Hasbro, the toy company known for selling classic toys such as Mr. Potato Head, Monopoly, G.I. Joe, Transformers, My Little Pony and Power Rangers, now owns one of the most notorious labels in hip hop history, Death Row Records.The company merged with the hip hop label after purchasing Entertainment One, a multimedia company that owns the children’s franchises Peppa Pig and PJ Masks, which are lucrative assets for the toy company.
Entertainment One hosts a music division which is one of the largest independent labels in the industry, taking in more than $30 million in revenue, according to Rolling Stone. The company acquired the record label, which is known for releasing classic records by legendary hip hop artists (who are not exactly child friendly) such as Public Enemy, Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, and Tupac, back in 2013, although the label declared bankruptcy back in 2006.
“The acquisition of eOne adds beloved story-led global family brands that deliver strong operating returns to Hasbro’s portfolio and provides a pipeline of new brand creation driven by family-oriented storytelling,” Hasbro CEO Brian Goldner said in a recent statement.
Death Row’s history has been notorious in the hip hop world, particularly due to some alleged actions of its founder and former CEO Suge Knight. Knight is currently serving prison term, after being held guilty for the hit-and-run murder of Terry Carter, which occurred in 2015 on the set of the film Straight Out Of Compton.
Some of the allegations against Knight include the claim that he used physical intimidation against Eazy-E and Jerry Heller to get Dr. Dre out of his contract with Ruthless Records. This episode was referenced in the film Straight Outta Compton, a biopic documenting the group N.W.A, which Dr. Dre was a part of.
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