Legendary hip-hop label Death Row Records, reknowned for elevating the careers of stars including Tupac and Dr Dre, has been sold at auction.

Global Music Group, based in New York, said it had acquired current artist contracts and the label's back-catalogue in a sale worth $24,000,000.

The deal means that the group now owns the rights to 'The Chronic' by Dr Dre and Snoop Dogg's 'Doggystyle'.

Death Row was founded in 1989 by struggling music mogul Marion 'Suge' Knight and grew to became a prolific stable for hip-hop artists in the early 1990s.

But the label fell into mismanagement when Knight was hit by legal problems, which stemmed from a 1992 conviction for assault.