According to the report, the 44-year-old hip hop mogul was in the midst of a heated argument with his ex-wife Veronica when he put a gun to his head and fired inside the South Riverdale apartment about 11:30 a.m. Lighty's representatives have not yet released an official statement as to what happened.
Chris Lighty, the mogul behind Violater Records and management guided the careers of hip-hop stars including 50 Cent, Busta Rhymes and Missy Elliot. Lightly is the founder and chief executive of Violator Management/Brand Asset Group and has been a part of the music scene since 1988 when he joined Russell Simmons and Lyor Cohen at Rush Management.
Lighty will undoubtedly be missed in the music industry. He has worked with other musicians including Mariah Carey, Q-Tip, Fantasia, Mya, Diggy Simmons, Ja Rule, Mobb Deep, LL Cool J, and Nas.
Musicians began Tweeting about Lighty soon after news of his death spread.
"RIP Chris Lighty. Today, we lost a hip-hop hero and one of its greatest architects..." tweeted Russell Simmons.
"R.I.P. Chris Lighty," posted Fat Joe on his Twitter account. "That man saved my life."
