Irv Gotti | |
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 Gotti in 2005 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Irving Domingo Lorenzo Jr. |
| Also known as |
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| Born | (1970-06-26)June 26, 1970 New York City, U.S. |
| Died | February 5, 2025(2025-02-05) (aged 54) New York City, U.S. |
| Genres | |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 1985–2025 |
| Labels |
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Irving Domingo Lorenzo Jr. (June 26, 1970 – February 5, 2025), professionally known asIrv Gotti orDJ Irv, was an American record producer. Gotti started off as aNew York hip-hop DJ in the 1980s, then becoming anA&R talent scout forTVT Records in 1995 and moved toDef Jam Recordings in 1997. He co-founded the record labelMurder Inc. Records with his brother Chris in 1999, which was an imprint of Def Jam. Gotti is credited with having helped discover or sign rappersJay-Z,DMX, andJa Rule, as well as singersAshanti andLloyd.[1][2][3][4]
Gotti executively produced the debut albums for DMX'sIt's Dark and Hell Is Hot, Ja Rule'sVenni Vetti Vecci, Ashanti'sself titled, and Lloyd'sSouthside. He received production credits for most of the recordings by artists signed to the label—including Ja Rule (Rule 3:36,Pain Is Love,The Last Temptation,R.U.L.E.),The Inc. (Irv Gotti Presents: The Inc.), Ashanti (Chapter II,Concrete Rose), and Lloyd (Street Love)—as well as singles for other artists such asJennifer Lopez (I'm Real (Murder Remix),Ain't It Funny (Murder Remix)),Fat Joe (What's Luv),Eve (Gangsta Lovin'), andKanye West (Violent Crimes), among others.
Rolling Stone magazine andThe New York Times described Gotti as one of the architects of hip-hop and R&B fusion of the late 1990s and early 2000s,[5][6] earning 28Billboard Hot 100 hits, four went to number one on the charts.[7][8] In 2002, Gotti received aGuinness World Record for having produced aBillboard Hot 100 single that held the number one position for nineteen weeks consecutively.[5] Gotti won a Grammy Award in2003 and was nominated once more in2004 both were for his work with Ashanti,[9] he won nineteenBMI Awards, was named a BMI Songwriter of the Year in 2002, 2003, and 2004,[10][11] he was a two time nominee for theMOBO Awards in 2002[12] and 2003,[13] and was nominated for threeBillboard R&B/Hip-Hop Awards in2002[14] and one in2003.[15]
Two highly publicized incidents surrounding Gotti occurred around the turn of the century, the first being afeud between Murder Inc. and G-Unit from 1999 to 2003. The second occurred from 2002 to 2005 when the United States government opened a three year longinvestigation and trial on the relationship of the Lorenzo brothers and Murder Inc. with drug lordKenneth McGriff, where Irv and his brother Chris, were acquitted of money-laundering charges.[16][17][18]
Gotti pivoted to television in the late 2000s first starring in theVH1 reality showGotti's Way from 2007 to 2009. He was the creator of the 2017–2022BET seriesTales, which was produced through his entertainment production company,Visionary Ideas. In July 2022, he sold the rights to hismaster recordings, through a multi million dollar production deal with Iconoclast. Gotti had other shows and movies in development at the time of his death.
Irving Domingo Lorenzo Jr. was born in theHollis neighborhood ofQueens,New York City, on June 26, 1970.[19][20][21] Lorenzo was ofAfrican-American andFilipino descent, though he was commonly mistaken for havingDominican heritage.[22] His father Irving was a taxicab driver anddispatcher. He was the youngest of eight siblings, including two sisters and an older brother named Christopher, who later became known as Chris Gotti.[3][23][24]
Gotti's career started as a preteen when his sister Christina bought him turntables for his birthday. Under the moniker DJ Irv, he would makemixtapes with beats and DJ mixes in the family basement, selling them for $10 at local barbershops. According to rapperJaz-O, Gotti was one of the first to do hip-hop street mixtapes.[25] Many of his initial mixtape customers were hustlers anddrug dealers, and for a brief period Gotti was a small-time dealer of bothcocaine andcrack cocaine. After a run in with local police, however, he left the trade.[26] By the age of fifteen, Gotti would go on to DJ at parties at local parks and nightclubs inQueens.[6] This caught the attention of record executiveRussell Simmons,[18] and rappersRev Run andLL Cool J would visit his family's home as word spread.[23]
In 1987, Gotti and Jaz-O were under the same management company Joss Productions, and Jaz-O's record label had an idea to record an album with a concept similar toDJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince, with Gotti as the DJ, Jaz-O as the rapper andJay-Z as thehype man. While recording the albumWord to the Jaz in London in 1988, Jay-Z and Gotti began to foster their relationship on the trip.[27][28][29][30][31] In 1988,[30] while on a promotional tour for Jaz-O, Gotti was roommates with producerChad Elliott, who later introduced him inYonkers toDMX and brothers Joaquin "Waah" and Darrin "Dee" Dean, who had mentioned they were creating a company calledRuff Ryders together. In 1989, Elliott and Gotti worked on a beat calledBorn Loser, which became one of DMX's firstmusic demo's and was later released as his debut single in 1992.[32][25][24][31] ProducerLarge Professor later taught Gotti how to produce on aE-mu SP-12 andAkai S950 while recording the 1991 remix forIt's a Boy bySlick Rick.[31]
One of the first musicians he discovered was rapperMic Geronimo at a local high school talent show.[33][34] Gotti, under the moniker DJ Irv, produced and independently distributed the 1993 recording ofShit's Real by Mic Geronimo; the single was re-released in 1994 underTVT Records. This helped Gotti secure a job as a talent scout in theA&R department at the record label, where he was hired bySteve Gottlieb[1] in 1995.[35] During his time at TVT, he signed Mic Geronimo and Queens-based rap group Cash Money Click, of which rapperJa Rule was a member, after discovering them in 1991.[1][2][24][36] Gotti produced songs on Mic Geronimo's 1995 debut albumThe Natural, which rap supergroupMurder Inc. consisting of DMX, Ja Rule, and Jay-Z was first featured on the songTime to Build.[33] An advance of $50—$75,000 forBorn Loser had allowed the Dean brothers to build Powerhouse Studios and invest in office space for Ruff Ryders headquarters. Gotti convinced Waah to buy him aAkai MPC60[31] drum machine to produce records for DMX, which resulted in the 1995 singleMake a Move.[37][32]
In 1995,[25][38] Jay-Z claimed DJ Irv to be "The Don of Hip-Hop", giving him the moniker Irv Gotti, which was inspired by mobsterJohn Gotti.[3] Gotti later produced the songCan I Live from Jay-Z's 1996 debut album,Reasonable Doubt, and helped serviceAin't No Playa to radio. He also acted as Jay-Z's tour DJ, and helped create the joint venture between Roc-A-Fella Records and Def Jam in 1997.[5]
In 1997, DMX was featured on the albumVendetta by Mic Geronimo which Gotti executively produced. The same year,[39] through Gotti, Def Jam signed Ruff Ryders artist DMX. Initially, there was a dispute over signing DMX and Gotti had threatened to leave the company if they did not follow through with signing him.[5][24] Gotti, as executive producer, oversaw DMX's first studio album,It's Dark and Hell is Hot, released on May 12, 1998. The album debuted and peaked atop theBillboard 200 and sold over 250,000 copies in its first week.[40] The album went on to sell four million copies in the United States, being certified quadruple platinum by the RIAA, and sold five million copies worldwide.[41]
Gotti was an A&R for Def Jam on the 1997 albumsBack in Business byEPMD,How to Be a Player soundtrack and the 1998 albumsFlesh of My Flesh, Blood of My Blood by DMX, theBelly soundtrack, and theRush Hour soundtrack. One of his last major singles produced under solely Def Jam wasHot Spot by Foxy Brown.[26] Gotti turned down demo tapes from a young50 Cent in 1997 suggesting his sound was too similar to Jay-Z afterJam Master Jay had shown the songs for a potential record deal.[42] 50 Cent would be featured in his first studio release on the 1998 singleReact for theOnyx albumShut 'Em Down which Gotti was the A&R for. He also helped advise a youngPitbull in 1998 to write records instead of only freestyle rapping.[43] In 1998, Gotti co-produced his first Hot 100 single Jay-Z'sCan I Get A... featuring Ja Rule andAmil.
After helpingDef Jam with the success of Jay-Z and the pending development of DMX, the label had grown over $100 million in value,[5] and from 1997[36] to 1998[3]Lyor Cohen planned to give Gotti his own label under Def Jam, which he co-founded with his brother Chris in 1999.[35][2] While watchingBiography onA&E during gangster week, aMurder, Inc. logo appeared on the screen and Gotti decided to use the name for his label because Murder, Inc. put out hits for murder and Gotti wanted to put out hit records. The label was given $3 million to start up with,[24][33] and an additional $5 million more in label advances after renegotiation.[35] Prior to the label's founding, Gotti was first earning $30,000[35] a year in salary and later $60,000 annually.[33]
The first album released under Murder Inc. was Ja Rule's 1999 debut album,Venni Vetti Vecci. Gotti was the album's executive producer and oversaw the development of all of the album. The album's singleHolla Holla earned Ja Rule his first top 40 Hot 100 hit.[7] Gotti also executive produced Ja Rule's second studio album,Rule 3:36.[44][45] Gotti contributed to a majority of the album soundtrack forThe Fast and the Furious, while his brother Chris co-executively produced the album. He also contributed to the soundtrack forRomeo Must Die and executively producedIrv Gotti Presents: The Murderers.[46] Gotti, Ja Rule, and Murder Inc. were all involved in awell-publicized feud from 1999 to 2003[47] with G-Unit Records, Aftermath Records, and Shady Records over the history between 50 Cent and Ja Rule.
Gotti metAshanti through a mutual friend; initially, he had too many projects to also work on her music but invited her to visit the studio while he executively produced on Ja Rule's 2001 albumPain Is Love. After months of being around the studio together, Ashanti was placed on the 2001 singleHow We Roll byBig Pun.[30] The 2001 singleI'm Real (Murda Remix) byJennifer Lopez was Gotti’s first number one on the Hot 100. Following this, herAin't It Funny remix, as well as Ja Rule'sAlways on Time featuring Ashanti, went to number one on the Hot 100. Ashanti's Gotti-produced 2002 debut singleFoolish was their second number one together.What's Luv byFat Joe featuring Ashanti was released a week prior and peaked at number two.[8] In 2003, Ashanti and Gotti won the inauguralGrammy Award for Best Contemporary R&B Album for her debut self titled. The following year, they were nominated for theGrammy Award for Best R&B Song withRock wit U (Awww Baby).[9]
In 2002, Gotti releasedIrv Gotti Presents The Inc, featuring the Murder Inc. roster. Gotti executively produced the albumThe Last Temptation for Ja Rule, and produced the singleRainy Dayz forMary J. Blige the same year. His relationship with Jay-Z soured for a brief period in 2002 when Gotti tried to signNas, whom Jay-Z had beenfeuding with, to a record deal with Murder Inc.[48][49][27] Lorenzo frequently usedMDMA pills for a three year period around 2002 which caused rifts with Jennifer Lopez and Nas, many of his notable records were made under the influence at the time.[50][51][26] Around 2002, Gotti began to network with record executivesSuge Knight andJames Prince with plans to form a union and distribution company for recording artists, all three encountered legal issues simultaneously so the concept was halted.[52][53][18]
In January of 2003 the United States government opened public investigations, which had been privately conducted during the year prior, on Gotti's and Murder Inc.'s relationship with drug lordKenneth McGriff founder of the organized crime syndicate theSupreme Team. Due to the ongoing feuds and investigations, in December 2003, Murder Inc. changed their name to "The Inc."[54][17] and did a rebrand of their website without mob imagery.[1] During the same year Gotti executively produced Ashanti'sChapter II andAshanti's Christmas, as well as Ja Rule'sBlood in My Eye album. Gotti began working with singerLloyd in 2004,[10] he executively produced the albumsSouthside for Lloyd,R.U.L.E. for Ja Rule, andConcrete Rose for Ashanti that year.
In the first five years of inception, from 1999 to 2004, the label earned $50 million in profit from the sale of 14 million CDs.[55] Annually, the label grossed over $100 million during this period,[24] going on to sell over 30 million albums,[5] and nearly a $1 billion for Universal and Island Def Jam for almost a decade.[38] Throughout the peak run of Murder Inc., Gotti worked predominately with his Top Dawg crew of producers, which included7 Aurelius,Chink Santana, Lil' Rob and Jimi Kendrix.[56][57][34][58][59][60] Gotti's rate for a song at that time was as high as $250,000, ten years after he could command no more than $10,000 to produce a record.[61]
After the McGriff legal cases were settled in December 2005, Universal Records offered $10 million in an advance and provisions for Gotti to buy his master recordings. Gotti had considered leaving Universal to make a new label with hedge fund managerLarry Goldfarb for $30 million, or joining Warner Music with Lyor Cohen, but after a low offer from Warner and a counteroffer from Universal record executiveDoug Morris, Gotti stayed with Universal. Gotti also dealt with contract disputes related to Lloyd in the same year.[62][63] Production for Gotti's first television showGotti's Way began in 2006.[64]
Under The Inc. banner, Gotti moved the label toUniversal Motown and signedVanessa Carlton,[65] executively producing withStephan Jenkins her third album,Heroes & Thieves, which was released October 2007.[63] Lloyd released the albumStreet Love the same year andLessons in Love the following year, both were executively produced by Gotti. Gotti starred in a television reality series produced byVH1 calledGotti's Way from 2007 to 2009.[24] In May 2009 Gotti and the Inc. split ways with Ashanti and parted ways with Lloyd in September 2009.[66][67][68] After The Inc.'s distribution deal ended in 2009[69] the label started to struggle as more artists[70] and in-house producers left.[57][71] Gotti had offered to sign rapperNicki Minaj but she countered with an offer for him to become her manager which he declined, he later helped inspire her to write the 2010 singleMoment 4 Life.[72][73]
In 2011 Gotti unsuccessfully campaigned to become the president of Def Jam,[74] as well abandoning projects forShyne andThe Diplomats.[69] In 2012 Gotti executively produced Ja Rule'sPain Is Love 2 album. In September 2013, Murder Inc. was relaunched as an umbrella label under Gotti's new label, Visionary.[75]
Gotti began production on the BET showTales in 2016,[76] the show premiered in June 2017.[77] In May 2017, Gotti and300 Entertainment announced a partnership.[70][78] In 2018 Gotti co-producedViolent Crimes andBrothers byKanye West.
In July 2022, he signed a distribution deal withKevin Liles'300 Elektra Entertainment.[79] That same month, Gotti sold his fifty percent ownership stake in the master recordings of Murder Inc. to brand management and music rights company Iconoclast for $100 million. Another $200 million as a line of credit was included to produce film and television projects for his company, Visionary Ideas Entertainment. He was in the process of creating a show calledDouble Threat and turning the TV showTales into a movie,Tales Presents: We Made it in America, which included a theme song by Jay-Z, Kanye West, andFrank Ocean. Gotti also created a development deal with Viacom/CBS, which catered toBET andShowtime at the time.[80][81][82] In August 2022, BET released a five-part documentary which Gotti starred in,The Murder Inc Story, detailing the history of the record label, the FBI investigations, and the feuds of the era.[82] In August 2024 Gotti announced he was producing a biopic on DMX.[83]
On January 3, 2003, federal agents of theDOJ,IRS, andNew York Police Department investigators raided the headquarters of Murder Inc., located atOne Worldwide Plaza inMidtown Manhattan, after a $65 million check from Universal Music was written.[84] The raid was a part of a year-long investigation into the connection between the Lorenzo brothers and American drug lordKenneth "Supreme" McGriff. Investigators believed that the Lorenzos used over $1 million[33] indrug money supplied by McGriff to launch Murder Inc. as a way to launder the illegal funds. Investigators also believed the brothers helped McGriff launder drug money through the making of the 2003 filmCrime Partners.[85] Although computers and documents were seized, no charges were immediately filed, and no arrests were immediately made. The probe was handled by prosecutorsCarolyn Pokorny,Richard Weber, and Tracy Dayton.[35] A week after the FBI seized bank accounts of companies related to the production and soundtrack of the filmCrime Partners 2000 and two weeks later subpoenas for financial documents from Universal were requested.[18][86] At the time Gotti was represented by law firmKaye Scholer.[55]
Chris and Irv "Gotti" Lorenzo's history with McGriff dated back to around 1995 at Irv's first music video shoot across the street from a Kentucky Fried Chicken McGriff frequented.[38] When McGriff, newly paroled from prison, met Chris and Irv through a mutual friend. McGriff wanted to go into film production and sought help from the Lorenzo brothers to produce and direct a film based onDonald Goines' novelCrime Partners he had read while in jail. The Lorenzos from then on maintained a friendship with McGriff, helping initially finance for $250,000-300,000[38][55] then a $500,000 advance on a $1 million soundtrack deal[86] for the dream film project,Crime Partners 2000.[23][35] The film had McGriff credited as producer and co-writer, was releaseddirect-to-video, and had appearances by Ja Rule,Charli Baltimore,Snoop Dogg, andIce-T.[2][35]
On January 25, 2005, the Lorenzos, talent manager Ronald Robinson, and bookkeeper Cynthia Brent[87] surrendered to authorities in New York City and were officially charged withmoney laundering and conspiracy to launder money. The brothers were released on $1 million bonds after putting up their parent's home to receive the funds.[87] The trial was presided over by judgeEdward Korman.[88] A task force was created by the office ofRoslynn Mauskopf withRaymond Kelly,Pasquale D'Amuro, Michael J. Thomas, and William G. McMahon.[1][89][17] During the trial, Irv was represented byGerald B. Lefcourt, and Chris was represented byGerald Shargel, if convicted the brothers and the two Murder Inc staff members each could have faced an unlikely maximum of 20 years in prison.[90][87] On December 2, 2005, the Lorenzos were acquitted of all charges.[91] Legal fees were in excess of $10 million.[92]
In July 2024, a lawsuit was filed inMiami-Dade by aJane Doe plantiff against Lorenzo alleging that he sexually assaulted and abused her over a two-year relationship between 2020 and 2022 inSaint Martin, Miami, and Atlanta. The woman alleges they had met at a poker tournament in the summer of 2020.[93][94] The compliant alleges on a January 2022 trip at a hotel in Miami Gotti forced her to perform oral sex in an elevator at a Four Seasons hotel and in an Uber ride on a following trip to Atlanta later in the year.[95]
From 2003 to 2013, Lorenzo was married to his wife Debra (also known as Debbie). The couple had two sons and a daughter together.[96] Lorenzo claimed he hadromantically dated Ashanti while separated from his wife, which the singer denied, though she did confirm they werecasually dating at one point. The two had a tumultuous relationship with communication breaking down in 2009 when Ashanti left The Inc.[97][98][67]
Lorenzo had two properties inEncino, California, he previously owned a home inSherman Oaks[99] and inNew Rochelle.[87]
Lorenzo, who was diagnosed with diabetes, avoided hospitals and doctors for years, and struggled to takeinsulin and change his diet.[100] In early 2024, Lorenzo suffered a minor stroke, as a result of his diabetes, which caused him to walk with a cane.[100][3] On February 5, 2025, he died inNew York City at the age of 54, from ahemorrhagic stroke he suffered while eatingAmerican Chinese food and playing poker with friends in the days leading up to his death.[100][101][102][103]
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