Irv Gotti’s Murder Inc. has reportedly signed a multi-year distribution deal with Kevin Liles‘ 300 Elektra Entertainment.
According to Billboard, the deal was finalized on July 6 and means 300 Entertainment will now exclusively distribute physical and digital formats of all Murder Inc. records moving forward. Gotti told the publication he still maintains ownership of all Murder Inc. masters under the new deal.
“I’m excited to join forces with Kevin Liles again, as we take it back to our roots, where we generated over a billion dollars in revenue at Universal Music Group,” Gotti said, referring to when Murder Inc. belonged to UMG/Def Jam during Liles’ tenure as president. “I look to continue to build our legacy together and foster a new generation of artists and timeless music.”
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In June, Gotti sold a 50 percent ownership stake of Murder Inc.’s masters to Oliver Chastan and his company Iconoclast. The $300 million acquisition included a $100 million payout that was tied up with $200 million in funding for future media projects in TV and film. Gotti was visibly emotional in a video he shared when he finalized the monumental deal.
“This is a big day for me,” he said on Instagram as he wrapped up the paperwork. “I’m signing a deal that’s basically gonna change the lives of my family… my sons, my daughter… and I can’t help but think of Poppi, man.”
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In the caption, Gotti wrote, “I FUCKING DID IT!! Signed my deal. Can’t lie. I got a lil emotional. Thinking about Poppi. And also thinking about how me and my family grew up. No money. To this. Also thinking about my beautiful kids. I looked At them and I said YOU GUYS ARE GOOD. LOL. Just feeling very Surreal.
“And very Thankful to GOD. GOD has been holding my hand walking me too a lot of gold. I know Poppi and Vee is up there like BLESS MY BOY!! All my people. @visionaryideas is about to deliver some great content. I sold my Past. To ignite my FUTURE. Watch your boy go.”
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Meanwhile, Irv Gotti recently told HipHopDX he knew JAY-Z, DMX and Ja Rule were “gonna conquer the world.”
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In 1995, Gotti convinced the three rappers to form the supergroup Murder Inc., which would later become the name of his label. Their run was incredibly brief and the trio never did release an official album.
Speaking on the red carpet at the 2022 BET Awards, the mogul talked about his upcoming Murder Inc. documentary series and said it would include insight into the short-lived supergroup and why they never released an album.
“It’s all in the doc,” he said. “Watch the doc. That group was something that I felt special about ’cause all three of them is like my brothers. I knew all three of them like 10 years before we all got on. I knew Jay since ’87, I knew X since ’88, I knew Ja since ’91. Just understand, I knew that those three was gonna conquer the world before they conquered the world. So that project was just me being greedy, knowing they all nice and I wanted to do an album.”
