Interview by: ESTAXX

During the ‘90s, you can say that Death Row Records was one of the biggest recording labels at that time with nearly 50 million albums sold worldwide, generating close to $750 million in revenue. Artists like Snoop Dogg, 2Pac, and Dr. Dre were just a few names signed to the legendary label. Death Row laid down the blueprint for other recording labels such as No Limit, Roc-A-Fella and a half dozen other independent labels. Death Row seemed to be unstoppable until a conflict that left two of Hip Hop’s greatest contributors dead. Things got even worse for Death Row when Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg and nearly everyone else departed from the label, leaving thousands of unreleased recordings. With several lawsuits on the tabel, Death Row was forced to sell its assets in a recent auction. Now the new CEO of Death Row, Lara Lavi, plans to bring Death Row back on top like it was in the 90’s.

In this exclusive interview with KeepItTrill.com, WIDEAwake/Death Row CEO Lara Lavi keeps it trill as she explains why she can equally relate to the suits who write the checks and the artists who cash them. With ties that reach back to Death Row’s infancy as Lara have offered a full pardon of sorts for all the artists and music stranded on Death Row. Below you can be the judge if she will be successfully to bring Death Row Records back as one of the hottest label like they were back in the 90’s.

KeepItTrill.com: I would like to welcome you to KeepItTrill.com and it’s viewers. I would like to say thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to have this exclusive interview with KeepItTrill.com.

Lara Lavi: Thank you for having me, Death Row is very grateful to speak with you.

KeepItTrill.com: I think we need to start off by getting this out of the way. It seems that many people still associate Suge Knight with Death Row. Will Suge have a role with the new record company?

Lara Lavi: Um, no. Suge has moved on, we wish him well.

KeepItTrill.com: Alright. Now that that is clear, let’s get started with the real questions! A lot of people are curious as to exactly why you wanted to purchase Death Row Records, after they’ve been inactive for sometime.

Lara Lavi: Initially Death Row was simply a business opportunity. An iconic catalog coming debt free for $18million. The catalog was passively earning money primarily in North America on the strength of a small number of talents compared to the thousands of unreleased songs. It seemed like a smart business deal. Now that we are deep into it and I have had the opportunity to speak to many of the former Death Row artists, I feel that a part of all this is putting Karma back in balance for this company and its artists. There is a way to balance the banker’s concerns with the Artist’s concerns. This is a challenge I can believe in.

KeepItTrill.com: Just to clarify, when Death Row was purchased, did you acquire the rights to the entire Death Row catlog or just the unreleased music?

Lara Lavi: Everything, released and unreleased, only roughly 15% of the catalog is released music.

KeepItTrill.com: What kind of material is Death Row sitting on and when can the fans expect to some of these things to be released? Are there any difinitive time tables at this moment?

Lara Lavi: We do have a release schedule – Coming up first is the Chronic Re-lit and from the Vault go to www.deathrowmusic.com to get more information on this release. Next is a rare and unreleased collection of vintage Snoop Doggy Dogg which comes out in October. We have 48 more songs from the Vault coming out on box set for the holidays. Then in February we would like to release a That Was Then This Is Now 2 disk of vintage Danny Boy and his new repertoire. It has been a real joy to listen to Danny’s back catalog there are some real gems in there that the public has never heard.

KeepItTrill.com: Okay let’s take Dr. Dre’s The Chronic album for example. I heard that there are songs that didn’t make the album. Are you planning to make other versions, or even releasing The Chronic 2?

Lara Lavi: The Chronic Re Lit is celebrating opening the Death Row vault to treat fans to songs they have never heard from the authentic founders of the G-funk. That being said the Re Lit project is also the company’s way of honouring Dr. Dre as one of if not THE greatest hip hop producer of our generation. Dre would not be happy if we released un-released Dre without his thumbs up and we want to slowly but surely build trust with Dr. Dre and at this time we are just sitting on the unreleased Dre songs in the Vault.

KeepItTrill.com: Can you share with the world what project Death Row is focusing on currently?

Lara Lavi: Tons of releases – the next Tupac album, a graphic novel project powered by Death Row music, working in film, putting Death Row tours together, you name it….

KeepItTrill.com: The biggest question is concerning 2Pac and the songs that haven’t been released or leaked yet. The past albums seemed to be pieced together projects. Will this upcoming project be any different than those pieced together projects?

Lara Lavi: I have been very public as you know about the next unreleased Tupac Death Row album – it will be Pure, it will be true to the production quality of All Eyez On Me, and it will honor this amazing artist big time.

KeepItTrill.com: As many know, things haven’t always been peaceful between the Shakur Estate and Death Row. What are your plans to fix the problems with the two?

Lara Lavi: Read the news my friend – Amaru and Death Row are at peace and working well together. The moment WIDEawake secured the catalog I made it my top priority to do my part to heal the wounds. Afeni Shakur and her team of lawyers, accountants, philanthropists and other of God’s people have been wonderful to work with. They know I have made it my personal mission to encourage every single pirater and bootlegger of Death Row and especially Tupac content and all the sites that traffic in the Tupac black market switch from dishonouring Tupac’s name to honouring it by creating sites to send donations to the Tupac Amaru Shakur Center outside of Atlanta. Those kids need the dollars. I asked one of the most notorious bootleggers out there one day if she had ever donated to the Center and she said no. Maybe she gives to other charities, but she and people like her claim to be Tupac’s biggest fans yet they wouldn’t hesitate to sell for thousands of dollars a leaked Tupac acapello or verse and pocket the money. It’s just wrong if you claim to be a huge fan of the man.

KeepItTrill.com: Is Death Row currently looking for new talent?

Lara Lavi: Not today but certainly we won’t rule it out in the future.

KeepItTrill.com: Well, that about wraps it up. Thank you for providing KeepItTrill.com with this exclusive interview and giving us an inside look at the new Death Row. Is there anything you would like to tell the fans of KeepItTrill.com?

Lara Lavi: My pleasure – remember in stores across North America Sept 1 – the Chronic Re Lit and From The Vault. Tons of content – just go to www.deathrowmusic.com Death Row really is opening up the vault.

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