Obituary: Irv Gotti, music executive

Famed hip-hop music executive Irv Gotti launched the careers of rappers such as Jay-Z, DMX and Ja Rule in a career which took him from DJing to record company mogul. Born Irving Domingo Lorenzo jun in Queens, Gotti started out as a talent scout for the revered Def Jam label in the mid-1990s, before co-founding the Def Jam secondary label Murder, Inc with his brother Chris. That label helped launch the careers of Ja Rule and Ashanti, among others.

Gotti and his brother stood trial in the early 2000s over their ties to a known drug kingpin, but they were both cleared of the charges. The case was closely watched by some of the music industry’s biggest stars, and Ja Rule called it a "war against hip-hop". After the trial Gotti moved into broadcasting, first starring in a reality series based on his life, then creating successful hip-hop-inspired anthology series Tales.

Diagnosed with diabetes, Gotti struggled to manage the condition and died on February 5 aged 54. — APL/agencies