Irv Gotti, who shaped 1990s hip-hop, dies aged 54

Irv Gotti, the US music producer who created hits for Ja Rule, Ashanti, DMX and Jennifer Lopez, has died at the age of 54.

Best known as the founder of the record label Murder Inc., his signature style of blending hip-hop beats with smooth R&B melodies shaped the sound of the charts in the late 90s and early 2000s.

As a writer and producer, his multi-platinum hits included the J-Lo and Ja Rule duets Ain’t It Funny and I’m Real, the Ashanti tracks Foolish and Always on Time, and Fat Joe’s What’s Luv?.

“People get confused because it sells like pop music,” he told the Guardian in 2002. “But we make black music first and foremost, and all our records is ‘hood first’.”

A cause of death has not been announced, but the music mogul had battled diabetes-related issues and suffered what was described as a “minor stroke” in early 2024.

At the time, Gotti’s representatives said he had changed his diet and had been “successful in making a full recovery”.

Born Irving Lorenzo in Hollis, Queens, in 1971, his career began as a producer for New York MC Mic Geronimo, under the moniker DJ Irv.

His big break came when he contributed to Jay-Z’s debut album, Reasonable Doubt, in 1996. The rapper christened him the “don of hip-hop”, renaming him Irv Gotti in reference to the mafia boss John Gotti.

His next move was to sign gravel-voiced rapper DMX to the legendary rap label Def Jam Records.

The label was in the middle of a rough patch, losing ground to Sean Combs’ flashy, aspirational Bad Boy Inc label. DMX was the antidote to Combs’ style – stripped back, raw and connected to the street.

With Gotti as executive producer, his debut album, It’s Dark and Hell is Hot, sold four million copies in the US and spawned the hip-hop classic Ruff Ryders’ Anthem.

It also saved Def Jam’s reputation.

“When we were on bended knee, [Irv] brought the heat and saved our asses,” said Lyor Cohen, who was chief executive of the label from 1998 to 2004, and now serves as YouTube’s head of music.

Acknowledging his success, Cohen gave Gotti his own label, which he ran with his brother Chris.

They chose the name Murder Inc after watching a documentary about the 20th-century New York organised crime group of the same name – reckoning that they could put out hit records in the same way their crime syndicate had put out hits for murder.

Their first signing was Ja Rule, who saw massive commercial success with hits like Holla Holla, Livin’ It Up, Always On Time and the UK number one Wonderful.

Gotti also discovered the singer Ashanti as a teenager, and partnered her with his rap artists for a sprinkle of melodic fairydust.

As a solo act, she also had a run of top 10 hits in the early 2000s with songs like Foolish, Rock Wit U and Only U.

Gotti earned a Grammy for co-producing Ashanti’s eponymous debut in 2002, which won best contemporary R&B album.

Murder Inc also lent credibility to Jennifer Lopez’s music career, with popular remixes of I’m Real and Love Don’t Cost A Thing giving her frothy pop hits an urban edge.

Overall, Gotti was credited as a producer on 28 US chart hits, from artists including Mary J Blige, Fat Joe and Kanye West.

His career faced a setback in the mid-2000s after the FBI raided Murder Inc’s offices, as part of an investigation into alleged ties with drug kingpin Kenneth “Supreme” McGriff.

Gotti and his brother were charged with money laundering but were later acquitted of all charges.

Beef with 50 Cent

The accusations also formed part of a long-standing feud between Gotti and the rap star 50 Cent.

As part of their search warrant, Federal investigaters alleged that McGriff and employees of Murder Inc had plotted to assassinate the rapper as revenge for the 2000 song Ghetto Qu’ran, which detailed McGriff’s criminal past.

Prior to that, one of 50 Cent’s associates had allegedly robbed Ja Rule in New York, triggering a run of diss tracks and altercations between the pair, culminating in a recording studio brawl where 50 Cent was stabbed.

Murder Inc rapper Black Child took credit for the attack on record, claiming it was an act of self-defence.

50 Cent later downplayed the severity of the incident, but he continued to take pot shots at Gotti and Murder Inc throughout his career.

‘Creative soldier’

After the controversies, Gotti rebranded Murder Inc as The Inc. He signed singer-songwriter Vanessa Carlton and continued to release albums by Ashanti, but the label struggled to match its former glories.

Last July, Gotti was sued by for sexual assault and rape by an anonymous accuser, who said she had been in a relationship with the music mogul between 2020 and 2022.

Through his lawyer, Gotti categorically denied the allegations, saying they “represent an affront to women who have truly suffered abuse”.

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.

“Def Jam has lost one of its most creative soldiers who was hip-hop,” said Lyor Cohen in a statement.

“He comes from a very tight beautiful family from Queens and it’s an honour and a privilege to have known him. Irv, you will be missed.”

SOURCE: BBC