Irv Gotti, the Queens rap producer and Murder Inc. Records co-founder who had a huge impact on the circa-Y2K pop charts, has died. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the cause of Gotti's death hasn't yet been confirmed, but he reportedly suffered a recent stroke. He was 54.
Irv Gotti was born Irving Domingo Lorenzo Jr. in the Queens neighborhood of Hollis, and he started off as a DJ before finding work as an A&R rep and Def Jam, where he was instrumental in signing huge stars like Jay-Z and DMX. He produced mid-'90s tracks for Ja Rule's old group Ca$h Money Click and Queens rapper Mic Geronimo, and he made the beat for "Can I Live," from Jay-Z's debut album Reasonable Doubt. Because of his success as an A&R, Def Jam gave Gotti his own imprint, which he called Murder Inc. Records. The label launched in 1999, and Ja Rule because its flagship artist.
Murder Inc. had tremendous success in the late '90s and early '00s, and Gotti's lush and tinkly production style drove most of their hits. Gotti essentially introduced Ja to the public by producing Jay-Z's 1998 single "Can I Get A...," which has a Ja guest spot. From there, he produced Ja Rule hits like "Holla Holla" and "Put It On Me," as well as singles like DMX's "What's My Name?" and "Hot Spot." Murder Inc.'s imperial era was brief but lucrative. In the space of a few years, Gotti produced gigantic hits like the Jennifer Lopez/Ja Rule collaborations "I'm Real" and "Ain't It Funny." Murder Inc. also hit gold when they signed the young R&B singer Ashanti, who guested on Ja Rule's "Always On Time" and Fat Joe's "What's Luv?" before reaching #1 with her own single "Foolish." Gotti produced all of those. Gotti's hit streak also extended outside Murder Inc., to singles like the Eve/Alicia Keys collab "Gangsta Luvin'," a #2 hit.
Murder Inc.'s hit streak came to a definitive halt in 2003, when Ja Rule's arch-enemy 50 Cent became the biggest rap star in the world. At the same time, Gotti and his brother Chris got into serious legal trouble. Federal authorities accused the Gottis of laundering money for the notorious Queens drug kingpin Kenneth "Supreme" McGriff. A jury found the Gottis not guilty in 2005 -- I covered that trial for the Village Voice -- but Murder Inc.'s momentum was over by then. Gotti was largely inactive in the music space in recent years, though he did co-produce a couple of 2018 tracks for Kanye West. He also created the BET anthology series Tales. Last year, an unnamed woman sued Gotti for sexual assault and abuse.
You can hear some of Gotti's work below.
