Irv Gotti, Murder Inc. Records Cofounder, Dies at 54

Irv Gotti, the famed music producer and cofounder of Murder Inc. Records who worked with artists including Ashanti and Ja Rule, has died at 54, PEOPLE has confirmed.

A cause of death has not been confirmed. However, a source told PEOPLE Gotti had a series of strokes in recent years and was a diabetic. The Hollywood Reporter was the first to report the news of Gotti’s death.

Gotti was open about his health struggles in the months leading to his death. In August, TMZ reported he had a stroke, citing hip-hop record executive and manager Wack 100, who said he had spoken with someone at a stroke recovery facility.

“Irv has been struggling with diabetes for years, which caused him to have a minor stroke over six months ago,” Gotti’s representative told TMZ in August. “He has since changed his diet to eating more healthy. He’s been successful in making a full recovery. Irv is not in a rehab facility. He is at home with his family, enjoying life.”

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Gotti also spoke about his journey with diabetes on an episode of Revolt TV’s Drink Champs in August 2023.

“It runs rapid with Black people,” he said of the condition. “What it does is, it starts deteriorating your body.”

Asked if he “had it under control,” he confessed, “No,” explaining that “it is hereditary.”

Although it’s “reversible,” he said it required a lifestyle change that he was hesitant to make.

In July 2024, he was accused of sexual assault and abuse by a woman who alleged he raped and abused her between 2020 and 2022.

Gotti, born Irving Domingo Lorenzo Jr., began making his contribution to the music industry in the late ’90s. He first worked A&R for Def Jam Recordings and signed legends like DMX, Jay-Z and Ja Rule. Gotti produced Jay-Z’s “Can I Live” from his debut album Reasonable Doubt, released in 1996.

Gotti later co-founded Murder Inc. Records, a subsidiary of Def Jam, in 1998, which launched the careers of Ja Rule, Ashanti, Lloyd and others.

After renaming the label The Inc., Gotti entered the pop scene when he signed Vanessa Carlton. He co-produced her 2007 album Heroes and Thieves alongside Stephan Jenkins of Third Eye Blind and Rick Rubin.

Throughout his decades-long career, he worked with artists like Mariah Carey, Mary J. Blige, Toni Braxton and Jennifer Lopez, producing hits like Ashanti’s breakout hits “Foolish,” and “Always On Time” as well as Lopez and Ja Rule’s collaborations “I’m Real” and “Ain’t It Funny.”

Gotti is survived by his three children: Angie, Sonny and JJ.

Additional reporting by Lawrence Yee.