Death Row Records

Suge Knight. 2Pac, Snoop, Dre, Kurupt. West coast dominance mid-90s.

Death Row Records didn't just dominate the West Coast in the mid-90s—it weaponized it, turning Compton into the undisputed epicenter of hip-hop through a volatile combination of talent and intimidation under Suge Knight's reign. Dr. Dre's co-founding genius and production Midas touch launched the label into the stratosphere, only for his exit in 1996 to foreshadow its eventual implosion. The label's mythology rests on two monumental signings: Snoop Dogg's *Doggystyle*, which became a generational blueprint for G-funk, and 2Pac's *All Eyez on Me*, inked while he was incarcerated and immediately transforming him into hip-hop's most urgent voice.