{"id":45161,"date":"2025-02-06T23:11:52","date_gmt":"2025-02-06T23:11:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/?p=45161"},"modified":"2025-02-06T23:11:54","modified_gmt":"2025-02-06T23:11:54","slug":"irv-gotti-murder-inc-records-founder-who-worked-with-ashanti-and-ja-rule-dies-at-54","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/2025\/02\/06\/irv-gotti-murder-inc-records-founder-who-worked-with-ashanti-and-ja-rule-dies-at-54\/","title":{"rendered":"Irv Gotti, Murder Inc. Records Founder Who Worked With Ashanti and Ja Rule, Dies at 54"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Irv Gotti, a noted record executive,\u00a0music\u00a0producer and entrepreneur best known as the founder of Murder Inc. Records, has died,\u00a0The Hollywood Reporter\u00a0<\/em>has confirmed. He was 54.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His family shared a statement on his\u00a0Instagramwriting, \u201cIt is with heavy hearts that we announce the passing of our beloved father, Irving \u2018Irv Gotti\u2019 Lorenzo, on February 5, 2025. Surrounded by family and friends, he departed this world, leaving behind a legacy that will forever resonate in the hearts of those who knew him and the countless lives he touched. Our dad was an incredible man, a true visionary who transformed the hip-hop industry and changed the game for artists and fans alike. His passion for music and dedication to his craft inspired many, and his contributions will continue to influence future generations.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The statement continued, \u201cAs we navigate this difficult time, we kindly ask for privacy while we grieve the loss of our dad, son, brother, uncle, and friend. We take comfort in knowing that his spirit will live on through his music and the love he shared with all of us. Thank you for your understanding and support during this challenging time. With love, Angie, Sonny, and JJ.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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 \u201cI\u2019m Real\u201d and \u201cAin\u2019t It Funny.\u201d With Ashanti, Ja Rule landed another hit with \u201cAlways on Time,\u201d and she, as a solo artist, charted with \u201cFoolish,\u201d \u201cRain on Me\u201d and \u201cMesmerize.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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 \u201cCan I Live\u201d from Jay-Z\u2019s 1996 debut, Reasonable Doubt<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Later called The Inc., Vanessa Carlton signed with the label and Gotti co-produced her 2007 album, Heroes and Thieves<\/em>, with Rick Rubin and Third Eye Blind\u2019s Stephan Jenkins.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gotti\u2019s production credits extend to records by Kanye West, Memphis Bleek, Fat Joe and Christina Milian. He also released several albums under his own name. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDef Jam has lost one of its most creative soldiers who was hip-hop,\u201d 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). \u201cWhen 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\u2019s an honor and a privilege to have known him. Irv, you will be missed.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His career faced some setbacks in the mid-2000s due to an FBI investigation \u2014 and a raid of Murder Inc.\u2019s offices \u2014 into alleged ties with drug kingpin Kenneth \u201cSupreme\u201d McGriff. Though ultimately acquitted, the case damaged Murder Inc.\u2019s reputation. In recent years, Gotti had reinvented himself, expanding into television with the creation of BET\u2019s Tales<\/em>, an anthology series blending hip-hop and storytelling. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reaction to news of his death from across the music world was swift. See some of the tributes on social media below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

50 Cent\u00a0posted a photo\u00a0<\/a>on Instagram of himself smoking next to a grave headstone that reads \u201cRIP.\u201d He added in the caption, \u201cI\u2019m smoking on dat Gotti pack, nah God bless him LOL.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nhttps:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DFtzzKlpYaT\/?utm_source=ig_embed&ig_rid=156b99d2-2dde-41f6-a665-943a4041a228\n<\/div><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Irv Gotti, a noted record executive,\u00a0music\u00a0producer and entrepreneur best known as the founder of Murder Inc. Records, has died,\u00a0The Hollywood Reporter\u00a0has 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. His family shared […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":45165,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_post_source_name":"","_post_source_url":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[80,54],"tags":[10620,11974,7455,2784,4778,7960,287,9331,7460,9662,7234,6999,5241,10205,6121,11273,8123,5455,9026,3900,9127,3545,6225,3577,1445,2490,8394,10197,4138,2912,119,2357,2659,601,10634,6220,2590,7193,5382,11758,5058,990,1670,10614,11774,10716,9028,9984,5349,5618,9030,7419,6348,36,594,9550],"class_list":["post-45161","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-entertainment","category-obituary","tag-acquitted","tag-album","tag-ashanti","tag-bet","tag-bless","tag-case","tag-children","tag-city","tag-cohen","tag-dad","tag-death","tag-diabetes","tag-died","tag-dies","tag-dj","tag-drug","tag-eye","tag-family","tag-fans","tag-fat-joe","tag-february","tag-founder","tag-friends","tag-future","tag-god","tag-hollywood","tag-instagram","tag-investigation","tag-irv-gotti","tag-ja-rule","tag-jay-z","tag-jennifer-lopez","tag-kanye-west","tag-kingpin","tag-lost","tag-love","tag-lyor-cohen","tag-memphis","tag-murder","tag-murder-inc","tag-music","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-privacy","tag-raid","tag-rain","tag-rap","tag-smoking","tag-social-media","tag-soldiers","tag-success","tag-the-game","tag-us","tag-world","tag-who","tag-youtube"],"blocksy_meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45161","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=45161"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45161\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":45167,"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45161\/revisions\/45167"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/45165"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=45161"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=45161"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=45161"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}