Irv Gotti, Co-Founder of Murder Inc. Records, Dies at 54

Irv Gotti — who co-founded the hitmaking Murder Inc. Records label and helped make early 2000s superstars out of Ja Rule and Ashanti — has died after suffering a stroke, The Hollywood Reporter confirmed. He was 54 years old.

Alongside brother Chris, Irv Gotti launched Murder Inc. in 1998 as an imprint of Def Jam. Ja Rule was the label’s flagship artist, and Murder Inc.’s first release was his 1999 debut album Venni Vetti Vecci, which included the rapper’s first top 40 Billboard Hot 100 hit “Holla Holla” (peaking at No. 35).

That was just the start of the commercial success of Murder Inc., which the Gotti brothers titled after the crime syndicate of the same name. In addition to Ja Rule, Gotti also discovered singer Ashanti as a teenager, who went on to find fame with melodic hooks alongside rap hits as well as her own solo R&B success. Ashanti’s three biggest hits all came in 2002: Ja Rule’s “Always on Time,” featuring Ashanti, was a two-week Hot 100 No. 1; Fat Joe’s “What’s Luv?,” featuring Ashanti, peaked at No. 2; and her own “Foolish” spent 10 weeks atop the Hot 100.

Murder Inc. also lent their rap bona fides to Jennifer Lopez’s rising music career, with Ja Rule features on “I’m Real” and “Ain’t It Funny” leading to Hot 100 chart-toppers, spending five and six weeks at the pinnacle, respectively.

Between 1999 and 2005, Ja Rule amassed 17 total Hot 100 hits, including his three aforementioned No. 1s.

Gotti won a Grammy in 2003 for co-producing Ashanti’s eponymous debut album, which won for best contemporary R&B album. He was nominated again the following year for co-writing Ashanti’s “Rock Wit U (Awww Baby),” which was a finalist for best R&B song.

Both Murder Inc. and the Gotti brothers were plagued with legal issues over the years, including a federal raid at the label’s headquarters in 2003 as part of an investigation linking the Gottis to accused drug lord Kenneth “Supreme” McGriff. In 2005, Irv and Chris were found not guilty of money laundering and conspiracy to launder money. In July 2024, Irv Gotti was sued for sexual assault and rape by a Jane Doe plaintiff who said the alleged abuse occurred while she was in a relationship with the hip-hop mogul from 2020 to 2022.

This article was originally published by Billboard U.S.