The return of Death Row Records.
First published – Apr 21 2009.
Ayo people…
Welcome to my first blog for hiphoptvonline.com Im Dave “Big Dave” Parsons.
Some of you may have read my blogs before at kokyprik.com or at various other websites where I write about my history, my music career and my opinions on life.
Well this blog is going to be completely different to the others.
This blog is going to be a mixture of hip hop news, hip hop history and of course my opinions on the hip hop world.
I‟ve been a soldier of the hip hop culture since the early nineties and I‟m still representing what I love so when Hip Hop TV asked me to write for their new site I thought “yeah why not share my thoughts with you guys”.
So let the games begin! Ha ha!
Lately there‟s been a lot of talk about the once mighty Death Row Records making a comeback and in the world of hip hop, for me, that‟s the biggest news I‟ve heard in years!
Since Tupac passed on back in 96 it‟s been like Death Row was stuck up in some quicksand or something.
Things were ok for a minute after Pac‟s death but then they just got slowly worse until there wasn‟t much left of Death Row except the exploitation of past glories.
Having grown up on Death Row Records I‟ve all ways had a soft spot for the label so I kept an eye on things over the past 16 years and Its been like watching the rise and fall and fall and fall again of an empire.
I can even still remember the first time I heard The Chronic LP.
I had been suspended from school after a bit of biffo in the school yard and so I was escorted back to class to grab my school bag.
As I left the classroom my mate Peter Teo handed me a tape….”Dr Dre The Chronic”.
When I got home I had the joint to myself so I headed outside for a cigarette and took my walkman with me.
I sat on the back steps and listened to The Chronic twice all the way through.
I was blown away!
I was all ready a West Coast hip hop fan, Tupac, Eazy E, Ice Cube, MC Eiht, DJ
Quick and all the rest but this was some next level shit!
Over the next few months me and the boys burned that tape out till the film was so thin that it played side A and B at the same time!
I was hooked on the Death Row sound and from that day on the steps of my back yard I scooped up all most every release they dropped.
I copped…..
Doggystyle(Snoop), Above The Rim (various)(movie and soundtrack), Murder Was The Case (various)(movie and soundtrack), Doggfood (DPG), All Eyez On Me (Tupac), 7 Day Theory (Tupac), Doggfather (Snoop), DRR Greatest Hits (various), Necessary Roughness (Lady Of Rage), Revenge Retaliation and Get Back (Daz), Suges Chronic 2000 (various), Still I Rise (Pac and Outlawz),Dead Man Walking (Snoop), 2002 (DPG), Until The End Of Time (Tupac), Better Dayz (Tupac), Nu Mixx Klazzics (Tupac), New Mixx Klazzics Vol 2 (Tupac) and Against The Grain (Kurupt).
Im missing a few of the remix and rehash albums, mainly because the songs on them are all ready on one or two releases I own.
Each release has its own piece of my history attached to it.
Each track reminds me of a different moment, good times and bad times; it was the soundtrack to my teen years and beyond.
I can remember when I was sixteen I headed down to the mall on the day that “All Eyez On Me” was released and waited outside the cd store for it to open.
I was the first guy in Woden to have a copy.
Pac had just signed with Death Row after spending nearly a year locked up so I was hyped to get my hands on the album which also happened to be the first hip hop double cd in history.
Those of you who are familiar with my past may recall that after my release from prison my ex had sold or disposed of everything I owned but I still have that double cd of All Eyez On Me.
After I bought the cd it followed me to parties, we spent evenings with the ladies, it travelled around with me when I was on the street, it was often playing in the car as I did my bizo and eventually it came with me to the prisons of NSW as I served my sentence.
These days it only plays about half the songs on it but it‟s more of a memento now then a cd.
Its a little piece of my history.
So as you can see I‟ve been a Death Row tragic since back in the day and being a Death Row tragic I‟ve all ways hoped that the label could get it‟s act together and make a come back.
I hoped it would rise up and smack the taste out of some of today‟s artists.
I thought it was going to happen back in 98 when they dropped Daz Dillinger‟s
“Revenge, Retaliation and Getback” LP but it didn‟t happen and the release only went gold.
Then in 2005 I thought it might be time for a new era when the other member of The Doggpound Kurupt released his LP “Against The Grain” on Death Row after signing on as Vice President at the label.
Against The Grain was a disaster with Death Row urging fans not to buy the album as it had been altered before release by Koch and Kurupt without the knowledge of Suge Knight. (The removed tracks were later released on an EP) Koch also failed to promote the release and it went all most unnoticed by hip hop fan‟s which was probably a good thing as the album itself was pretty average.
After the Kurupt debacle I thought Death Row was just about dead and buried for good but Im glad to say I was very wrong!
Over the last few of years I‟ve watched Suge Knight go bankrupt and Ive heard rumours of possible takeover bids by Warner ($25mil), Global Music Group ($24Mil) and 50 Cent ($20Mil).
At one stage it was alleged that Global Music Group had made a successful bid but thankfully that fell through.
The only outcome worse then the death of Death Row Records would be the further exploitation of the label.
Can you imagine a McDonalds commercial with Tupac rapping “How Do You Want It” as some pimply faced kid asks if you want to upsize your fries....aggggggggghhhhhhhh no thanks.
That is the type of thing we could have expected from a global corporation.
So in stepped WIDEawake Entertainment, a company that until a few weeks ago I had never heard of.
To everyone‟s surprise they swooped down with a winning bid of $18Mil and all of a sudden Death Row Records is back!
With the state of hip hop these days it‟s not a minute to soon either!
Could it be a return to the glory days of Death Row?
A return to no holds barred street music for the people?
Personally I hope it will be!
Like any Death Row or Tupac fan the first thing that worries you with a deal like this is the music.
Will it be exploited?
Will this company be on the lookout for a quick buck at the expense of a piece of hip hop history?
My opinion on both these questions is a simple answer…NO!
My friend John Payne who was an original founding member of Death Row Records is now the senior VP at the new Death Row.
With him on board we can rest easy that things are safe.
If there was a guy you wanted in there fighting to keep things real and true with the label then it has to be him.
So it looks like there might finally be some more „real‟ street shit on the rack next to the latest pop rap releases….Wow wont that stand out amongst most of today‟s acts!
On top of the new era Death Row releases that we can hope for there is a staggering catalogue of unreleased music including;
*Over 40 unreleased Tupac songs.
*Unreleased music by Dr Dre, Snoop Dogg and other Death Row artists.
*The unreleased and fairly anticipated Crooked I LP.
*Apparently only 10% of what Death Row created was released!
WIDEawake are still cleaning up the mess that is the business dealings of Death Row which apparently should take about eight months and then it‟s on for young and old.
To all my fellow Death Row tragics….Its time for the second coming!
After all we have waited long enough haven‟t we!
“Like we always do about this time”………..
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