Irv Gotti, Murder Inc. Records Founder, Dead at 54

Irv Gotti, who founded Murder Inc. Records and produced albums for Ja Rule, Ashanti, and DMX, has died. He was 54. The Hollywood Reporter first reported the news on February 5. Def Jam Recordings also confirmed Gotti’s death, saying he “helped pave the way for the next generation of artists and producers, a force that reshaped the soundscape of hip hop and R&B.” No cause of death was given for Gotti, who had a stroke last year due to his diabetes.

Born Irving Lorenzo Jr., Gotti got his start working in artists and repertoire, or A&R, at Def Jam. He was an early champion of Jay-Z at the label and produced the song “Can I Live” on his debut album, Reasonable Doubt. Soon after, he signed DMX and executive-produced his debut album, It’s Dark and Hell Is Hot, which debuted at No. 1. In 1998, he founded Murder Inc. under Def Jam with his brother Chris. The label’s first full-length release was Ja Rule’s debut album, Venni Vetti Vecci, which Irv Gotti also executive-produced. Murder later signed Ashanti and released her self-titled debut in 2002.

Federal agents raided Murder Inc. in 2003 on suspicion the label was laundering money for gangster Kenneth “Supreme” McGriff. At the same time, Ja Rule’s ongoing feud with 50 Cent was heating up, with Ja Rule releasing the diss record Blood in My Eye in 2003. The album debuted at No. 6, a career low for Ja Rule. Around this time, Gotti rebranded his label as The Inc. Def Jam kicked the label out during the money-laundering investigation and did not re-sign it, though Irv and Chris Gotti were acquitted in late 2005. In 2006, Irv Gotti found a new home for The Inc. at Universal Motown. The label continued releasing albums by Ashanti and Lloyd, along with new signee Vanessa Carlton, but never reached past success. In 2017, Gotti created the BET series Tales, which adapts rap songs into TV episodes.

Former Def Jam executive Lyor Cohen, who helped Gotti start Murder Inc., remembered Gotti as one of the label’s “most creative soldiers who was hip-hop.” Meanwhile, 50 Cent appeared to celebrate Gotti’s death on Instagram, posting a photo of him smoking next to a gravestone reading “R.I.P.” “I’m smoking on dat Gotti pack, nah God bless him 🕊️LOL,” he wrote.

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