Irv Gotti

Irv Gotti — born Irving Domingo Lorenzo Jr. in Hollis, Queens in 1970 — rose from a neighborhood DJ to become one of hip-hop’s most powerful producers and executives. As the co-founder of Murder Inc. Records, he helped shape the sound of late-1990s and early-2000s hip-hop and R&B—launching the careers of Ja Rule and Ashanti, playing a pivotal role in bringing DMX and Jay-Z into the Def Jam orbit, and carrying Hollis with him in every move he made. He died on February 5, 2025, at the age of 54.

Raised in Hollis

Gotti grew up in Hollis, Queens, in a household of eight siblings. By his own account, his early years were genuinely humble — he received a free lunch ticket at school and came home to rice and beans. He was surrounded by the same Hollis streets that produced Run-DMC and LL Cool J, and those artists became his inspiration. He learned to DJ and make beats, and that drive to create became everything.

“He comes from a very tight, beautiful family from Queens,” said Lyor Cohen, global head of music at Google and YouTube. It was a biography that never left him. Gotti’s entire strategy as a music executive was built around homegrown, local talent — finding the people closest to him, the people he understood, and making them stars.

From Hollis DJ to Def Jam Power Broker

Gotti’s first major production break came through Queens MC Mic Geronimo. It was Jay-Z himself who gave him the name “Irv Gotti” — to toughen up the image of a Hollis DJ who was clearly going somewhere. He joined Def Jam as an A&R executive and quickly proved himself indispensable: he was instrumental in signing DMX, whose debut album he executive produced, and he helped bring Jay-Z into the Def Jam orbit, producing “Can I Live” on Reasonable Doubt. At a moment when Def Jam needed rescuing, Gotti delivered.

Murder Inc. Records

In 1999, Gotti founded Murder Inc. Records with his brother Chris as a Def Jam subsidiary. What followed was a remarkable run: Ja Rule became one of the biggest names in hip-hop and R&B crossover, and Ashanti’s 2002 self-titled debut went multi-platinum and won Gotti a Grammy for Best Contemporary R&B Album. The label sold over 30 million albums worldwide. At its peak, Murder Inc. was the sound of early 2000s mainstream America — built by a man from Hollis, Queens.

Legacy

After navigating a highly publicized federal trial (he and his brother were acquitted of money laundering charges in 2005), Gotti transitioned into television. He remained a visible, vocal figure in hip-hop culture until his death. When he passed, tributes poured in from across the industry. “One concept,” said radio personality Miss Jones, who knew him well. “And he believed in it — local, homegrown talent.”

That was always the Hollis way.