eight months, and established Death Row as a leading and innovative force in the rap music industry. Dre was regarded as one of the most gifted producers in the business his involvement with Death Row's first project therefore gave the label an unusually high level of marketability. In 1992 Death Row released its first effort, an album entitled "The Chronic," which was written and produced by Dr. Interscope, headed up by James Iovine and the financial magnate Ted Field, was partly owned and financed by Warner Music Group, a division of Time Warner, and thus gave Death Row the financial clout necessary for a successful debut. Soon after the creation of Death Row, the company struck a distribution deal with Interscope, a relatively new record company which had made a name for itself through its willingness to support and distribute obscure or controversial bands. Dre" Young, at that time under contract to Ruthless Records, and together the two formed a partnership (initially funded in part by Sony and Solar Records), which eventually became Death Row. In 1990 Knight met the producer and rapper Andre "Dr. After retiring from football, Knight became a bodyguard, working security for Los Angeles rap concerts as well as for R & B singer Bobby Brown, and thus developed business connections throughout the rap music industry. In an industry known for its distinct personalities and eccentricities, Death Row Records stands out not only for its phenomenal financial success but for the label's well publicized confrontations and legal battles.ĭeath Row was conceived and founded by Marion Knight, a former professional football player known to all in the music industry as "Suge." Raised in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Compton by parents who were both musically and athletically inclined, Knight parlayed his early talent as a football player into a full scholarship at the University of Nevada at Las Vegas and, later, a brief career with the Los Angeles Rams. Since its inception the company has produced several multiplatinum records, grossed hundreds of millions of dollars, and has become the driving force behind the popularization and commercial success of gangsta' rap music. Death Row Records, a private company established in 1992, is one of the most lucrative rap labels in the music industry.
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