“Def Jam has lost one of its most creative soldiers who was hip-hop,” says YouTube’s Lyor Cohen.
Irv Gotti Getty Images
Irv Gotti, a noted record executive, music producer and entrepreneur best known as the founder of Murder Inc. Records, has died, The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed. He was 54.
The cause of death has not been announced, but the music mogul did suffer a number of strokes in recent years and had also battled diabetes-related issues.
Rising to prominence in the late 1990s and early 2000s, Gotti, born Irving Domingo Lorenzo Jr., played a key role in hip-hop and R&B records of the time, working with artists like Ja Rule, Ashanti and DMX, each of whom saw massive commercial success. His signature production style blended hip-hop beats with melodic hooks and influenced a wave of rap and R&B crossover hits that were inescapable from 2001 to 2004. Among them: several multi-platinum smashes with Ja Rule and Jennifer Lopez, including “I’m Real” and “Ain’t It Funny.” With Ashanti, Ja Rule landed another hit with “Always on Time,” and she, as a solo artist, charted with “Foolish,” “Rain on Me” and “Mesmerize.”
Before launching Murder Inc. in New York City in 1998, Gotti worked as an A&R at Def Jam, where he helped bring DMX, Jay-Z and Ja Rule to the label. Under the moniker DJ Irv, he produced the song “Can I Live” from Jay-Z’s 1996 debut, Reasonable Doubt.
Later called The Inc., Vanessa Carlton signed with the label and Gotti co-produced her 2007 album, Heroes and Thieves, with Rick Rubin and Third Eye Blind’s Stephan Jenkins.
Gotti’s production credits extend to records by Kanye West, Memphis Bleek, Fat Joe and Christina Milian. He also released several albums under his own name.
“Def Jam has lost one of its most creative soldiers who was hip-hop,” says Lyor Cohen, who held chief executive roles at the label from 1988 to 2004 and was a presence from its nascent days (he currently serves as global head of music at YouTube). “When we were on bended knee, he brought the heat and saved our asses. He comes from a very tight beautiful family from Queens and it’s an honor and a privilege to have known him. Irv, you will be missed.”
His career faced some setbacks in the mid-2000s due to an FBI investigation — and a raid of Murder Inc.’s offices — into alleged ties with drug kingpin Kenneth “Supreme” McGriff. Though ultimately acquitted, the case damaged Murder Inc.’s reputation. In recent years, Gotti had reinvented himself, expanding into television with the creation of BET’s Tales, an anthology series blending hip-hop and storytelling.
Gotti is survived by his three children, Angie, Sonny and Jonathan Wilson; his mother, Nee Nee Lorenzo; sisters Tina and Angie; and his brother Chris Lorenzo, with whom he co-founded Murder Inc.
Reaction to news of his death from across the music world was swift. See some of the tributes on social media below.
50 Cent posted a photo on Instagram of himself smoking next to a grave headstone that reads “RIP.” He added in the caption, “I’m smoking on dat Gotti pack, nah God bless him LOL.”
