Snoop Dogg Helps Phonixthecool Build A Catalog He Owns

Snoop Dogg taught Phonixthecool how to earn from music he owned while Death Row Records developed the Durban rapper, the artist said.

In a new Sowetan interview, Phonixthecool described an arrangement that let him release songs on his own while work continued on his Death Row music. He said the goal was to keep an audience and build a catalog that could earn more once the label’s releases drew new listeners.

“Snoop has mentored me on monetising music and using his name while still releasing independently. That way, I own the music,” he said.

The rapper, born Lunga Khumalo, also described the work behind a signing: trying out producers and recording to find the right fit for his voice. He said people often expected a record deal to make an artist a star overnight.

His connection with Snoop reached listeners before the Death Row deal. Phonixthecool appeared with Battle Locco and Kokane on “No Smut On My Name” for 2021’s “Snoop Dogg Presents Algorithm (Global Edition),” released through Def Jam.

Snoop announced the signing in September 2023 while teasing Death Row Africa. By then, the label had become part of his own business, after years in which other companies controlled the name that helped launch his career.

He bought the Death Row brand from MNRK Music Group in February 2022. Funds managed by Blackstone controlled MNRK, and the companies did not disclose the price.

For Snoop, that move began with a desire to regain control of his own recordings. He told TIDAL in 2022 that Jimmy Iovine helped connect him with Blackstone’s David Kestnbaum because Iovine knew he wanted his masters.

“I don’t want to be on nobody’s label. But I’d be on Death Row if I own it. That’s a boss move,” Snoop said then.

He also described a hands-off approach to an artist’s sound. Rather than tell new signees how to rap, he wanted to give artists with a clear musical identity a bigger platform. He said his own experience as a rapper shaped how he handled label business.

Phonixthecool said their contact had mostly been through texts and FaceTime. He planned to visit Los Angeles in January 2027 for his first trip to the United States.