Snoop Dogg Has Bought Death Row Records, And He’s Also Being Sued For Sexual Assault
If that isn’t the kind of abrupt 180-degree headline pivot that will have your neck hurting for a week.
Snoop Dogg bought Death Row Records, established in 1992 by Dr. Dre and Suge Knight, among others. Death Row filed for bankruptcy in 2006, was sold off several times (at one time it belonged to, and I’m not joking here, Hasbro – aka the My Little Pony people). But it appears as though Snoop Dogg intends to revive the label, as reports are saying he just finalized the purchase for it. But any celebrating might have to wait a bit, because Snoop’s lawyers just received a lawsuit, accusing Snoop of sexual assault and battery.
According to NBC News, a woman only identified as Jane Doe, filed a lawsuit against Snoop Dogg and Snoop’s longtime friend Bishop Don “Magic” Juan yesterday. In it, she claims that Snoop and the other man each sexually assaulted her after a Snoop Dogg concert back in May 2013. She claims that she and a friend agreed to go back to Snoop’s studio after the show. She accepted a ride to her home from Snoop’s friend, fell asleep in the car, and allegedly woke up at Don Juan’s home at around 4 am, with Don Juan sexually assaulting her. She claims that he then told her they were going to a taping of Snoop Dogg’s Double G News Network, where she allegedly had a similar experience with Snoop himself. via NBC News:
While at the taping, the woman alleges that Snoop Dogg followed her to the bathroom where he also forced her to perform oral sex on her and masturbated in front of her, her lawsuit said.
She allegedly felt pressure from Snoop Dogg “due to his dominance, and his position of power over her, including his ability to hire and fire her and ensure that she would never be hired in his industry again,” the filing said. She is described in her lawsuit as a dancer, model and actress.
Jane Doe reportedly tried to work this out in mediation, but that fell through. NBC notes that Snoop Dogg appeared at a press conference for his Super Bowl Halftime Show today, but he didn’t discuss the lawsuit, and no questions were taken. But, NBC seems to think that Snoop did sort of address this situation on Instagram, with this post, which was thrown up the same day Jane Doe’s lawsuit was filed.
Well, now Snoop has a lawsuit and a new company to worry about. Snoop Dogg and Death Row Records go way back. They signed him (then Snoop Doggy Dog) to his first record deal, and his first album, Doggystyle, was released through Death Row and Interscope in 1993 (his second album, Tha Doggfather, was also released on Death Row). Last year, Snoop swore that he would one day own his former label. And it looks like he made good on that promise. via Variety:
Rapper-entrepreneur Snoop Dogg, who rose to fame during the 1990s on Death Row Records, has acquired the label’s brand from MNRK Music Group, which is controlled by private equity funds managed by the investment firm Blackstone, the firm announced on Wednesday.
Terms of the transaction were not disclosed, however, a source close to the situation tells Variety that Snoop’s acquisition of the Death Row brand is the first part of a transaction that is expected to see him also acquiring some of the label’s music rights – his own and unspecified other artists. The source says the deal is expected to conclude in the coming weeks.
Anyone who believes in a curse might be wishing Snoop Dogg the best of luck on his recent transaction, due to the fact that Death Row Records feels like a purchase riskier than 50% off discount shrimp. A few years ago, Death Row’s former founder Suge Knight claimed that the other former founder Dr. Dre paid $20,000 to have Suge killed. And then there’s Suge Knight’s whole thing, which is basically that Suge was sentenced to 28 years in prison for his 2015 hit and run murder case. Snoop and Dr. Dre are friends, and the two are performing in the Super Bowl LVI Halftime Show together.
Snoop would likely now own the rights to his first two album’s worth of music, in the event that the rights to them were owned by Death Row exclusively. Snoop Dogg recently filed a trademark for his won brand of hot dogs, called Snoop Doggs. So no one should be terribly surprised when “Who Am I? (What’s My Name?)” is sampled to death in the first commercial for those hot doggy doggs.
Pic: Instagram