Irv Gotti, Music Producer and Murder Inc. Records Co-Founder, Dead at 54
Irv Gotti, the famed music producer, industry executive, and TV producer, has died at the age of 54. Def Jam Recordings, the parent label of Gotti’s Murder Inc. company, confirmed his death, though did not state a cause.
The instrumental hip-hop figure, born Irving Lorenzo, died after previously suffering what his representatives deemed a “minor stroke” in early 2024. At the time, they said he had changed his diet and had been “successful in making a full recovery.”
Gotti, a native of Hollis, Queens, in New York, co-founded early 2000s rap stalwart Murder Inc. Records, which housed multiplatinum acts such as Ja Rule and Ashanti. The label has collectively sold 30 million units worldwide via hip-hop and R&B standards such as Ja Rule’s “Always on Time” (featuring Ashanti) and “Livin It Up” (featuring Case), as well as Ashanti’s “Foolish” and “Rock With U (Awww Baby).”
Working in A&R at Def Jam, Lorenzo was pivotal in the foundational label’s late-Nineties revival, helping Jay-Z and the late DMX ink deals. He produced “Can I Live” on Jay-Z’s 1996 Reasonable Doubt debut, and served as executive producer on DMX’s 1998 It’s Dark and Hell Is Hot, which sold 4 million records and established the Yonkers MC as a rap superstar. The two artists, along with Ja Rule, were catalysts in bringing Def Jam back to cultural dominance, reportedly boosting its value by more than 100 million dollars in 1998.
Their success helped Lorenzo start Murder Inc. as a Def Jam subsidiary, which also paved the way for him to collaborate with stars such as Jennifer Lopez (“I’m Real” and the “Ain’t It Funny” remix), as well as Eve and Alicia Keys (“Gangsta Lovin”). In 2003, he won a Best Contemporary R&B Album Grammy for executive-producing Ashanti’s eponymous debut album.
“Def Jam has lost one of its most creative soldiers,” Lyor Cohen, global head of music, YouTube and Google, said in a statement. “He was hip-hop, and 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.”
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In 2005, Irv and his brother Chris Lorenzo (a.k.a. Chris Gotti) were charged with money laundering and conspiracy to launder money by the FBI. In one of the earliest instances of rap on trial, federal agents claimed that the Lorenzos laundered drug money from alleged Queens drug kingpin Kenneth “Supreme” McGriff into Murder Inc. They were acquitted of the charges in December 2005.
Lorenzo’s musical output slowed down after the trial, and he eventually shifted into television. He starred in VH1’s Gotti’s Way reality show from 2007 to 2009, and in 2017 developed Tales for BET, a fictional show that based the premise of each episode on a rap song. He also executive-produced The Murder Inc. Story, a five-part 2022 docuseries that chronicled the label’s timeline.
The documentary garnered controversy for Lorenzo’s reveal that he had a romantic relationship with Ashanti while married, which marred his reputation, especially with younger rap fans unaware of his musical contributions. In 2022, Ashanti clarified, “We dealt with each other, but was Irv my boyfriend? Was I his girlfriend? Never.” Last year, he was sued by a Jane Doe who alleged that she was in an abusive relationship with him from 2020 to 2022 that included sexual assault. (Lorenzo “categorically denied” the charges.)
Even with controversy at the end of his life, his impact on hip-hop and R&B can’t be erased. In 2017, while discussing his career on the TV show Drink Champs, show host and industry peer Nore called him a “legendary” hip-hop figure, surmising that he was so impactful that “if he would’ve been in the game [currently], mumble rap wouldn’t exist.”
Lorenzo was remembered by musicians and members of the music industry following his death.
“Def Jam Recordings and the extended Def Jam family of artists, executives and employees, are deeply saddened at the loss of Irv Gotti,” Def Jam wrote on social media. “His contributions at Def Jam, as both an A&R executive and in partnership with Murder Inc., helped pave the way for the next generation of artists and producers, a force that reshaped the soundscape of hip-hop and R&B. His creative genius and unwavering dedication to the culture birthed countless hits, defining an era of music that continues to resonate with fans worldwide. Our thoughts are with his family, friends, and all those who were touched by his work.”