Irv Gotti, creator of Murder Inc. Records, passes away at the age of 54

NEW YORK – Irv Gotti, a music mogul who founded Murder Inc. Records and was behind major hip-hop and R&B artists such as Ashanti and Ja Rule, has died. He was 54.

Def Jam Recordings, which was the parent company of Murder Inc., announced Gotti’s death in a statement late Wednesday night. It did not give a cause of death.

Gotti, whose real name is Irving Lorenzo, founded Murder Inc. with his brother in the late 1990s, with the label gaining worldwide prominence through platinum-selling artists Ashanti and Ja Rule. Gotti had also worked with artists DMX, Fat Joe and Jay-Z, among other huge names in the genre.

“His creative genius and unwavering dedication to the culture birthed countless hits, defining an era of music that continues to resonate with fans worldwide,” the statement from Def Jam read.

The label, which got its name after Gotti watched a documentary on the original Murder, Inc. crew of mob hitmen, once came under investigation for allegedly laundering drug money for a notorious crack kingpin, leading to criminal charges against Gotti. He was eventually acquitted.

The bad press around the investigation led to Gotti dropping the word “Murder” from the title of the label to change its name to The Inc.

“All of these big records, and people would still come back and focus on the negative word ‘murder,’” he said when he announced the change.

Still, Gotti never changed the nickname he shared with the late Gambino family boss John Gotti, which he said was given to him by Jay-Z.

“I ain’t going to change it,” he said of his name.

Lyor Cohen, a former Def Jam executive who is now global head of music at YouTube and Google, said “Def Jam has lost one of it’s most creative soldiers.”

“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,” Cohen said in a statement.