Irv Gotti dies at 54: Murder Inc. founder who worked with Jennifer Lopez, Ja Rule and DMX passes away nearly a year after stroke
- Gotti's cause of death is unknown, but he suffered a stroke last year
- In 1998 he co-founded Murder Inc. with his brother Chris Gotti
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The influential label head and record producer Irv Gotti has died at the age of 54.
The cause of Gotti's death, which was confirmed by The Hollywood Reporter, is currently unknown.
However, the Murder Inc. Records co-founder (born Irving Lorenzo Jr.) had suffered a what his representative called a 'minor stroke' in 2024, around 11 months before his death.
In August, it was revealed that he had suffered the stroke six months earlier as a result of his battle with diabetes.
Gotti raised concerns at the time when he was pictured using a cane to walk.
His representative suggested he was on the upswing, as he had made healthy changes to his diet and was 'successful in making a full recovery,' according to TMZ.
The influential label head and record producer Irv Gotti has died at the age of 54. The cause of Gotti's death, which was confirmed by The Hollywood Reporter, is currently unknown; seen in 2023 in West Hollywood
Gotti (seen here with Teyana Taylor in Beverly Hills in 2017) was an in-demand producer and songwriter for stars including Jennifer Lopez, Ja Rule, DMX and Ashanti, among others
'Def Jam has lost one of its most creative soldiers who was hip-hop,' said Lyor Cohen, former Def Jam CEO, in a statement. 'When we were on bended knee, he brought the heat and saved our a**es. 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.'
The late record executive is best known for co-founding Murder Inc. with his brother Chris Gotti in 1998, but he also proved to be an in-demand producer and songwriter for hits by Jennifer Lopez, Ja Rule, the late rapper DMZ and Ashanti, among many other A-list hip-hop and R&B figures.
Gotti's style proved to be commercial gold for many of those artists with crossover appeal in the early 2000s, as he fused radio-friendly melodies with traditional hip-hop beats.
He was involved with high-profile remixes for Jennifer Lopez, among them the Ja Rule–featuring I'm Real remix (2001), which he co-wrote with the rapper and co-produced.
He also co-produced and co-wrote Lopez and Ja Rule's 2002 single Ain't It Funny (Murder Remix) — which was, confusingly, a completely different song from Lopez's solo hit Ain't It Funny (2001), despite sharing the same title.
Ja Rule took a starring turn with Gotti's help on his hit single Always On Time (2001), which featured guest vocals from Ashanti, and the two collaborated the following year on Mesmerize.
Gotti also worked on several solo tunes for Ashanti, including Foolish (2002) and Rain On Me (2003).
At the time, both Ja Rule and Ashanti were signed to Murder Inc., and the strength of those songs and other hits helped the label sell 30 million units globally.
Gotti's style proved to be commercial gold for many artists with crossover appeal in the early 2000s, as he fused radio-friendly melodies with traditional hip-hop beats; pictured in 2017 in Beverly Hills with DJ Khaled (L) and Andre 'Dre' Christopher Lyon (top center)
Gotti co-wrote and produced multiple early 2000s hits for Ja Rule, including his collaborations with Jennifer Lopez and Ashanti; seen together in 2007 in NYC
Gotti (seen in 2022 in LA) was album to co-found Murder Inc. after rising in the industry as an A&R exec at Def Jam who helped set up blockbuster deals with Jay-Z and DMX
Prior to founding Murder Inc., Gotti worked in the A&R division at Def Jam Records, where he was instrumental in getting Jay-Z and DMX — who died in 2021 — to sign with the label.
Prior to Jay signing with the label, Gotti had produced Can I Live from the rapper's 1996 Debut LP Reasonable Doubt.
He also worked as executive producer on DMX's 1997 blockbuster debut It's Dark And Hell Is Hot.
Gotti's newfound fame from those collaborations helped give him the necessary clout to co-found Murder Inc. in 1998 as a subsidiary of Def Jam.
The label, which later rebranded in 2007 as the less-confrontational The Inc., and during that period Gotti signed Vanessa Carlton and co-produced her album Heroes And Thieves in 2007.
But the change in name coincided with a drop in the label's fortunes. Despite its high-profile status, it failed to attract many high-profile acts, and the only solo stars to have released albums up to that time were Ashanti, Ja Rule, Carlton, and the singer Lloyd.
After follow-up releases for Ashanti and Ja Rule underperformed compared to their earlier hits, the label began to shrink, and those headliners began to depart Murder Inc. one by one.
But Gotti continued to offer his production services to major artists, including Kanye West, Fat Joe and Christina Milian.
But the follow-up releases from Murder Inc.'s stars Ja Rule, Ashanti and others failed to live up to their earlier success, and the marquee names began to abandon the label in the late 2000s; seen in 2017 in LA
In 2024, an anonymous woman sued Gotti, claiming he sexually abused her during an abusive relationship from 2020 to 2022. He 'categorically denied' her accusations at the time; Gotti is pictured with Diddy in 2011 in Miami Beach, Florida
He was also able to take a starring role in several smaller-scale instrumental hip-hop albums released under his own name.
Gotti faced significant legal setbacks beginning in 2005, when he and his brother Chris Gotti (born Chris Lorenzo) were hit with federal charges for money laundering and conspiracy to launder money. The two were acquitted in December 2005.
Gotti spent less time working on music and the record business afterward, and he later focused on reality television.
He led the VH1 reality series Gotti's Way from 2007 to 2009, and he developed the fictional series Tales for BET a decade later.
Gotti was also an executive producer on the five-part docuseries The Murder Inc. Story in 2022.
In the documentary, Gotti said he had dated Ashanti while married. Though she didn't deny being involved with him, she claimed that she was never 'his girlfriend.'
The producer faced renewed scrutiny in 2024 after an anonymous woman sued him, claiming he had sexually abused her while carrying on an abusive relationship from 2020 to 2022.
Gotti 'categorically denied' her accusations at the time.
