Dr Dre still owns ‘The Chronic’, hits back at “false reports” of Death Row ownership
Dr Dre has confirmed he still owns 100 per cent of his rights to ‘The Chronic’, despite Snoop Dogg’s recent acquisition of ‘Death Row Records’.
It was announced last month that Snoop is now the official owner of Death Row Records, the iconic record label where he started his career 30 years ago.
At the time of the acquisition, the full terms of the deal had not been disclosed, but there were reports that classic albums like Dre’s ‘The Chronic’ and 2Pac ‘All Eyes On Me’ were not included in Snoop’s deal.
However, comments Snoop made in a recent interview suggested that he was in fact in possession of ‘The Chronic’ and some 2Pac albums as part of the deal.
Snoop said in the interview with Tidal, “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…to continue some Death Row 2Pac business now that Snoop Dogg is in control of Death Row.”
He added: “Same with Dr. Dre and ‘The Chronic’. I got ‘The Chronic’ album.”
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Now, Dre’s lawyers have said the reports are “false”, saying Dre still owns 100 per cent of the classic album.
In a statement to Rolling Stone, his lawyer Howard King said: “There are false reports out regarding ownership by Death Row of Dr. Dre’s ‘The Chronic’. Dr. Dre owns 100% of ‘The Chronic’”.
Snoop did list off a list of the albums he was now in possession of, including his own first two albums, ‘Doggystyle’ and ‘Tha Doggfather’, Tha Dogg Pound’s ‘Dogg Food’, and the soundtracks for Above The Rim and Murder Was The Case. “I got all those records,” he said.
Elsewhere in the interview, Snoop promised that some of the label’s most iconic singles, including Dre’s 1992 single ‘Deep Cover (187)’, which first introduced the world to a young Snoop, will eventually be made available on streaming platforms.
“I’m bringing all that back,” he said. “I got all of that. I’m thinking about doing a DJ Snoopadelic mix with all of those hidden gems from Death Row that you can’t find. Then once I put them in a mix, then you got them and you can mix them and blend them however you want to.
“I want to mix it, talk over it, give you some history when you hearing it, like, ‘This record right here, ‘Puffin’ On Blunts’, it featured Daz, Kurupt, Lady of Rage, produced by Dre. Check this shit out.’ Give you a little insight when that shit come on.”
Death Row Records was founded in 1991 by Suge Knight, Dr. Dre and Michael “Harry O” Harris. Snoop was one of the three key artists responsible for the success of the legendary west coast rap label alongside Dre and 2Pac.
He released his first two albums – ‘Doggystyle’ (1993) and ‘Tha Doggfather’ (1996) – via the label before leaving for Master P‘s No Limit Records in 1998.