Forget what you think you know about Death Row Records, Tupac, even N.W.A. This is the definitive documentary (It could be the only one actually) about the notorious West Coast record company, the people that made it what it was, and the people that tore it down.
One thing that I really appreiciate about this documentary is that it is told by those that were actually there, not a bunch of "experts" that spent years looking at pictures and reading documents. This is a documentary about a certain era in music done by the people that created the myths and lived the life; Dr. Dre, Snoop Dog to lesser known figures such as criminal investor David "Harry-O" Higgins and co-owner of the label Jerry Heller amongst many others.
From the rise of Suge Knight from being more than bodyguard for Bobby Brown to having Vanilla Ice peer over the balcony, to where he would be landing if he didn'y pay up ownership and royalties of "Ice Ice Baby" among other songs (actually told by Rip Van Winkle himself), To the dissapation of N.W.A. and the crafting of classics such as The Chronic and Doggystyle (and all the controversy that came with these albums), The East Coast-West Coast fued, and finally the untimely death of one of the most influential people to ever pick up a microphone; Tupac.
The rise of Death Row Records is truly a tragic tale, and it is told by the people that were there and it is all there, there are no bars hold and no pages left unturned.
A must see for any music aficionado or curious fan alike. This is everything that one would need to know about a time in music when the musicians made the rules and enforced them in anyway they wanted.
A "Wild West" tale just a much as it is a documentary, but to be more frank, a true chronicalling of a prosperous, but dark, time in the history of music.
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