Death Row records

CEO & President : Suge Knight
Founded : 1992
Death Row records is an independently owned, African - American record company founded in 1992 by Suge Knight, chief executive officer and former president Andre "Dr Dre" Young. The lables artists are among the most popular in the music industry.

Its success as an idependant record company is virtually unparalleled. Since its inception, Death Row Records has sold approximately 26 million records accounting for gross recipts in excess of $170million. Although Death Row Records artists roster includes significant talent in the Rap genre, it also releases rhythm and blues music.

Rap is a style wherein a combination of talking and, as well as singing, is set to hip-hop music. Death Row Records principal artists, most notably Snoop Doggy Dogg, 2Pac and MC Hammer have "crossed over" from appearing regularly on the rap charts to noticeable appearances on the R n B charts as well. The Charts are an expression of the sales and popularity of various forms of recorded music.

Much of Death Row Records music chronicles the observations and experiances of young African-America, often describing situations which occur in the urban ghetto of this country. These obsevations and experiances represent a part of life in America that is non-mainstream and that the govenment, prior to the popularity of rap, was able to control, limit and keep from the middle class. The current appeal of this music to suburban America has caused great concern to the government, politicians and others, looking to benefit and capitalize on these events