The Murder Inc Story (miniseries) (2022)

Starring: Irv Gotti, Ja Rule, Jay-Z, Nas, Fat Joe, and Charlamagne tha God
Grade: B

Finally, someone shines the light on one of the most iconic record labels of all time. The reign of Murder Inc. may not have lasted as long as its peers, but the music, the hits, the star power, and the leadership of Irv Gotti will forever be remembered in the annals of hip hop. If you’re not familiar with Murder Inc. but you call yourself a fan of hip hop, please watch this chunk of history to see what you missed.

Man, I miss the early 2000s.

Summary

Note: The exact number of record sales spoken throughout the summary aren’t fact checked. I was just going off what Irv Gotti himself stated throughout the five episodes. Everything stated here was from his mouth or was talked about in this miniseries.

The five-episode documentary is as follows with each episode named after songs Irv Gotti or Murder Inc. were involved in:

1. Get the Fortune: We start in the year 1979 in Hollis, Queens, New York. This is where we see a young and energetic Irving Lorenzo, the youngest of eight children. Early on, Irving loved performing, and it led him to practicing DJing and mixing day and night, with his brother Chris eventually getting him a spot at Jamaica Park’s park jam in 1985. It was a high-pressure situation, as it’s explained to them that if Irving sucks, there will be a problem. Thankfully, due to his mix involving Run-DMC’s “Rock Box” and the crowd going nuts over his repeating of the words “Hollis Crew”, the reception he got snatched him the job, and he became “DJ Irv” for the park until 1990. At the same time, he makes tapes of his mixes, and it leads him to signing with Joss Productions and working with rapper Jaz because they wanted Irv to be his DJ. After they go to London to work on a project, he meets Jay-Z and sees who the real star is. After befriending Jay and becoming his DJ, his roommate introduces him to an upcoming rapper from Yonkers – DMX.

It becomes the same thing. He sees the star that DMX is and loved his style.

A quote coming from Irv about DMX is “Every word he said I believed him”, a great way to explain the rougher style of the star in his early days.

After learning how to use a drum machine, we learn about how Irv didn’t really apply himself as a producer until his father got laid off and missed out on his pension. In his words, he “became a savage”. Once this happens, he doesn’t waste a single second of his life, devoting everything to music. Following this, he works with Mic Geronimo on a song and his sister loans him money to make cassettes of his work, so he could wait outside of Hot 97 and give it to Funkmaster Flex. It was fate. Flex plays the song and soon after, six labels call his house. After Irv creates Top Dog Productions, Mic Geronimo doesn’t want to work with Irv, so Irv goes after rapper Chris Black. Black said he wasn’t coming without Ja Rule and his boy O-1. Irv signed them all and Cash Money Click was born, though Irv once again sees the real talent is Ja Rule much like how it was with Jay-Z and DMX. Regardless, they record and film the music video of “Get Tha Fortune“. This was also fate as he befriended notorious drug dealer Kenneth “Supreme” McGriff after filming at the barbershop he owned.

As us fans of Murder Inc. know, his friendship with Supreme cost him his eventual empire years down the line.

Around 1993, we see the sneaky businessman in Irv call and order the “Get Tha Fortune” music video ten times a day on The Jukebox Network, and it gained so much attention, Lyor Cohen of Def Jam calls to sign him and Ja Rule, but they have to turn him down because the group Ja is in is already signed. Later, Irv helps Jay-Z and admits how he wasn’t liking his deal with TVT and Steve Gottlieb, a guy who passed on Jay and Roc-a-Fella, and DMX and the Ruff Ryders. Because of this, Irv wanted them on everything, and their friendship got closer. This is where we learn that he got his name because Jay was making fun of his actual name, saying he needed something cooler like “Irv Gotti”.

Well, the name stuck.

Irv helps Jay with hip hop classic Reasonable Doubt and the song “Ain’t No N****” and gives it to Funkmaster Flex to get it some airplay. He then hits up Kevin Liles of Def Jam who gets the song on The Nutty Professor soundtrack and gives them money to shoot a music video, making Roc-a-Fella the most sought-after label in rap at the time. Lyor Cohen swoops in and signs Ja Rule once his group disbanded and signed Irv to work as an A&R, with Irv’s outrageous confidence in his abilities and his belief in talent showing immediately after. Unfortunately, he leaves Def Jam right away because they don’t believe him about DMX’s talent, refusing to sign him. Since PolyGram had the rights to take Def Jam from Cohen and Russell Simmons if they were in the $25-30 million deficit, they relent and sign DMX for Irv. Irv promises DMX will sell $5 million, but It’s Dark and Hell is Hot sells $7 million.

The success continues.

Irv has kids with his wife, Jay’s In My Lifetime, Vol. 1 goes platinum, DMX’s Flesh of My Flesh, Blood of My Blood goes three times platinum, and the song “Can I Get A…” becomes a huge success (a song Ja wrote the hook for, and they gave it to Jay as long as Ja could stay on it). This only reminds Irv he’s making 60k at the time, so he starts fielding a huge offer from Sony: a record label and $3 million in advance and overhead. He goes to Lyor, but he only offers half. This forces Irv to consider the Sony deal until Lyor calls in the owner of the Universal Music Group in Edgar Bronfman who matches everything (if it was up to Lyor, Irv would’ve stayed an A&R). It gives Irv a 50/50 joint venture with Island Def Jam and the Universal Music Group. Now, all he needed was a name. One night he was watching TV and they were talking about Albert Anastasia’s crew of hit men: Murder Incorporated.

You see, it’s a double entendre as he plans on making hit records. Murder Inc. was born. With Irv as president and his brother as VP, a short-lived super group was formed that unofficially spawned the Hard Knock Life Tour. Plus, we got this legendary XXL Magazine cover from it all:

In the end, Jay and DMX go on to do their own thing, making Ja Rule the franchise player of Murder Inc.

2. Livin’ it Up: Right after the success of the Hard Knock Life Tour, and the success he had with Jay and DMX, Irv gets the Murder Inc. Label and Ja Rule’s debut album Venni Vetti Vecci is on the mind. After writing three different hooks at the request of Irv, the hit “Holla Holla” was made. The album sold $3 million, but Irv wasn’t satisfied because how much more Jay and X sold. The question now is can Ja be the flagship artist? After adding Caddillac Tah, Vita, and Black Child (coming from prison straight to the studio no less) and a decent showing from the Irv Gotti Presents: The Murderers album, Ja realized he needed to create his own lane after being compared so much to Jay and X. The good news was the unlimited budget from Lyor and his belief in him and Irv. Following their renting of a house in Los Angeles and the Murder Inc. crew recording songs there and previewing them at ecstasy-fueled parties they hosted (with a “candy bowl” on every table), Ja figured out his niche was “love” records for the ladies, a bit ironic for a label called “Murder Inc.”

Shortly after, “Put it on Me” and “Between Me and You” is recorded for Rule 3:36, and they preview it to Lyor who hates it and calls it soft, preferring the grit and grime style of rap at the time. He actually wanted to scrap it and start over. Irv does fight back with his trademark passion though, so Lyor relents. He still plays hardball however and only gives him 2,000 pieces of vinyl to set him up for failure because he assumes no DJ will play it, and he’ll be forced to start over. Once again, Flex saves the day and plays it, and Irv gives it to another DJ who sends it across the country.

Rule 3:36 goes three times platinum, and BET’s 106 & Park retires the “Put it on Me” video because it’s played so much.

Following this, Irv’s relationship with Lyor changed, with Irv having no problem not listening to Lyor or giving him shit at every turn since he wanted to initially throw Ja’s most successful album in the trash. Irv started to change with the success, and the previously focused and sober Irv started doing ecstasy after meeting a random girl on the set of the “Between Me and You” music video who suggested it. After doing it and cheating on his wife with her, he started doing this every single day, and he was never the same. Before really delving deep into Murder Inc.’s success, we jump back to 1999 to talk about 50 Cent, a man who will be forever tied to the label because of his legendary beef with Ja. This is where we hear about 50’s initial disses on his mixtapes (mostly because he was offended at how Ja said “what’s up” to him the one time they crossed paths), and we see a clip of 50 bragging about how he had a friend that robbed Ja of his chain, though he neglects to bring up how Ja told Supreme who got it back for him in minutes. At a hotel in Atlanta in 1999, Ja and Black Child (a former friend of 50) get into a fight with 50 after he swung on Ja. Despite Tony Yayo backing him, 50 went running into an elevator after getting hit from Ja’s bat and Black Child’s punches and escapes.

That wasn’t the only time Murder Inc. got the best of 50 Cent…

In 2000, there was another incident at the Hit Factory studio. As soon as Ja got word of 50 being in the other studio close to them, the whole crew ran in, including the knife-wielding Black Child. Of course, 50 tries to talk nice, but Ja isn’t having it, and they all get into a huge brawl. At one point, the lights go out so Black Child starts stabbing anything that moves. Because of this, and I’m glad it’s finally getting recognition because Ja doesn’t get the respect he deserves, 50 (like a hoe) files a restraining order on them, sued, and snitched on Black Child and got him arrested. Despite this, he denied all of it and for some reason, people believe him to this day because 50’s fans are fucking delusional.

We jump forward to when 50 was famously shot and the producers of the show ask if Murder Inc. had anything to do with it. This is an obvious “no”. As Ja points out, it probably had something to do with 50 being 50, running his mouth like usual, and it bit him in the ass. We’ve seen his social media. If you disagree with Ja here, you’re objectively wrong.

We then move to Ashanti and how she became the star she was, being signed to Jive Records as early as 14 and eventually being introduced to Irv by a family member. Though not keen on signing anymore women, she was invited to the studio (nicknamed “The Crack House”), and she went every day. Eventually, Fat Joe came by the studio and asked for her to sing on the remix for “How We Roll“. At the same time, CEO of Sony Music Tommy Mottola comes to the Crack House to have Ja make a record with Jennifer Lopez, so they could release it before his duet with Mariah Carey (since that was his ex-wife and he wanted to screw her). Borrowing almost exclusively from Rick James’s “Mary Jane“, they make the remix to “I’m Real“. After adding some bass from some random guy at a bar and making Ashanti a background vocalist (who wanted the song badly for herself), Mottola flies them out on his jet the next day to record with Jennifer Lopez. The video is made in record time, it becomes a huge hit, and it leads to them making the remix of “Ain’t it Funny“. However, after Sony Records takes Caddillac Tah off the song for the radio, Irv’s pissed off. Following this, he burns his bridge with J-Lo because of an interview with Elle Magazine. She referred them to him, and they asked if she made the song about Puff Daddy. An extremely high and angry Irv responded affirmatively and called her a bitch while doing it. It’s too bad because Lopez’s manager at the time, Benny Medina, was talking about how he was going to be making all of J-Lo’s music from then on up until that point.

It was Irv’s biggest regret.

3. Foolish: It’s 2001, and Murder Inc. is on top of the world. In September, Irv rents a plane and takes his family on a vacation to the Bahamas. At the same time, Irv was taking 2-3 pills of ecstasy a day and still consistently cheating. Ja Rule’s Pain is Love is being worked on, Charli Baltimore is signed, and Irv sees the same potential in her as he did with Jay and X. Plus, they still have a great working relationship with Fat Joe. This leads to the CEO of Atlantic Records Craig Kallman contacting Murder Inc. to make a hit for Joe, so Ja gives him “What’s Luv?“. After putting Ashanti on it, and putting her on “Always on Time“, she starts to really pop off.

This also gave us the unfortunate moment on MTV Spring Break 2002 when Fat Joe decided to go topless.

Pain is Love outsells Jay and DMX, and because of Irv being on so many hits at the time, he had the number one record in the country for 48 weeks, which is unheard of. Despite being on top of the world, he is caught cheating by his wife Deb, admitting “I’m Irving Lorenzo with Deb, and I’m Irv Gotti to the world”. She punches him and gets arrested, but Irv and Supreme get her out of jail because Irv had no intentions of pressing charges. He also had no intention of changing his ways either, flat-out saying he will not be faithful. Once he gets kicked out of the house, he lives in the studio and his friendship with Ashanti blossoms into a relationship. His whole situation inspires the hit song “Foolish“, and he gives it to Ashanti. Right after, he officially signs her and she becomes his main focus, along with Ja. This fucks everyone else on the label. Vita’s album is pushed back, and no one else gets much attention as Irv devotes his time to Ashanti once they start dating and get an apartment together. However, she doesn’t want people to know about it because she didn’t want the “homewrecker” label or be accused of being put on because she’s fucking the boss.

In fact, she still denies their relationship to this day and refused to be interviewed for this documentary. However, I’m inclined to believe Irv because everyone else attached to Murder Inc. in this documentary confirms it.

Irv talks about thinking of Ashanti’s “Happy” in the shower after being with her and how “Baby” sampled Scarface’s “Mary Jane” heavily. Her self-titled debut album managed to go two times platinum. We see more of how close the two were as well, with Irv calming her nerves before her first big show in New York and how he became a security blanket for her. After seeing Ja and Irv surprise Ashanti with her platinum records during her interview on 106 & Park, a bitter but correct Vita reminds us how Irv forgot about everyone else, as well as her not getting friendly vibes from Ashanti. Following The Last Temptation, and Lyor getting seriously tired of Irv’s drug-fueled ways, we see Irv’s craziness being the main reason as to why he failed to sign Nas. At the same time, his pursuit of the all-time great ruined Irv’s friendship with Jay-Z, as he was famously feuding with Nas in one of the most legendary beefs in hip hop history. As a response, Jay does a commercial with 50 Cent and stamps his approval of Murder Inc.’s nemesis. Once this happens, “Wanksta” comes out and disses Ja, and XXL Magazine starts featuring 50 heavily. Because of Irv’s success and ties to so many labels (essentially telling Tommy Mottola he won’t work with him if he signs 50), he’s able to stop 50 from signing with anyone major…

Well, except Eminem.

He’s the only major person he can’t block a deal with and having Dr. Dre added to the mix, 50 was safe. The trouble started to begin and despite trying not to engage with 50 at first (even stopping Charli Baltimore’s mixtape from going out that was directly entirely at 50), Ja releases “Clap Back“. It does well, but we start to see the tide turning on Ja, with the streets getting tired of his style.

The most annoying part of this is Charlamagne tha God saying he wouldn’t have engaged 50. Charlamagne is the pettiest dude on Earth. He’s 1000% lying through his teeth. You know damn well if someone that big was talking shit, he would respond the next fucking day.

We end with the teaser of the feds coming in.

4. So Much Pain: After the entirety of Murder Inc. celebrates the New Year’s in Las Vegas, the federal government raids everything on January 3rd. The intention was to find a link between Irv Gotti and Supreme. The idea the feds had cooked up was that Supreme was using Murder Inc. as a front for drug dealing and was giving Irv the proceeds from it. As we know, this was completely false. They were just really good friends, and Supreme talked about how he wanted to make the Crime Partners movie based on the Donald Goines novel, so Irv cut him a $50,000 check for the movie, and Jay gave him a song for the soundtrack. When Irv convinced Lyor to give Supreme a million-dollar soundtrack deal with Def Jam, that’s when the government stepped in, and they began to build their case to indict Irv. To make matters worse, 50 Cent becomes a massive star with “In Da Club“. After Ashanti’s Chapter II does well with “Rock wit U (Awww Baby)” as the lead single, Ja agrees to meet at Louis Farrakhan’s house to make peace with 50, but 50 doesn’t show up like a bitch.

Getting worried about the bad publicity and what the government can use against them, Irv changes the label name to “The Inc Records”.

The empire begins to crumble.

People stopped working with them because of the government, and Charli Baltimore, Vita, and Caddillac Tah all leave. Ja and Ashanti stay, along with Black Child who does not get enough credit for his loyalty. Right after, they snatch the up-and-coming star Lloyd from under L.A. Reid’s nose, sign him, put Ashanti on “Southside” and his album goes gold. Murder Inc. continues to make hit records, but 50’s success started hurting them. Plus, Ja’s diss-focused album Blood in My Eye underperformed. Though he recovered with R.U.L.E. because of the “New York” song Fat Joe gifted him and “Wonderful“, the feds supremely fucked Irv by telling Universal and Def Jam that if they give him one more dollar, they’ll be co-defendants in Irv’s money laundering trial. So, Irv is fired even though he’s not indicted officially until 2005, two years after the raid. They assumed since Irv got Supreme the record deal and movie, he gave Irv money from his drug dealing. Mostly though, it was an attack on rap music because of the violent nature of certain lyrics and the genre’s image. The name “Murder Inc.” didn’t help either. Now, Irv and Chris were facing an uphill battle of twenty years, with a federal government working tirelessly to put them away because of their hatred of rap music. It doesn’t help that they can’t be in the studio at all, so 50 Cent and G-Unit take advantage of the situation as they become bigger by the day. People even stopped working with Ja because of 50.

It’s also noted that Irv screwed himself because of the fact he wanted to become more involved in the streets when he got more successful (which is a pretty backwards attitude). Though Supreme and the famous “Supreme Team” were backing him, and he felt the power as Murder Inc. became bigger, this obviously blew up in his face.

Before trial, they are offered a deal that not many would refuse. They offer Irv and Chris 6-8 months, and they can serve it one person at a time, so the other can still run the company. They would just have to admit to money laundering and how Supreme sold drugs and gave them money from it. Considering the 98% conviction rate of the feds and the unsureness of their lawyers, the decision is tough. However, they know they’re innocent, so they decide to go to trial. A truly horrible moment is when Chris says the judge actually asked why they were going through with the trial since “we already know these guys are guilty”.

How do you explain to these assholes that this is entertainment? It looks like it’s not only Irv and Chris on trial but hip hop culture as well.

5. Pain is Love: The trial is on. Irv and Chris are charged with money laundering, and Supreme is charged with murder. The prosecution does everything in their power to paint them all as bad people, but there are a lot of holes in their case. The main one being the pictures of texts being misinterpreted like when they talk about the “Crack House” even though it’s referring to Irv’s studio, and Irv’s texts to Deb being looked at like they were texts to Supreme. With Irv’s sister’s record keeping of all the cash flow of Murder Inc., along with other bullshit being called out, Irv and Chris beat the case.

Sadly, Murder Inc. is destroyed, and Supreme still loses his case. Along with this, Irv owes his lawyers $2 million, he can’t get a distribution deal, and Ashanti left them all hanging. Ja wasn’t feeling any music at the moment either, and Irv spent the immediate down time with his kids. Sometime after, Lyor offered Irv a million-dollar deal and thought Irv should’ve been grateful for it. However, Universal offered him $11 million. Well, it’s a no-brainer. Right after, Irv puts everything into Lloyd’s Street Love album and wants it to be number one badly because it could spell his and Murder Inc.’s return. Despite the album going gold in a month, Lyor himself calls to tell him Musiq Soulchild’s album beat him for the spot by 2,000 copies. It’s 2009 and because of so much heartbreak, Irv takes a sabbatical. In 2011, Ja goes to jail for tax evasion. After getting involved in these small poker games, Irv gets the idea for the show Tales. It took him awhile to get a deal (because of the whole indictment years before), but President of BET Stephen Hill bought into it around 2016. Irv even gives Black Child a role in one of the episodes.

Finally, they throw that dude a bone. He deserves it.

We then wrap everything up with final thoughts from Irv and the people that worked with him. He also talks about Ashanti re-recording her masters and her refusal to speak to Irv, selling his catalogue to Olivier Chastan of Iconoclast ($50 million for his catalogue, $200 million for a line of credit for him to use to make his own content and he still owns 100% of his company), his new goal of being a multi-billionaire, beating the odds by making it out of the hood, and the legacy of Murder Inc.

The guy from XXL Magazine is right. It’s about time their story was told.

My Thoughts:

“Irv Gotti would tell you that your baby is ugly”.

Irv has no filter and pulls no punches whether it be on himself or others.

His honesty in this limited series is one of the best parts about The Murder Inc Story. In fact, the honesty from everyone was refreshing like the unfortunate pointing out from Vita that no one “made it” other than Ja Rule and Ashanti.

Irv’s not lying to the audience talking about how they’re “coming back” while downplaying their fall from the top like the laughable comments made by Master P in the BET-produced No Limit Chronicles. They could’ve easily skewed the facts to look better, considering Gotti and Ja Rule were both executive producers of this project, but they don’t bullshit anyone. They admit their flaws. You think Ja had to mention Fyre Festival? Hell no! I wouldn’t have. However, they are very aware of the ups and downs of their careers and aren’t afraid of talking about it, which is really cool to see. We go through the glory years and give the label their proper respect, but when it’s time to talk about the downfall, they really delve into the facts. I’m just really happy this was made regardless of the quality of this miniseries (which was very tv-movie like in look and style) because as a hip hop fan, I can’t help but see the disrespect they consistently get from retrospective fans. It’s ridiculous how many uninformed people will credit everything falling apart to fucking 50 Cent, a guy who got a restraining order on them and snitched on Black Child to get him in trouble after getting his ass beat twice.

50 is a clown.

We know 50 Cent’s prime was untouchable. No one is denying that but stop giving him credit for shit he didn’t do! Murder Inc. was still cranking out hit after hit during the height of the beef, as was Ja Rule who should (without a doubt) be on Billboard’s 50 Greatest Rappers list. Not only does he have more number one hits than a majority of the rappers there, but he “created a sound that so many people took and ran with, especially in the early 2000s”. The rapper singing on a track, making love songs even, wasn’t a thing until Ja started it and become a worldwide superstar. You can find his influence in guys like Nelly and even his arch nemesis in 50 Cent! 50 made fun of him for doing it and went ahead and did the exact same thing numerous times! He’s been a lying clown, and the evidence is in your guys’ faces! Don’t say some shit like, “Ja should drop it! It’s over!”. He tried! The proof is right there! He agreed to meet with 50 and Louis Farrakhan to make peace, but 50 never showed up because he wanted to be petty! Well, this is how you get a “forever beef”. Not only did Ja kick his ass on a couple of occasions, but he forced him to get a restraining order and snitch. He tried to be the bigger man and make peace, and 50 refused to meet.

Sorry G-Unit fuckheads, Ja did everything right in my eyes.

Ja Rule isn’t top ten all time, but he’s definitely top 50. The man walked so rappers today, like Drake, could run. He changed the game, no matter what prejudice rap fans have against him for some reason.

It’s well documented, but I’ll say it for those in the back: the federal government defeated Murder Inc.

Even with Irv and his brother Chris miraculously winning the trial, they still lost. They were removed from music for far too long, and no one wanted to work with them afterwards.

THAT’s how it happened!

I’m just glad we can remind these ignorant assclowns.

Anyway, I love these types of documentaries. I love seeing the real footage of a producer in the studio workshopping a song with his musicians, as they create and stumble upon something we know is going to be a hit. Seeing that being recorded at the time is like watching a piece of history. Watching Irv laughing and smiling while working with Ashanti and Ja is so cool to see too, as is Irv speaking in his confessionals with such exuberance about his DJing and how he came up with the ideas for some of the country’s most popular songs at the time. His passion never wavered. It’s infectious watching him get excited talking about it as if it just happened yesterday. You can see why he was able to sell himself to so many people. His energy and belief in himself are inspiring. He’s a storyteller and a great talker. We hear it from Fat Joe himself, “Irv’s got a big mouth”. From a prison phone call interview, Supreme is even recorded as saying that Irv’s worst quality is that he’s talkative. He does such a great job at selling his vision though that it’s hard to argue with his outlook on things. When he talks in the final episode of why he won’t sell Ashanti her masters (he never signed his artists to a 360 deal, they make all the money off touring on songs he made and the masters is how he “eats”), I can’t really argue with him. This is how he keeps his generational wealth and continues to make money off of it. From a business perspective, I can’t argue it. He’s being smart as hell. Sure, it sucks for Ashanti, but can you blame him?

I’m sure they could talk things out, but she wants nothing to do with him and refuses to admit they were as close as they were, keeping a “forever beef” between these two too. Honestly, I started liking Ashanti a bit less because of this miniseries. It’s not only about their confirmed relationship she denies to the public, but also how she just dropped the label like it was nothing when they were going through their trial, unlike Ja and Black Child. Where’s the loyalty? Don’t tell me she did the right thing either. Did you see her album sales after that two-year hot stretch with Murder Inc.? Yeah, that’s what I thought. They made her, and she turned around and stabbed them in the back as far as I’m concerned.

It’s true that Irv’s outspokenness got him to the big time, but it also got him into trouble. Irv says, “I have plenty of misses as much as I have hits”. This works in more ways than one. It’s not just about the music. It’s about his decisions as an executive, a producer, and a husband. His misses are well documented in this fact-filled documentary. When I say this, we immediately think of him trying to sign Nas. Admittedly, I didn’t know a lot about this beforehand. I guess I never knew how close Nas was to considering an offer from Murder Inc., but Irv talking crazy was a big part of how they lost out on him. The reaction when they were talking about going to the hood, and Nas worries about being killed was gold. Irv confidently hits back with, “We’ll be martyrs and shit”. Nas must’ve been like, “Yeah, this shit ain’t for me”. Irv probably sounded insane in the moment, and you can tell he was just high, talking out of his ass. As we know, Nas is all about business. A moment like this is a game changer. You can tell the cool and collected Nas was immediately woken up to the carelessness and pure craziness of Irv’s chaotic energy. He was not vibing with the aggressiveness of Murder Inc., and the fact that Irv was the spear head of it all didn’t bode well.

It also didn’t help that Irv produced a Jay-Z record that was dissing Nas during the time because he got too cocky with his work. What’s funny is that it didn’t help his working relationship with Jay either because the fact that he was even working with Nas made him realize Irv didn’t give a fuck about loyalty either. It didn’t even hit Irv until it was too late. He had his cake and tried to eat the whole thing when he could’ve gotten away with a slice. This is the nature of Irv though. He wants it all. Why not go for it? He was dreaming big from the beginning and that’s how he got there. It’s just crazy to think about how this signing could’ve changed the course of hip hop. It might be one of the biggest “What if?” scenarios regarding signings in rap history, but Irv’s mouth got him in trouble once again, a common theme here. It’s insane. If he didn’t say anything about Jennifer Lopez to that magazine while high and solidified his working relationship with her and eventually signed Nas, there’s no telling the lengths Murder Inc. could’ve gone in the rap game. Unfortunately, ecstasy got involved.

Oddly enough, ecstasy is a big part of Murder Inc.’s legacy as well.

According to Black Child, ecstasy was like how lean was to the hip hop culture back then, and Murder Inc. represented the highs and lows of the drug. It’s said that the intoxicated Ja came up with the idea of where his music should go in terms of style because of it, and it established a legacy for him. On the other hand, the driven and focused Irv became obsessed with it after cheating on his wife the first time after taking it.

“I don’t really do drugs and anything like that but any time a bad chick says and ends with “and fuck”…most n***** is gonna do”.

It’s a hilarious quote in context, but it highlights the downward spiral that ignites the lows of his life. Sure, it doesn’t hit him until later, but the drugs and the sex became a focus, and he lost that drive that got him to the top in the first place. It played a big part in ruining his life.

The highlighting of Irv and Ja’s friendship was a major positive too. The bond these two shared through thick and thin was a testament to their loyalty to each other. Ja could’ve gone for the hills when Gotti went to trial, but he stayed because he believed in Gotti and always appreciated him for discovering and believing in his talent in the first place. He always reciprocated the love. He even refers to Gotti as his “Donda”. Us rap fans know it’s serious when he says a statement like this. Even when Ja made Rule 3:36 and Lyor Cohen hated it and told them to re-do it, Ja didn’t waiver in believing in Irv’s leadership. It was a really cool moment to hear that though he was disappointed, he was willing to ride with whatever Irv wanted to do. If he wanted to start from scratch because it wasn’t good enough, he was willing to do so because of his loyalty to Irv. This triggered the fire Irv gets when dealing with music. Numerous times throughout this miniseries, he talks about how when people believe in him, it drives him to fight for what he’s doing. It drove him as an executive and as a person. He already has the confidence in his abilities but when someone believes in them too, he works that much harder. This is how you become a success, and it’s an inspiring story altogether to hear Irv tell it because I believe him.

Plus, his impression of Lyor Cohen was very funny.

The closing messages were great too. They admit that Murder Inc. may not be as big as Roc-a-Fella, Death Row, or Bad Boy, but “Irv’s vision is bigger than all of that”. It’s true. The man rose up from the streets and built an empire off of his vision while seeing superstar talent that no one else saw. If Jay-Z, Nas, and Ja Rule all talked about how Irv is a visionary, who are we to disagree?

The Murder Inc Story may not be the best documentary production-wise, but it’s a truthful look at the rise and fall of an underrated legacy within hip hop. You can’t talk about rap’s history without giving them their flowers. Though it may not have been grade “A” quality, the fact that this story was being told in the first place was cathartic as a fan. Besides production quality stuff, Ashanti’s input was missing. If she was involved, it could’ve been a turning point for this documentary because her perspective on everything could’ve made for some great discourse that was arguably missing.

Even so, with timeless music made, real talent behind the scenes, an unforgettable name, and an unparalleled confidence in himself and everyone he worked with (along with his love for the game), Irv Gotti created a story worth telling. It’s an entertaining watch and an inspiring history lesson to boot.