Is Hasbro really getting into gangsta rap?
That’s the question on Wall Street, as the toy giant that owns My Little Pony and Mr. Potato Head disclosed on Monday a surprise, incidental acquisition of Death Row Records.
Death Row — which was founded in 1991 by Suge Knight, Dr. Dre and The D.O.C.— was one of hip-hop’s most influential labels, signing West Coast rappers like Tupac Shakur and Snoop Dogg.
The label, however, filed for bankruptcy in 2006 after a series of lawsuits and the imprisonment of Knight. It has since changed hands several times, landing at UK-based Entertainment One, which bought it in 2013 for about $280 million.
Last week, Hasbro shelled out $4 billion for Entertainment One, looking to seize control of the UK-based media company’s Peppa Pig cartoon franchise.
Reps for Hasbro, which appears to have acquired Death Row as an afterthought, didn’t return requests seeking comment on its plans.
The label is now effectively an archive of hit rap albums that frequently carried parental warnings, among them Snoop Dogg’s “Doggystyle,” Dr. Dre’s “The Chronic” and Shakur’s “All Eyez On Me.”
Analysts were divided on how — or whether — Hasbro planned to fit Death Row’s potty-mouthed portfolio into its preschool-focused fare.
“People I am working with here were making jokes,” said Linda Bolton Weiser, a D.A. Davidson senior analyst. “I can’t imagine they’d do anything with it.”
But Jeffries analyst Stephanie Wissink thinks the toy maker will hang on to it.
Entertainment One has a “growing music platform,” which expanded 30 percent, to $79 million, for the year ending March 2019, she said. The company also owns indie country music label Dualtone Records, home of the Lumineers and Shakey Graves.
When the deal was announced, Hasbro CEO Brian Goldner didn’t address Death Row — touting instead Entertainment One’s “beloved story-led global family brands” like Peppa Pig.
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