Just in case you thought 2019 couldn't get any weirder, the toy company Hasbro, who's responsible for classic toys such as Mr. Potato Head, Monopoly, and more, is now the owners of the Death Row catalog. Yes, you read that correctly. The toy company now owns the catalog that consists of records from Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre, Tupac, and many others -- records that have sold millions upon millions. It's strange to think about Hasbro, which is synonymous with childhood innocence, now is in possession of one of the most gangster labels in the history of music.
Now, you might be wondering how this all happened. Per Rolling Stone, Hasbro purchased Entertainment One for $4B. Entertainment One is a general multimedia company that owns some of the biggest franchises among children such as Peppa Pig and PJ Masks. However, Entertainment One is also a prominent hip-hop label that's worked with just about everyone in the industry. A few years ago, in 2013, the music label itself dropped $280M to acquire the Death Row catalog after the label itself went bankrupt in 2006.
Interestingly enough, it seems like the Hasbro CEO isn't entirely aware of everything that he acquired with the $4B purchase of Entertainment One. “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,” he said.
We wouldn't necessarily describe Suge Knight as family-oriented, but maybe that's just us.