The iconic studio where West Coast gangsta rap classics like All Eyez On Me and Dogg Food were recorded now belongs to another Los Angeles hip-hop institution. When Death Row Records more or less folded after the death of Tupac Shakur, Top Dawg Entertainment arguably picked up the torch to become the standard-bearer for LA’s rap scene thanks to the efforts of Anthony “Top Dawg” Tiffith, Terrence “Punch” Henderson, Kendrick Lamar, and the rest of their merry band — including engineer Derek “MixedByAli” Ali.
Today, Ali — who has mixed major projects for each of TDE’s flagship artists and been Grammy-nominated as a result — announced the acquisition of the original Death Row Records studio, which he’s redubbed NoName Studios. In a new post to his Instagram, he revealed his plans to begin renovations next week, with the goal of reopening the studio for business in the second quarter of 2021 as the headquarters of his online mixing service, EngineEars.
“In the coming months, I will be transforming this iconic hip-hop monument into two of the best sounding mixing rooms in Los Angeles,” Ali wrote. “We’re looking forward to harnessing the energy and history from this studio and continue pumping out nothing but timeless hit records just as they did in the 90s.” In addition to mixing for Top Dawg artists like Kendrick Lamar, Jay Rock, and SZA, he also mixed Uproxx’s No. 1 Hip-Hop Album Of The Year, Spillage Village’s Spilligion. Check out his post with a video tour of the facilities below.