Kanye West was a producer struggling to become a rapper during Irv Gotti's prime. He was part of the same Roc-A-Fella ecosystem that Gotti was affiliated with. He was just lower on the totem pole. Irv Gotti was the co-founder of Murder Inc, and rubbed shoulders with rap legends like DMX, Ja Rule, and West's big brother, Jay-Z. The mogul died at age 54 on Wednesday night. Kanye West knew good and well the impact Gotti had on the genre at the turn of the century, and paid his respects via Instagram.
Kanye West posted a screenshot of the Variety article confirming Gotti's death. He did not pen a lengthy message, as he's often known to do. He did, however, post a dove emoji. Irv Gotti was best known for his moves behind the scenes, but the Murder Inc. honcho also worked on music. He's listed as a producer in the credits for classic hits like Ashanti's "Foolish" and Jay-Z's "Can I Get A..." One of the last songs that Irv Gotti was credited on was a Kanye West song. He was listed as a songwriter and producer on 2018's "Violent Crimes."
Kanye West Worked With Gotti On 2018's "Violent Crimes"
Irv Gotti also expressed admiration for West during his lifetime. Irv dismissed people who claimed the rapper was unstable during a 2022 interview with The Grio. "He doesn’t like people telling him what he can and cannot do," Gotti noted. "He doesn’t care. You’re not going to tell him how to think or how to feel…he’s not a bad person." The Murder Inc. boss then claimed that he liked the way Kanye West did business. "I love Kanye. Kanye is actually a super family man," he opined.
Kanye West had a radically different reaction to Gotti's passing than 50 Cent. The latter, who famously beefed with Gotti and Ja Rule, decided to diss the Murder Inc. honcho. He posted a photo on Instagram of himself smoking hookah next to a fake tombstone. "I'm smoking on dat Gotti pack," 50 quipped. "Nah God bless him. LOL." He did, interestingly enough, include the same dove emoji that West did.
