Congrats to peppa pig for signing with death row records.
Toymaker Hasbro has acquired gangster rap label Death Row Records — which counts Shakur and Snoop Dogg among its artists — as part of a bid to grow its stable of family-friendly entertainment. The worldwide toymaker announced the $4 billion deal Thursday to buy British company Entertainment One, which produces animated kids shows such as “Peppa Pig” and “PJ Masks” but also owns the rap label.
Hasbro, which owns the rights to Peppa Pig, My Little Pony, Monopoly and Mr. Potato Head, has said the company was looking to expand “family brands” and television production with the purchase. “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 statement.
Although it’s fallen on some very hard times in more recent years (more about that in a second), Death Row Records was once one of the seminal labels in the world of West Coast hip-hop, introducing millions to the work of Dr. Dre, Tupac, Snoop Dogg, and many more. It would not be an exaggeration to say that the label—founded in 1991 by Dre, The D.O.C., and Suge Knight, out of the soon-to-be-wreckage of Eazy-E’s Ruthless—played a major role in shaping the sound of late-20th century music.