Last week, Chris Lighty a very influential man in Hip-Hop
passed away. He came up in the industry carry music crates for DJ Red Alert then
working for Russell Simmons. Chris Lighty turned that hard work into creating a
label of his own Violator Records. Violator was the home to such artist as
Missy Elliot, 50 Cent, LL Cool J and Busta Rhymes.
Lighty’s passing was felt all across the industry, the
various people he worked with or came in contact with. With each message they
left on twitter you can tell he was an inspiration to the people he managed,
others in the music industry, and close friends and family.
Nick Cannon tweeted, “I'm devastated right now. I can't
believe my big brother Chris Lighty is gone... He was a pioneer, a mentor, and
a great friend RIP.”
Russell Simmons tweeted, “RIP Chris Lighty. Today, we lost a
hip-hop hero and one of its greatest architects...”
Below is a video of Chris Lighty talking about what it took
to be in the music industry. He also talked about how persistent he had to be
to make it.
Chris Lighty’s presence will truly be missed in the music
industry. He was a man that thought outside of the box. Always thinking of ways
to make deals work for himself and most importantly his artists. He knew that
no matter how high your status became in the industry the work was not
over. I think anyone looking to get into
the music industry or become an artist manager needs to look to Chris Lighty as
an example of how it should be done. Work hard for your clients and build
lasting relationships in the industry, not just business relationship but also
personal relationships. My condolences go out to his family and friends for
their lost of such a great person.
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