Irv Gotti Wants to Head Def Jam, Says Without Leadership The Label Will Die

Def Jam has has its share of executives such as Russell Simmons, Rick Rubin, Lyor
Cohen and Kevin Liles, but Murda Inc.’s Irv Gotti doesn’t want you to forget about the contributions that he’s made to the label, especially that lucrative deal between Roc-A-Fella and Def Jam. Irv not only served as one of the producers on Jay-Z’s debut album ‘Reasonable Doubt,’ but he also helped rappers like DMX and Ja Rule rise to fame. He sat down with ‘RapFix Live’ yesterday to speak on what he thinks would be the appropriate next step for the label: making him the head of the company. He criticized L.A. Reid and said that the company hasn’t had a real executive in charge since Jay in 2008.

“I wanted to speak on this because I love the hip-hop culture with a deep, deep passion. Def Jam is the light of that culture; Def Jam personifies the hip-hop culture. There is no other hip-hop label like Def Jam.”
“If you don’t want to hire me — the best man for the job, the man who will die for it — cool, I understand. You think I’m Suge Knight, you think the feds may come in here again if you hire me, cool. Put somebody in there, because you not giving any sign or any indication that you care about my culture.”

Irv said that although the label boasts of talent such as Rick Ross, Young Jeezy, and Fabolous, there isn’t a strong leader to navigate. He shared his worries with Sway, saying that if someone doesn’t step in soon, Def Jam could be a thing of the past.

“This is helping our lives. This is a culture that is deep for us. You can’t let it die, and if you let Def Jam die, you’re gonna let a bit of the culture die, and the fact that you ain’t got no one up there leading the army and ain’t had nobody — you just let the artists come up there, give you a record and you put it out. That’s not what Def Jam is about.”