A private funeral service for Murder Inc. co-founder Irv Gotti was held Wednesday (Feb. 19) at the Greater Allen A.M.E. Cathedral of New York.
Among those in attendance, according to TMZ, were Murder Inc. artists Ja Rule, Ashanti, Lloyd, Charli Baltimore and Vita. Also at the service, in addition to Gotti’s family, were Jay-Z (sitting in the front row), Gayle King, Fat Joe, industry executive Steve Stoute, music video/film director Hype Williams, fellow director Benny Boom and radio personality/podcaster Angie Martinez.
An emotional Ja Rule gave the eulogy, a clip of which appeared on X. “I won’t take up any more time,” said the rapper as he stood before the mourners. “I just want to say Irv, I love you. Everyone in this room loves you. You touched everybody in your own way and everybody has their moments of that with you. We’re all here in celebration of your life because it will live on forever. I love you my brother; see you when I get there.”
Gotti died on Feb. 5 at the age of 54 after suffering a stroke. In the wake of his success in helping to bring DMX to Def Jam, Gotti and his brother Chris co-founded Murder Inc. Records — titled after the crime syndicate of the same name — in 1998. As an imprint of the pioneering hip-hop label, Murder Inc. signed rapper Ja Rule as its flagship artist. Gotti also discovered and signed teenage singer and future R&B star Ashanti.
Over the course of his career as an executive and creative, Gotti logged producer credits on 28 charting Billboard Hot 100 hits from Ja Rule, Ashanti, DMX, Jay-Z, Mary J. Blige, Fat Joe and Ye.
