Irv Gotti, hip-hop producer, Murder Inc. Records founder, dead at 54

Irv Gotti, a hip-hop music executive who founded Murder Inc. Records and worked with DMX, Aaliyah, Kanye West and Jay-Z, has died. He was 54.

Gotti’s death was confirmed Wednesday in a statement by Def Jam Recordings, the parent label for Murder Inc., The New York Times reported. No cause of death was given, and the statement did not say when or where Gotti died, according to the newspaper.

“Def Jam’s thoughts are with Irv’s family, friends, and all those who were touched by his work,” the label wrote in an Instagram post.

Gotti, was born Irving Domingo Lorenzo Jr., on June 26, 1970, in Queens, New York. He produced some of the biggest rap and R&B albums since the late 1990s, working with Jay-Z, Ja Rule, Ashanti and DMX, according to The Hollywood Reporter. He founded Murder Inc. Records in 1998 with his brother, Chris Lorenzo.

The Grammy Award winner was credited as a producer on 28 Hot 100 hits, according to Billboard.

Gotti had initial success as DJ Irv and produced Jay-Z’s “Can I Live” from his 1996 debut album, “Reasonable Doubt,” Deadline reported.

He was the executive producer of DMX’s 1998 debut album “It’s Dark and Hell Is Hot,” which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart. He also produced Ja Rule’s 1999 debut album, “Venni Vetti Vecci,” and worked on several releases by Ashanti in the early 2000s, the Times reported.

Gotti’s production style of blending melodic hooks with hip-hop beats influenced many rap and R&B crossover hits, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

He produced multi-platinum hits with Ja Rule and Jennifer Lopez, including “I’m Real” and “Ain’t It Funny,” the entertainment news outlet reported.

“Def Jam has lost one of its most creative soldiers who was hip-hop,” Lyor Cohen, the global head of music at YouTube who held chief executive roles at Def Jam from 1988 to 2004, said in a statement. “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.”

In 2003, the FBI and the police raided Murder Inc.’s offices in New York, the Times reported. That was followed by a federal investigation into whether the label was founded with drug money.

Gotti faced charges of laundering money for Kenneth “Supreme” McGriff, a convicted gang leader. In an attempt to clean up the image of his label, Gotti dropped “Murder” from its name, according to the newspaper.

“They had everybody who loved me in corporate America, who felt I was a good guy, distance themselves from me,” he said he was acquitted in 2005. “All while I was saying, ‘I didn’t do this, I didn’t do this,’ and they was like, ‘OK, we’ll wait and see.’”

Gotti won a Grammy Award for Best R&B Song with “Rock Wit U (Awww Baby).

According to The Hollywood Reporter, 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.

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