Snoop Dogg Says TDE Is A ‘Better Version’ Of Death Row Records
This past weekend, the second installment of REVOLT’s three-day summit was held in Los Angeles at the Magic Box, bringing together several music heavyweights to discuss all things hip-hop. Much like the Atlanta iteration, plenty of fanfare surrounded the West Coast gathering. Top Dawg Entertainment’s CEO Anthony “Top Dawg” Tiffith and President Terrence “Punch” Henderson served as co-chairs of the event. The centerpiece of the second day of the festival was, “The Making of TDE,” a panel discussion that featured Tiffith along with TDE rapper Jay Rock, with Snoop Dogg serving as moderator.
Among other things, the panelists discussed TDE’s rise as one of hip-hop’s most dominant labels since Death Row Records. The two West Coast labels have always garnered comparisons for their rap-centric bedrock. In 2013, Snoop shot down GQ’s “baby Death Row Records” parallel when VIBE brought it up to him in an interview. At the time, the Doggfather felt that Death Row’s “gangsta approach” was starkly different from TDE’s “peace and love” attitude. He expressed that TDE rappers didn’t “represent the negativity and violence” that the Suge Knight-founded label was renowned for.
As the moderator, Snoop asked whether Death Row’s blueprint had any influence on how TDE operates. Punch admitted, “We absolutely followed the model of Death Row. It was right there in our backyard so we kind of [saw] how it goes. That was easy. Y'all had the stars, y'all had the hits, y’all had the street credibility… like everything across the board.”
In response, Snoop expressed, 'I think — and this is me saying it from being in Death Row and being on the outside looking at y’all — y’all a better version of Death Row.'
“That’s with all respect,” the Long Beach legend continued, “because once you look and see somebody do it the right way and then you see them do it the wrong way, and then you get a chance to do it your own way, you’re able to take the wrong out and do it the right way. That’s why y’all [have been] able to sustain for so long. You at Top Dawg, y’all some dope top dawg bosses the way y’all run y’all sh**t… the way y’all treat y’all artists, the way y’all represent your shit, that’s beautiful music right there.”
If there’s anyone’s word we’re taking on this, it’s definitely Uncle Snoop’s.
Listen to their full remarks below.
