Can he live...

Irv Gotti is one of the best producer/execs in hip hop. No I did not mean to say "was" one of the best. The point is, he still is one of the best. The poor guy just can't catch a break due to loyalty. See if Irv would have taken a lesson from Hov's book, then he would have dropped the dead weight that he was carrying.

Let's be honest, Ja Rule wasn't all that talented. Neither was any of the other rappers over at Murder Inc. Ashanti, Lloyd, and Vanessa Carlton were the most talented performing artists to be signed to The Inc. The keys to their successful run from, 1999 to 2004, were Irv's instincts and the production team. Look what he did; he made Ja Rule into a star! That alone deserves an award. Ja's lyrical content was sub par and his image was cloned from DMX/2Pac. But under Irv, Ja sold over 10 million albums. Irv was also very instrumental in the Rocafella movement early on. We can't forget that he produced the lead single from Jay-Z's best selling album. (Can I Get A... from Jay-Z's Vol. 2... Hard Knock Life) He is a master at producing, scouting for talent, promoting, marketing, networking, and pushing records. But he is not so good with separating the streets, friends, and business. Have you ever seen one of those Dave Chappelle skits "When keeping it real goes wrong"? Well that is exactly what Irv Gotti did. His association to Kenneth "Supreme" McGriff pulled him into a hole that he has yet to come out of. Add that to a beef with, then, juggernaut 50 Cent, federal cases, marital problems, tax issues, lack of record sales, and being shunned by the industry. The results is one of the best music execs riding the bench. Do I think Gotti can return? Yes I do. How, when, and where is what I don't know. According to Irv, Rick Ross would be a bigger success today if he had signed to The Inc. Take a look at the video below and you will see what I'm talking about.