Top Dawg Entertainment engineer Derek “MixedByAli” Ali has purchased a studio previously owned by Death Row Records. He took to Instagram on Sunday (Dec. 6) to announce the news and give fans a tour of his latest acquisition.
“This is Death Row Records former studio, where they recorded and mixed @drdre The Chronic 2001, @snoopdogg The Dog Pound, Tupac’s All Eyes On Me and countless other records that shaped my childhood and inspired me to create the music I make today, being from the west coast,” Ali wrote alongside a few videos of the rooms where the legendary albums were made. “I’m proud to announce, this is now my facility.”
According to Ali, the newly titled NoName studio — which he purchased with help from his best friend and business partner Daniel P. Maynard — will be renovated and transformed into two mixing rooms. “We’re looking forward to harnessing the energy & history from this studio and continue pumping out nothing but timeless hit records just as they did in the 90’s,” he said.
Death Row Records — helmed by Suge Knight — was founded in 1992, eventually becoming a staple in hip hop culture. Even after its demise, the label inspired the development of Top Dawg Entertainment, which has risen as a prominent record label in LA’s rap scene.
TDE labelheads Anthony “Top Dawg” Tiffith and Terrence “Punch” Henderson have helped to shape the careers of artists Kendrick Lamar, Jay Rock, Reason, SiR and SZA, while Ali has assisted in mixing some of their hit records.
In a recent interview, the TDE engineer revealed that Lamar and other artists from the label are all sitting on loads of unreleased music. “For Kendrick alone, let me say I think we could put together like six albums,” he said. “Everyone’s the same way. It’s all about just understanding that you could always do something better. It’s having that mindset to just strive for the best possible version of you.”
Given the great music TDE artists have already released, it remains to be seen what magic will be created in the iconic Death Row Records studio.