Irv Gotti, famed hip-hop music executive, dies aged 54
Irv Gotti, the raucous music magnate who created Murder Inc. Records and managed famous hip-hop and R&B singers, has died. He was 54.
His death was announced late Wednesday in a statement by Def Jam Recordings, Murder Inc.'s parent company since its inception in 1998, and where Mr. Gotti previously served as an executive. The statement did not specify where, when, or why he died.
Gotti’s team told he had “been struggling with diabetes for years, which caused him to have a minor stroke over six months ago.” They added the record executive had "since changed his diet to eating more healthy" and had been "successful in making a full recovery." They slammed claims that he was in a rehab facility and said he was “home with his family, enjoying life.”
Gotti, actual name Irving Lorenzo, founded the legendary hip-hop and R&B imprint with his brother in the late 1990s, and the label rose to international popularity thanks to platinum-selling musicians Ashanti and Ja Rule. Gotti has also collaborated with some of rap's most renowned musicians, including Jay-Z, Nas, and DMX.
“I’m important in America because of hip-hop,” Mr. Gotti said in the 2022 BET documentary series “The Murder Inc Story.” “I love hip-hop with a passion.”
Mr. Gotti was born on June 26, 1970, in Queens, as Irving Domingo Lorenzo Jr. He said in the BET documentary that his father was a cab driver and that he was the youngest of eight children. He remembers spending hours in his early teens playing with turntables and a mixer that his brothers had purchased for him, and he began working as a D.J. at parties when he was 15.
The Grammy-winning producer dominated the late 1990s and early 2000s. His credits include multiple Ashanti and Ja Rule collaborations, including "What's Luv?," "Always on Time," "Mesmerize," and others. He also produced Jennifer Lopez's remixes of Ja Rule's "I'm Real (Murder Remix)" and "Ain't It Funny (Murder Remix)." Gotti is also recognized for creating songs for other singers, like DMX's "What's My Name?" Popular songs include Jay-Z's "Can I Get A…" and Eve's "Gangsta Lovin," among others.
Mr. Gotti also served as executive producer on DMX's first album, "It's Dark and Hell Is Hot," which debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 list in 1998. He also produced Ja Rule's debut album, "Venni Vetti Vecci" (1999), and collaborated on numerous big Ashanti albums in the early 2000s, consolidating his status as a hitmaker.
According to Billboard, Gotti is credited for producing 28 Hot 100 singles.
The negative publicity surrounding the inquiry prompted Gotti to remove the term "Murder" from the label's moniker and modify its name to The Inc.
“All of these big records, and people would still come back and focus on the negative word ‘murder,’” he said when he announced the change.
He eventually sold the company to Universal Motown, where he signed Vanessa Carlton and co-produced her 2007 album "Heroes and Thieves" alongside Third Eye Blind's Stephan Jenkins and Rick Rubin. The label departed Universal about 2013 and rebranded as Visionary.
Nonetheless, Gotti never altered the nickname he shared with the late Gambino family chief John Gotti, which he said was bestowed to him by Jay Z.
“I ain’t going to change it,” he said of his name.
Along with his hitmaking and musical abilities, Gotti was noted for his role in one of hip-hop's most legendary feuds between 50 Cent and Ja Rule. The long-running animosity began over 25 years ago and has ended in at least one violent altercation. The issue was never fixed.
Over the years, he has worked with Mary J. Blige, Mariah Carey, Kanye West, and many more artists.
He is survived by his three children, Angie, Sonny, and Jonathan Wilson; his mother, Nee Nee Lorenzo; sisters Tina and Angie; and his brother, Chris.
