Death Row Fears Dumping, Seeks Deal

Amid rumors that Interscope Records is under pressure to dump its distribution deal with Death Row Records, an informed source says that Death Row has been quietly meeting with other labels to see if they are interested in distributing the hardcore rap label's releases. An Interscope spokeswoman read a prepared statement: "Interscope Records has a contract to distribute Death Row Records, which is still in full force and effect." In other Death Row news, a spokesman for the law firm representing the administrators of the estate of Tupac Shakur in their suit against the label confirms a report in a Los Angeles legal journal that settlement negotiations are nearing completion.

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Song Stories

“The A Team”

Ed Sheeran | 2011

This debut track from the then-20-year-old British singer-songwriter has a dark story behind it. Sheeran says he culls songwriting inspiration from "viewing other people's situations," which, for the heroine in "The A Team," involves drug addiction and prostitution that began as a teen. Sheeran paints the woman's trials with haunting imagery such as "But lately her face seems/Slowly sinking, wasting/Crumbling like pastries." "I did a gig at a homeless shelter, [and the song] is about one of the women there. It's her story," he said.

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