Dr. Dre is close to selling his entire music assets for $200 million.
The hip-hop and tech mogul’s master recordings for his 1992 debut album ‘The Chronic’, which he’s reclaiming ownership of from Death Row Entertainment in August, will be acquired by Universal Music Group as part of the multi-million-dollar deal.
The deal with UMG will also include Dre’s share in Kendrick Lamar’s music in Top Dawg Entertainment’s deal with UMG subsidiary Interscope, Billboard reports.
As well as selling to Universal, the CEO of Aftermath Entertainment and Beats Electronics is passing his artist royalties from his two first solo albums to Shamrock Capital, along with his producer royalties and songwriting shares of the tracks where he’s not the owner of the publishing, and N.W.A. artist royalties.
Snoop Dogg became the new owner of Death Row Records last year.
The rap legend shot to fame after appearing on Dre’s ‘The Chronic’, released on the legendary record label, and was signed himself and went on to put out his debut album, ‘Doggystyle’, a year later.
Snoop – whose real name is Calvin Broadus Jr – acquired the company from MNRK Music Group for an undisclosed sum.
The 51-year-old megastar said at the time: “I am thrilled and appreciative of the opportunity to acquire the iconic and culturally significant Death Row Records brand, which has immense untapped future value.
“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.”
Death Row – which was also the home of the likes of the late Tupac Shakur and Nate Dogg – filed for bankruptcy in 2006 and was sold in 2012, after founder Suge Knight faced serious financial and legal issues.
The 57-year-old former music executive is currently serving a 28-year prison sentence for a fatal 2015 hit-and-run.
Snoop had previously expressed his desire to own Death Row when he was made executive creative and strategic consultant in 2021.