Irv Gotti, the legendary founder of Murder Inc. label that served as the launching pad for the prosperous careers of rapper Ja Rule and singer Ashanti, has died. He was 54.
Irv Gotti reportedly suffered another stroke
On Tuesday evening, reports that Gotti suffered a second and much more severe stroke had begun circulating widely among urban publications, particularly AllHipHop.com. Moreover, the severity of the stroke caused secondary brain bleeding. Though the publication was unable to confirm irrefutably, the publication stated that inside sources informed them that Gotti was on life support and the edge of death.
On Wednesday morning, according to Rolling Stone and The Hollywood Reporter, Gotti has died, although those publications are unable to state what precipitated his sudden passing.
Irv Gotti took six months to admit he had the 1st stroke in 2024
Gotti’s death happened about one year after Gotti had suffered what his rep said was a “minor stroke.” Initially Gotti’s inner circle refused to confirm the rumors until six months later in the fall of 2024 after a photo circulated online showing a much slimmer Gotti walking gingerly with a cane.
Afterward, Gotti conducted successive interviews with outlets such as the “Drink Champs” podcast. He confirmed that he indeed suffered a stroke in the spring of 2024, which was precipitated by complications from diabetes. He also confessed that he did not adhere to the strict insulin and exercise regimen, as prescribed by his physician, and had refused to eat healthily which partly led to the first stroke.
Irv Gotti named himself after his idol, the feared gangster John Gotti
Gotti was born in the Hollis section of the Queens borough in New York as Irving Domingo Lorenzo Jr. He later adopted the name of his idol and late legendary gangster John Gotti, aka “The Dapper Don” and “The Teflon Don.”
Working in A&R at Def Jam, Gotti is credited as a major force in the revitalization of the label in the latter part of the 1990s. He was instrumental in bringing Jay-Z and the late DMX to the label. Moreover, Gotti produced “Can I Live” on Jay-Z’s 1996 smash debut, Reasonable Doubt, and served as executive producer on DMX’s debut album It’s Dark and Hell Is Hot in 1998, which sold four million copies and catapulted the Yonkers native into rap superstardom.
Based on that momentum, Gotti formed a subsidiary of Def Jam with Murder Inc. label, which rocketed Ja Rule and Ashanti into musical orbit at the turn of the century and the first part of the 2000s.
In 2005, the U.S. Department of Justice charged Gotti and his brother, Chris Lorenzo (aka Chris Gotti), with laundering money and conspiracy to launder money from famed drug lord Kenneth “Supreme” McGriff and funneling it through Murder Inc. The FBI’s case, however, was deemed flimsy and the brothers were acquitted of the charges that same year.
Irv Gotti steered into television during his last years
Afterward, Gotti detoured from music and began immersing himself in television programming. A reality show on VH1’s “Gotti’s Way” ran from 2007 to 2009. And in 2017 Gotti developed “Tales” for BET, a fictional show that formulated the theme of each episode on a rap song. In 2022, Gotti also executive produced “The Murder Inc. Story,” a five-part docuseries that chronicled the rise and fall of the influential label.
