Hip-hop label Death Row Records, which has been home to rap stars Tupac Shakur, Dr Dre and Snoop Dogg, has been sold at an auction for $24m (£12m).

New York-based company Global Music Group confirmed it had purchased the firm in a statement to the Associated Press news agency.

The sale includes current artist contracts and its complete back catalogue of music.

Death Row was founded in 1989 by rap mogul Marion "Suge" Knight.

It went on to sell tens of millions of albums in the early 1990s before collapsing in debt and mismanagement.

Lydia and Michael Harris claimed they helped found the label, and won $107 million (£53.3 million) after a 2005 court case. But when they tried to collect the money, Knight filed for bankruptcy.

Unreleased material

Global Music Group, an independent label, takes ownership of albums including Dr Dre's The Chronic and Snoop Dogg's Doggystyle.

Other assets are believed to include unreleased material from Shakur which could result in another posthumous release from the rapper.

Knight has a history of legal problems including a 1992 conviction for assault for which he was placed on probation.

He was then jailed for five years in 1996 for violating that probation and in 2003 he returned to prison for again violating parole.

Source:BBC