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The New Kings of Hip-Hop Death Row Records “You are now about to witness the strength of street knowledge.” —N.W.A. Contents Letter from the Director ................................................................................................... 4 Mandate .......................................................................................................................... 5 Background ...................................................................................................................... 7 Topics for Discussion ..................................................................................................... 10 East Coast vs. West Coast .................................................................................... 10 Internal Struggles................................................................................................. 11 Turmoil in Los Angeles ........................................................................................ 12 Positions ........................................................................................................................ 14 Letter from the Director Dear Delegates, Welcome to WUMUNS XII! I am a part of the class of 2022 here at Washington University in St. Louis, and I’ll be serving as your director. Though I haven’t officially declared a major yet, I’m planning on double majoring in political science and finance. I’ve been involved with Model UN since my freshman year of high school, and I have been an active participant ever since. I am also involved with the Roosevelt Institute and a couple of other clubs and organizations on campus. Apropos of Model UN, I have had a lot of experience. I participated in more than ten conferences in high school and various competitions in college. Outside of MUN and school, I love playing and watching basketball, listening to music, and just having a good time. I am very excited for this committee, as I’ve been contemplating running this simulation, Death Row Records, for a couple years now. Though it may not be a typical MUN committee, I believe it can provide an excellent vehicle for debate, and we will cover interesting topics, discuss music, and, hopefully, have some fun. I am very much looking forward to meeting all of you and having a great weekend of debate. Sincerely, Harrison Arnberg 4 Mandate The mandate of this committee is simple: guide the young, upstart label company Death Row Records into the future. Each of you, the delegates, will be representing an important member in Death Row Records, thus you will collectively have the power to permanently alter the course of Death Row and hip-hop as a whole. West Coast rap, which was founded by N.W.A., is a young genre and requires your help to reach the masses. You will each be tasked with not only creating new, exciting music but also navigating the tumultuous climate in hip-hop and LA at the time. Though much of this will be explained in the background and topics sections, I will briefly touch on some things for each of you to think about before the start of committee. First and foremost, you are attempting to surpass the established home of hip-hop, the East Coast. This means that, naturally, you will feud with, release diss tracks towards, and potentially come to a compromise with the major players on the East Coast. Additionally, keep in mind the political climate of Los Angeles at the time. There was a lot of conflict and tension in Los Angeles during the 1990s, and this could certainly play a role with Death Row Records. You all, as leaders in the community, can influence for better or for worse the tensions boiling in Los Angeles. Finally, it is of vital importance that you all remember and respect the issues and cultures we will be dealing with. Hip-hop culture is unique, and I ask that you all refrain from the use of inappropriate language, satire, and/or any offensive behavior given the sensitive topics we will be discussing. The timeline of our committee and the actual timeline of Death Row Records will be a bit different for the sake of simplicity. Death Row, which existed for over a decade, endured its fair share of entrances and exits of prominent artists across its lifespan; for example, Tupac did not sign with Death Row until 1994 and Dr. Dre left the label in 1996. For the purposes of this committee, however, it can be assumed that all characters and artists were members of the label at its inception, and it will be up to you how long each person remains with the label. Please keep in mind that I will also ensure that Bad Boy Entertainment, the prominent East Coast label, will be started simultaneously with Death Row for purposes of the committee and the flow of debate. (In actuality, Bad Boy Entertainment was not founded until 1993.) 5 The committee will begin with the birth of Death Row Records in 1992, and you will each be given significant power in the direction of the label. Your leader, Suge Knight, will be the chair, so as not to give any one delegate too much power. Your mission is to elevate Death Row Records and yourselves into supreme leaders of hip-hop. In terms of powers, each of you will have different abilities and connections at your disposal, but you will all be able to act independently to advance Death Row and your own brand while maintaining a relationship with your brothers and sisters in the label. I am very excited to see what each of you is capable of, and how we will ensure that Death Row Records never dies! 6 Background The development of rap as an independent, culturally significant music genre began on the East Coast with rappers such as Rakim and Nas gaining clout and standing in their community and across the country. The story of hip-hop, however, would be incomplete without some brazen young men out West and their goal: to change the game. In 1986, the game would be forever changed. Eazy-E, or Eric Lynn Wright, took the lead on forming the seminal rap group, N.W.A., along with Dr. Dre (Andre Romelle Young), Arabian Prince (Kim Renard Nazel), DJ Yella (Antoine Carraby), Ice Cube (O’Shea Jackson Senior), and MC Ren (Lorenzo Jerald Patterson). This young group of rappers would go on to sign with Ruthless Records and, for the first time, bring West Coast hip-hop to the center of America’s collective attention. Dr. Dre, who would eventually become a central figure with Death Row Records, was heavily recruited by Eazy-E to join N.W.A., and the group was a smashing success. Their principal album, Straight Outta Compton, took off to the top of the charts, establishing the group as a force to be reckoned with in the music industry. Their unique sound would go on to essentially form a new sub-genre of hip-hop: gangster rap. With Dre as the Head of Production at Ruthless, the label continued its ascent to primacy in the rap game, as other artists joined this new, opportunistic wave. At the time, it seemed as though Ruthless Records could do no wrong, with seemingly every new artist, such as The D.O.C. (Tracy Lynn Curry), pumping out massive records. With cash flowing in abundance and hits being made with consistency, not only was Ruthless on the top of the rap game, they brought gangster rap to the throne of the music industry with them. As seemingly everything was going right for Ruthless Records, everything began taking turns for the worst quicker than the label could react. At what seemed to be the apex of N.W.A.’s fame, Ice Cube left the group in a dispute over royalty payments. It seemed to Ice, and other artists, that they were not getting their fair share of the profits. After financial disagreements with N.W.A.’s manager, Jerry Heller, Ice Cube left the group permanently. Soon after Ice’s departure and the exposure of corruption within Ruthless, there was a mass exodus and talent drain from the label, causing the group to splinter and creating an opportunity to for a new player to enter the scene. This caused The D.O.C. to 7 hire an independent lawyer to check Ruthless’ accounting books. Here, a massive disparity was found between what Ruthless was making and the royalties being paid to artists. The D.O.C. and his manager, Suge Knight, went to Dr. Dre with the information, who was already becoming frustrated with Ruthless. Convinced the Ruthless and Heller were being dishonest, Knight and D.O.C. proposed to Dre that they form their own label, away from Heller and Eazy-E. Suge Knight, an ex-football player turned bodyguard was no stranger to opportunity and had already spent a lot of time around the music industry. Knight would not only go on to be the central figure with Death Row Records; rather, he was the founder and behind-the-scenes tactician. Dre, Knight, D.O.C., and SOLAR Records founder Dick Griffey began the process of founding their new label. First, however, Dre needed to be released from his contract with Ruthless. In 1991, Knight negotiated contract releases from Ruthless Records for Dr. Dre and The D.O.C. Knight set the tone for his business practices early, using what some would consider to be untraditional methods in his talks with Ruthless. According to Eazy-E, Knight approached and threatened him with a baseball bat and a pipe to release the artists or face Knight’s power. Through similarly shady methods, Knight was also able to negotiate a contract release for Michel’le. Though he may have been under duress, Eazy-E released Dre and D.O.C. to Knight, sparking the birth of a new era of West Coast rap: the era of Death Row Records. Initially, the group named their new label Future Shock Entertainment. Soon, however, The D.O.C. suggested changing the name of the label to Def Row. Sadly, the rights to this name were already owned and eventually Death Row Records was brought to life.

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