NNPA NEWSWIRE — Hip-hop icon and record executive Irving “Irv Gotti” Lorenzo Jr., the mastermind behind Murder Inc. Records, has died at 54.
![LL Cool J, 2017 Kennedy Center Honoree delivers remarks after receiving his Kennedy Center Honor medal at the Kennedy Center Honor Dinner at the U.S. Department of State in Washington, D.C. on December 2, 2017. [State Department Photo/ Public Domain]](https://blackpressusa.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/ll-cool-j-featured-web-1000x600.jpg)
![LL Cool J, 2017 Kennedy Center Honoree delivers remarks after receiving his Kennedy Center Honor medal at the Kennedy Center Honor Dinner at the U.S. Department of State in Washington, D.C. on December 2, 2017. [State Department Photo/ Public Domain]](https://blackpressusa.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/ll-cool-j-featured-web-400x240.jpg)
![LL Cool J, 2017 Kennedy Center Honoree delivers remarks after receiving his Kennedy Center Honor medal at the Kennedy Center Honor Dinner at the U.S. Department of State in Washington, D.C. on December 2, 2017. [State Department Photo/ Public Domain]](https://blackpressusa.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/ll-cool-j-featured-web-80x80.jpg)
NNPA NEWSWIRE — In 1984, LL Cool J became one of the first artists signed to Def Jam Records, a fledgling label co-founded by Russell Simmons...
