After shoving Van Winkle's bodyguards aside, Knight sat down in front of Van Winkle, staring at him before asking "How you doin'?" Similar incidents were repeated on several occasions, including alleged attempts to lure Vanilla Ice into a van filled with Bloods and Crips, before Knight showed up at Vanilla Ice's hotel suite on the fifteenth floor of the Bel Age Hotel, accompanied by Johnson and a member of the Oakland Raiders. After consulting with Alex Roberts, Knight and two bodyguards arrived at The Palm in West Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, where Van Winkle was eating. Knight approached Vanilla Ice, using management connections with Mario "Chocolate" Johnson, claiming Johnson had produced the song "Ice Ice Baby", and had not received royalties for it. Through David Kenner, an attorney handling Harris's appeal, Harry-O set up Godfather, a parent company for the newly christened Death Row. Dre and his partners in July 1991 and by January 1992 the name changed to its eventual title of Death Row Records. Knight approached Michael "Harry-O" Harris, a businessman imprisoned on drug and attempted murder charges. Unknown stated in an interview that he created the name "Def Row" for a potential deal to start another record label under Morgan Creek. However, he later sold the naming rights to Dr. claimed to have suggested changing the name of the new label to "Def Row" (a play on the hip-hop label Def Jam), but rights to the name were already owned by The Unknown DJ, who also happened to be one of Dre's former music associates in the 1980s. Although the name of their new music venture was originally called Future Shock, The D.O.C.
and Dick Griffey began the process of starting a record label and music partnership in mid-1991 in anticipation of Dre's departure from Ruthless. Dre and Suge Knight along with partners The D.O.C. Dre about forming a label with them, away from Heller. Allegedly using strong-arm tactics, Suge Knight was able to procure contracts from Eazy-E for The D.O.C., Dr. Convinced that Jerry Heller was dishonest, they approached Dr. Dre became frustrated with Ruthless. After the departure of Ice Cube in 1989 over financial disagreements with Jerry Heller, Suge Knight and The D.O.C. went over the books with a lawyer. Dre produced a large number of Ruthless projects, many of them successful feeling the pressures of having to produce so many acts and feeling he was underpaid, Dr.
Most, if not all, departed from the label after the murder of Shakur and the incarceration of Knight in 1996. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Tupac Shakur, Outlawz, The Lady of Rage, MC Hammer, Young Soldierz, Sam Sneed, LBC Crew, RBX, Nate Dogg and Tha Dogg Pound. Death Row signed many popular West Coast hip hop artists during the early to mid-1990s, such as Dr. Dre" Young, Tracy "The D.O.C." Curry, and Richard "Dick" Griffey. Death Row Records (formerly Future Shock Entertainment and Tha Row Records) is an American record company founded in 1991 by Marion "Suge" Knight, Andre "Dr.