Chris Lighty, the 43-year-old hip-hop mogul who has worked with some of the biggest names, died this morning in his South Riverdale apartment. At this time it is believed that he shot himself in the head. Lighty got into the music business around 1988 when he joined Russell Simmons at Rush Management. During his lifetime, he managed the likes of Mariah Carey, Busta Rhymes, Q-Tip, Missy Elliot, Sean "Diddy" Combs, and 50 Cent. He was also the founder and chief executive of Violator Management/Brand Asset Group.
According to AllHipHop, Lighty was going through a difficult divorce, and "had a cryptic auto-reply email message that indicated... he would be hospitalized for an undisclosed ailment as of last night."
As word spreads of his death, his friends and former colleagues have been sharing their thoughts on Twitter:
If you are REALLY in Hip Hop you know Chris...If you're not... You have NO idea how important and what a great person he was..
— ICE T (@FINALLEVEL) August 30, 2012
Chris Lighty was a pioneer in hip hop & the music biz period! He was a good man & a good friend. Prayers for his family & his children..
— OMAR EPPS (@omarepps) August 30, 2012
R I P Chris Lighty SMH to the mongrels that have made the BLACKmusic industry a depressing game to drag such good cats into a pit of bullsht
— Chuck D (@MrChuckD) August 30, 2012
So very sad about Chris lighty..Great long time friend,fellow bronxite and peer...incredible businessman and person
— Jeff Robinson (@thejeffrobinson) August 30, 2012
