Chris Lighty, Founder of Violator Entertainment, Found Dead

Legendary music industry executive Chris Lightly has died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head.

Lighty had been active in the Hip Hop scene since the late-80′s, before founding Violator Entertainment and handling the careers of some of Hip Hop’s biggest names.

From Hip Hop DX:

“Lighty was integral to the careers of 50 Cent, Busta Rhymes, N.O.R.E., Diamond D, and many others. After growing up under the tutelage of Hip Hop icons like DJ Red Alert, Lighty began working professional at Russell Simmons’ RUSH Management firm in the late 1980s, where he helped work with Def Jam Records artists and others in securing endorsement deals and touring.

A part of the Native Tongues at the turn of the decade, Lighty and his brother as The Violators, helped the movement alongside A Tribe Called Quest and De La Soul.

The Violator name carried on in the late 1990s and 2000s, when Lighty launched his own firm. The management company handled clients ranging from Diamond D and Foxy Brown to Busta Rhymes and Q-Tip. In recent years,Lighty was working on Brand Asset Group with Lyor Cohen, his longtime associate and friend, and Warner Music Group. Last September, Violator merged with Primary Wave to form powerhouse management company Primary Violator.”

This is fucking crazy.... RIP Chris

Hip-hop manager Chris Lighty dead of apparent suicide in his Bronx apartment: cops

Lighty, 44, was a longtime manager of 50 Cent, Diddy, Ja Rule and Mariah Carey

By Joe Kemp / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

Thursday, August 30, 2012, 2:27 PM

Johnny Nunez/WireImage.com

Chris Lighty, shown here with Sean "Diddy" Combs, was found dead in his Bronx apartment Thursday.

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Hip-hop mogul Chris Lighty died Thursday morning after apparently shooting himself in the head in his Bronx apartment, sources told the Daily News.

Lighty, 44 — a longtime manager of 50 Cent, Diddy, Ja Rule and Mariah Carey — was found dead inside his South Riverdale apartment about 11:30 a.m., police sources said.

It appeared he died from a bullet to his head, sources said. A gun was recovered next to his body.

Law enforcement sources said Lighty — who divorced his wife, Veronica, last year — may have been dealing with financial struggles, including owing about $5 million to the IRS.

Musicians began Tweeting about Lighty soon after news of his death spread.

“R.I.P. Chris Lighty,” posted Fat Joe on his Twitter account. “That man saved my life.”

Craig Warga/New York Daily News

Chris Lighty

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[Edited 8/30/12 11:50am]

RIP

RIP

Depression is no joke, people

R.I.P.

Peace to his soul. <3

Divorced and broke: His bank account was overdrawn by $53K and he had refused to pay the balance, according to the Associated Press. At the time of his death, he owed more than $330K in delinquent taxes.

I feel sorry for the two young children he left fatherless.

Crazy. I couldn't believe it when I heard. He was a very influential figure in a great era of music. RIP.

Militant said:

Nicki Minaj, Rihanna, Diddy & Others REACT To Chris Lighty's DEATH

RIP Chris Lighty.

I really have to be honest though.....I'm not buying the suicide thing @ all. Maybe I've heard too much nonsense [conspiracies] or whatever when it comes to how the industry is ran. But I always find these kind of situations fishy....

[Edited 8/31/12 1:15am]

Wow. Unbelievable

R.I.P

Always associated him with A Tribe Called Quest

R.I.P. Chris Lighty

The entire music industry is saddened by the news that Violator Entertainment executive Chris Lighty has taken his own life. Industry executive Jeff Robinson made the announcement on his Twitter page today.

Lighty, 44, died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head, according to the NY Daily News.

“Law enforcement sources said Lighty — who divorced his wife, Veronica, last year — may have been dealing with financial struggles, including owing about $5 million to the IRS.”

According to Stunmag.com, Lighty was one of the richest men in music. He is the founder of Violator Management with a star-studded roster that includes 50 Cent, Diddy, Fantasia, Busta Rhymes, Missy Elliot, Mariah Carey and many other top shelf recording artists as clients.

Chris Lighty was reportedly despondent over a failed marriage. Lighty and his estranged wife Veronica, whom he married in 2003, have a son, Jaden, 6.

Following a meeting with Dr. Deepak Chopra in September, Lighty tweeted: “Deep energy in the house. Counseling on life, marriage, business, children, family, Wow…I am getting right.”

Depression is a serious mental illness that is not being adequately addressed in the black community. We have to remove the stigma that surrounds treatment for depression by talking about it often. We can’t continue to lose great minds to this emotionally debilitating disease. Now the music industry has lost a friend and a son has lost a father.

This is so unbelievably sad.....

Tittypants said:

I know Fifty Cent is devastated they we're so close & Chris was instrumental in him getting his mega Vitamin Water deal. I'm waiting on his response to this tragic death...

Chuck D just couldn't wait to go at the industry without realizing dude killed himself because he and his girlfriend was having problems.

Anyway, just sad it had to end like that.

More Details Emerge in De...ris Lighty

The music industry is mourning the death of well-respected music executive Chris Lighty, 44, who shot himself to death following an argument with his ex-wife, Veronica, Thursday morning.

Social networking websites Twitter.com and Facebook are awash with tributes and accolades from friends who were moved to tears by the untimely death of a man who brokered some of the biggest deals in music history.

According to published reports, police responded to Lighty’s posh 5-level red brick townhouse in the upscale South Riverdale area of the Bronx about 11:30 a.m. They found Lighty in his backyard lying face up with a 9mm handgun near his body.

Lighty was one of the most influential men in the music industry. From his humble beginnings carrying crates full of records for the DJ Red Alert, he went on to manage the careers of some of the music industry’s biggest and brightest stars including Mariah Carey, LL Cool J, Missy Elliott, Sean Combs, 50 Cent, A Tribe Called Quest, and Diggy Simmons.

But despite his head-spinning success, Lighty was deeply troubled. Veronica, his trophy wife of 7 years, filed for divorce last year after Lighty reportedly sold his company, Violator Management, to Larry Mestel’s Primary Wave Talent Management to form a new company called Primary Violator Management. Friends say Lighty was not the same guy after his wife left him. Lighty’s longtime business partner Mona Scott-Young had already left Violator Management to pursue her dream of becoming the female Bravo Andy Cohen.

Lighty quickly found himself mired in debt. According to The Washington Post, City National Bank sued Lighty in April, saying he owed $53,584 on an overdrawn account that he refused to pay.

Then the IRS came calling with a $5 million tax bill.

“The blueprint to happiness doesn’t start with Money or Success,” tweeted Lighty, who was forced to sell off 2 Chelsea area condos for $5.6 million to settle his tax bill.

Lighty downsized to a five level, red brick Georgian Townhouse in Riverdale that he purchased for $1,145,000 in March. The “immaculate” end unit townhouse boasted 7 bedrooms, 4.5 baths, 13-foot ceilings in the living room, and a landscaped rear garden.

It was there in his tranquil garden that his demons finally caught up to the man his friends affectionately referred to as “Baby Chris”.

In a tribute to Lighty for NPR, former Billboard and Vibe editor Danyel Smith writes: “Yes, Chris Lighty made history. He helped make hip-hop. He was a success story. He was a sweet and brilliant man. But there will be no more knowing of him — the complexities, the simple s—, nothing. The man in the liner notes, the kid backstage, the dude counting the show money, the father with his children. It’s beyond tragic. Everybody’s Baby Chris is gone.”

We're losing more & more young black men to suicide....The demons inside need to be handled..