Death Row Records ( formerly Future Shock and Tha Row ) was an American record label founded in 1991 by Suge Knight , The D.O.C. , and Dr. Dre . The label became a sensation by releasing multi-platinum hip-hop albums by West Coast-based artists such as Dr. Dre ( '' The Chronic '' ) , Snoop Dogg ( '' Doggystyle '' ) , Tha Dogg Pound ( '' Dogg Food '' ) , and Tupac Shakur ( '' All Eyez on Me '' ) during the 1990s . At its peak , Death Row Records was making over US $ 150,000,000 a year . By the late 1990s , the label began to decline after the death of its star artist , Tupac Shakur , imprisonment of co-founder Suge Knight , and the departures of Dr. Dre , and Snoop Dogg . Although Death Row was enjoying financial success , it was embroiled in controversies , lawsuits , and violence by its artists and associates . Death Row Records filed for bankruptcy in 2006 and was auctioned to WIDEawake Entertainment for $ 18,000,000 on January 15 , 2009
the death
Murder of Tupac Shakur
Death Row Records