Irv Gotti was born as Irving Domingo Lorenzo Jr in New York. In his productions, he mixed hip-hop beats with melodic elements and paved the way for a wave of crossover tracks where rap and R'n'B were blended.
Gotti initially worked at Def Jam, where he, among other things, produced the Jay-Z track "Can I live" from the artist's debut album "Reasonable doubt". In 1998, he started, together with his brother Chris, Murder Inc, a subsidiary of Def Jam. Ja Rule's debut album "Venni vetti vecci" became one of Murder Inc's first major successes.
According to Billboard, Gotti has produced 28 tracks that have made it onto the American top 100 list, with artists, in addition to those already mentioned, such as Jay-Z, Mary J Blige, and DMX. In 2003, he received a Grammy for having co-produced Ashanti's debut album.
Murder Inc and the Gotti brothers were investigated by the FBI in the mid-2000s for suspected ties to a drug dealer. Even though they were acquitted, the attention surrounding the case damaged the company's reputation.
The cause of death is still unknown, but Irv Gotti suffered a stroke last year and has also struggled with diabetes-related health problems.
