THE CHRONIC

Snoop Dogg Has Apparently Secured The Rights To A Death Row Classic: ‘The Chronic Is Bac Home’

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Over the past few weeks, Snoop Dogg, who recently bought back the Death Row Records brand and much of its catalog, has been working to complete the collection, which was missing certain pivotal records including Snoop’s own debut Doggystyle and Dr. Dre’s debut The Chronic. Both albums were removed from streaming as negotiations continued. After some confusion over the ownership of the latter, it now appears that as of this week, The Chronic will once again appear under the Death Row banner, according to an Instagram post Snoop shared.

While no real details were revealed, that didn’t stop fans and peers in the comments from expressing their excitement, with 50 Cent predicting “something good coming from this.” Snoop previously shared plans to have Death Row become the first “major in the metaverse,” with designs on re-releasing the label’s collection of seminal hip-hop hits as NFTs. In the meantime, it looks like he’s still working out publishing profit shares for the label’s Tupac releases.

Meanwhile, Snoop remains pretty busy outside of Death Row; in addition to lending his likeness to the Call Of Duty video game franchise, he’s appearing in an NFT comic book, working with fellow California legends E-40, Ice Cube, and Too Short as Mount Westmore, and even plotting a collaboration with Korean pop band BTS.

Dr. Dre’s Lawyer Denies Snoop Dogg’s Claim That He Now Owns The Rights To ‘The Chronic’

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Last month, Snoop Dogg acquired Death Row Records, the label where he began his rap career back in 1992. With the acquisition, Snoop owns the rights to the label’s vast catalogue, including albums by Daz Dillinger and Kurupt. However, titles like Dr. Dre’s The Chronic, Tupac’s All Eyez On Me, and The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory were originally said to be left out of the deal. But during a later interview with TIDAL’s Elliott Wilson, Snoop claimed that he did obtain the rights to at least one of them.

That album is The Chronic. But now Dre’s attorney, Howard King, is refuting Snoop’s claim. “There are false reports out regarding ownership by Death Row of Dr. Dre’s The Chronic,” King said in a statement that was obtained by Complex. “Dr. Dre owns 100 percent of The Chronic.”

Late last month, it was reported that Snoop was still negotiating for the rights of The Chronic. It was initially said that the classic album would not be returned to Snoop until 2023. However, after the statement that Dre’s lawyer gave, it appears that The Chronic will not be a part of Snoop’s Death Row acquisition.

This comes after Snoop recently shared his plans to make Death Row an NFT label adding that he wants it to be the “first major in the metaverse.”

Snoop Dogg Now Owns Death Row’s Music Catalog — With Some Exceptions

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Earlier this month, it was reported that Snoop Dogg had acquired Death Row Records’ brand, but was still hammering out negotiations for the accompanying catalog. Today, Billboard reports that he’s officially completed those negotiations and now owns the masters for both of his albums under the label, Doggystyle and The Doggfather, as well as those for his 213 associates Daz Dillinger and Kurupt, along with Lady of Rage and the compilations and soundtracks Death Row released throughout the ’90s. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

However, that impressive collection of music does not include a few of the most well-known Death Row releases. Dr. Dre’s The Chronic is set to be returned to Snoop’s longtime collaborator sometime next year (August at the latest), while Tupac Shakur’s seminal classic All Eyez On Me and The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory (as Makavelli) have already reverted to Amaru Entertainment and the Tupac estate.

Snoop might not miss those exceptions much in the long run, as Billboard notes both of his albums are Death Row’s best sellers. Meanwhile, his newly released BODR (Bacc On Death Row) — his first release for the album in 25 years — is already generating revenue to the tune of 10,000 units, while Doggystyle alone was worth 169,000 units just in 2021. Billboard puts the total revenue for the catalog at around $6 million last year. Combined with the branding — which handles merch and licensing of the Death Row logo — Snoop’s adding about $50 million of value to his name. Billboard notes, however, that Snoop may not have paid that much to MNRK, which previously held the rights to Death Row, due to it no longer having an interest in the brand and having a tendency to return rights to artists, as it did with Dre and Pac.

Snoop says he wants to turn Death Row into an “NFT label,” which holds interesting prospects for the future, while his former protege Bow Wow revealed plans to release his own final album under the imprint earlier today.

Jay-Z’s Closing Track On ‘Vol. 3… Life and Times of S. Carter’ Was Inspired By Dr. Dre’s ‘The Chronic’

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Later this year, Jay-Z will celebrate the 22nd anniversary of his fourth album Vol. 3… Life and Times of S. Carter. The 15-track body of work is highlighted by records like “Big Pimpin” with UGK, “Do It Again (Put Ya Hands Up)” with Amil and Beanie Sigel, and “Jigga My N****.”

During a recent episode of the New Rory & Mal podcast, The Alchemist and former Roc-A-Fella Records A&R Kyambo “Hip-Hop” Joshua, who were guests on the show, reflected on Vol. 3… Life and Times of S. Carter while Joshua revealed what one of Jay-Z’s inspirations was for the album.

Joshua noted that the closing song on Vol. 3… Life and Times of S. Carter, which packages “Hova Song (Outro),” “Jigga My N****,” and “Girl’s Best Friend,” was inspired by the outro track on Dr. Dre’s 1992 album, The Chronic.

“I remember with The Chronic, ‘B*tchs Ain’t Sh*t was on the album and it wasn’t on the credits,” Joshua said. “I remember a n**** playing it in school and I’m like, ‘I can hear it, but I can never find it!’ They were like, ‘Nah, you just gotta let the album play.’”

Rory stepped in and added, “When y’all put Vol. 3 out, I remember the next day in school everyone was like, ‘Yo, did you let that outro rock? There’s three more records!’” Joshua replied straightforwardly, saying, “I did it strictly because of that, because of The Chronic.”

Jay and Dre have worked together on a number of occasions with the latter appearing on “Watch Me” from Vol. 3… Life and Times of S. Carter. Jay-Z was also responsible for Dre’s verse on his popular record, “Still D.R.E.” Most recently, Jay’s Roc Nation imprint was responsible for recruiting Dre, along with Eminem, Snoop Dogg, Mary J. Blige, and Kendrick Lamar, as performers for the Super Bowl LVI halftime show in February 2022.

You can watch the episode of New Rory & Mal with The Alchemist and Kyambo “Hip-Hop” Joshua above.