Ashanti has responded to the recent death of Murda Inc. co-founder Irv Gotti, with an emotional message that mourns the producer and executive while acknowledging past difficulties in their relationship.
Irv produced some of Ashanti’s biggest hits, and led the label during her 2000s stardom. In recent years, Ashanti looked back at that time (usually in response to public comments from Gotti), and accused the executive of “manipulation” during her early career.
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“I can’t believe things ended like this….and it makes me so sad,” the singer’s message began.
“We weren’t on the best terms the past few years but as I’ve always said, through our ups and downs I will forever be grateful for everything that you’ve done for me. We made history and that will remain infinite.
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“I’ve always respected your musical genius and ability to push me to be my best.. All the greatness and positive things that came, far outweigh the dark and negative times.
“I have always prayed for you to find peace. Sending love and prayers to the entire family.”
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Check the message below.
Back in 2022, Ashanti opened up about her relationship with Gotti, claiming her former Murder Inc. boss told numerous lies about what he said was their romance.
In a candid interview with Angie Martinez on her IRL podcast that October, the “Foolish” singer shared her side of the story, setting the record straight on her and Gotti’s relationship.
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“Let’s clear this up,” she said around the 34-minute mark. “We’re not gonna say relationship. We dealt with each other, but was Irv my boyfriend? Was I his girlfriend? Never … Irv had several girlfriends, so I’m a little confused by the label and the description.”
Elsewhere, Ashanti accused Irv Gotti of “flat-out” lying about the nature of their relationship and suggested he misconstrued their bond, which produced a number of hit singles and albums during Murder Inc.’s heyday in the early 2000s.
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“I think that Irv definitely has his side and his version,” she said. “You know, like, you may think that it’s something and the other person knows that it’s not, and you manifest this thing into something big and it’s really not that. And then when that person finally realizes that it’s not that, it turns them into a completely different person.
“Irv has flat-out lied about a lot of things. And the crazy thing is, when we were in a good space, a positive space — pillow talk is a dangerous thing, and there are so many things that I know. I don’t have the desire to expose certain things. I’m happy, I’m in a different space … I don’t play in the mud.”
She added: “It’s weird. It’s very weird when you know you’re lying and you just keep lying. That’s where it becomes a little scary and a little mental because it’s like, ‘Dawg, we can see [the lies].’”
Although she didn’t flat-out deny that there was no romance between them, Ashanti believes that Irv Gotti “manipulated” her at a time when she was young and naïve.
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“I definitely feel like manipulation played a heavy part into me and Irv’s situation,” she reflected. “He would say stuff like, ‘No one wants to record with you, nobody fucks with you like that.’ On one hand, he would make it feel like family-family-family, and on the other hand, he would tell me, ‘Nobody even likes you.’
“It was hard because that gullible little Suzie [was like], ‘Why? How come? I don’t even know them, why they don’t like me?’ Growing and becoming a woman and more mature, then you start to reflect on certain things and it’s like, ‘Oh, that’s what was going on!’”
