Irv Gotti, the music mogul who crafted hits for Ja Rule, Ashanti, DMX and Jennifer Lopez all while founding the record label Murder Inc., has died. He was 54.
The BBC reports Gotti’s 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 newspaper 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.
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.
Irv Gotti speaks onstage during the 2022 BET Awards at Microsoft Theater on June 26, 2022 in Los Angeles, California. (Leon Bennett/Getty Images for BET)
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.
Gotti earned a Grammy for co-producing Ashanti’s eponymous debut in 2002, which won best contemporary R&B album, the BBC report notes.
Over the past 20 years, Gotti had been embroiled in legal disputes, The Sun reports.
He and his brother, Chris, were charged with money laundering in 2005 but were both later acquitted.
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.”
