Snoop Dogg is looking to heat up the summer with his new-look Death Row Records.
After acquiring the storied gangsta rap rap label — through which he released early classics like 1993’s Doggystyle and the 1995 Murder Was the Case soundtrack — in February, Uncle Snoop revealed plans to drop a compilation album in the coming months on Tuesday (May 17).
“About to drop this Death Row summer album,” he said after taking a hit from his blunt while locked in the studio in a video posted to Instagram. “A Death Row Summer. New single just dropped last night. Check it out. We’ve been in the metaverse, now we back in the universe.”
The new song in question is “Touch Away,” a collaboration between Snoop Dogg and Indiana-bred crooner October London, who has become one of his go-to studio sidekicks in recent years.
Produced by Soopafly, Kanobby and DJ Bombay (Snoop’s beat-making alias), the funky, lowrider-friendly track radiates with classic ’90s West Coast vibes as Tha Doggfather reflects on his journey in Hip Hop.
“We ran the whole summer, winter, fall and spring/From Def Jam back to this Death Row thing/And now I’m in control so I call the shots/I’m sitting at table, I run my own label,” he brags.
While further details surrounding A Death Row Summer have yet to be announced, the album will mark Death Row’s second release in 2022 following Snoop Dogg’s aptly-titled Bacc On Death Row, which dropped in February.
Snoop’s first release on the label since his departure in 1998, the 18-track project boasted guest appearances from the likes of Nas, T.I., Wiz Khalifa, The Game, DaBaby and the late Nate Dogg, while debuting at No. 104 on the Billboard 200.
The D.O.C. Weighs In On Snoop Dogg's Death Row Records Brand Acquisition
Aside from traditional music releases, Snoop Dogg is looking to usher Death Row Records into the future. Shortly after purchasing the label, the 50-year-old rap mogul announced “Death Row will be an NFT label,” while teasing plans to bring the historic brand into the metaverse.
In March, he hinted at auctioning off the rights to his classic 1992 “Nuthin’ But a G Thang” collaboration with Dr. Dre as an NFT, although such plans have yet to materialize.
Snoop stopped being great after doggystyle, and had another one or two good albums, that’s about it. So washed up. Death row records will never be revived lol.
FREDDIE JACKSON SAMPLE. MY SHIT
honouring 2pac and others passed on before and after they must be happy. appreciate your new found role. honour the history. take the history with you in to the future help create something new.
Someone please tell Snoop to focus on today, and not yesterday…
Damn Snoop. You got a good thing. Don’t run it into the ground by trying to forcefeed your music to the public. It don’t have to even be new artists. Damn, what about a new Kurupt song? RBX and Lady and Rage? Something else. Anything else. Just mix it up some and sprinkle yourself in here and there.
Artist don’t even rep labels anymore. Also, is Death Row just Snoop dropping albums rapping about nothing? Buying a label and hiding all the music is strange.
Song is fresh!???
It’s always hard for an artist to also be a label head and allow new energy to continue where things left off. Why not usher in some new undeniable talent to continue the legacy? DoggyStyleeee, Nhale, etc. Get some solid young west coast producers to build an entire new sound for the artist roster. So many missed opportunities I feel but then again Snoop is full of surprises. Maybe this is all in the roadmap and we’ll see something a bit more clear come to fruition. As of right now it just doesn’t seem all that sensible or sustainable. Definitely want whatever they’re doing over there to win. Just my .02
Another nft bs release, fuck snoop!