R.I.P. CHRIS LIGHTY
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(May 8, 1968 – August 30, 2012) was an American music industry executive. He founded Violator, a record label, management, and marketing company, which represented hip hop artists such as Nas, Ja Rule, Mobb Deep, Missy Elliott, L.L. Cool J, and 50 Cent. He served as Sean "Diddy" Combs' manager.[1] The New York Times called him "one of the most powerful figures in the hip-hop business."[2] Lighty was born in the Bronx, New York on May 8, 1968 and was raised in the Bronx River Housing Projects.[1] His mother was single. He had six siblings. He did not attend college, and stated that he got his "M.B.A. in hell," in reference to growing up on the streets of a dangerous neighborhood.[2]Lighty got his start in the music industry by carrying vinyl record crates for DJ Red Alert. Then Russell Simmons' company, Rush Management, hired him. Lighty founded a management company in the early 1990s called Violator. The company name after gang he was a member of in the Bronx.
Violator was responsible for getting L.L. Cool J a Gap commercial in 1997. He also developed endorsements for Sprite with A Tribe Called Quest, and Mountain Dew with Busta Rhymes.
In 2004, Lighty brokered the largest brand endorsement deal in hip hop to date. He was the architect of what turned out to be one of the most lucrative deals in hip hop history: 50 Cent’s Vitamin Water pact. When Coca-Cola paid $4.1 billion for the company three years later, 50 Cent walked away with $100 million; and Lighty received an undisclosed sum.[3]
In 2011, Lighty launched the website pleaselistentomydemo.com, which allowed new artists to submit their music online and have top music executives listen to it.[4]
Lighty worked for Def Jam, Jive and Loud. He was chief executive of the Brand Asset Group. In 2011, Violator merged with another company called Primary Wave. The two companies merged to form Primary Violator
On August 30, 2012, Lighty was found dead in his Bronx apartment from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head.[2]
The New York Daily News reported that "a gun shot was heard and Lighty was found lying face-up with a 9-mm. pistol next to his body".[5] Forbes magazine reported that he had earlier been involved in an argument with his ex-wife Veronica not too long before he was found dead