Irv Gotti, Music Executive Behind Ja Rule and Ashanti and Founder of Murder Inc., Dies at 54

Beyoncé’s ‘Cowboy Carter’ Sees 795% Spotify Surge Following Grammy Wins 2 days ago

Irv Gotti, the producer and music industry mogul who launched the careers of Ja Rule and Ashanti, died at the age of 54, according to the Hollywood Reporter and sources close to the situation. A cause of death has not been confirmed.

Throughout his career, Gotti (born Irving Domingo Lorenzo Jr.) was a mastermind executive and record producer who shaped the sound of mainstream music at the turn of the century. With his Murder Inc. label, he dominated radio and charts by bridging the divide between pop and rap, serving as a marketing guru and, at the time, one of hip-hop’s most influential figures. Beyond his success as an executive, he also produced countless classic records including Jennifer Lopez and Ja Rule’s “I’m Real (Murder Remix),” Ja Rule’s “Always on Time” featuring Ashanti, and Fat Joe’s “What’s Luv?”

A Queens, NY native, Gotti got his start in the music industry as a DJ and producer with early credits on Jay-Z’s “Can I Get A…” and Foxy Brown’s “Hot Spot.” He served as executive producer on DMX’s groundbreaking 1998 debut album “It’s Dark and Hell Is Hot” and the soundtrack for the 1998 film “Belly,” prompting music executive Lyor Cohen to give him his own label under the Def Jam umbrella.

Following his tenure as A&R at Def Jam, Gotti founded Murder Inc. with his brother Chris Gotti in 1998 and released Ja Rule’s debut album “Venni Vetti Vecci” the following June. That album became a massive smash for both Ja Rule and Gotti, who executive produced the album and helmed every song on the project.

Murder Inc. swiftly emerged as a turn-of-the-millennium answer to Sean “Diddy” Combs’ Bad Boy Records, with Gotti appearing in music videos and popping up on records. In Oct. 2000, Ja Rule released “Rule 3:36” with Gotti returning as executive producer for the project and acting producer for nearly the entire album. The project ushered in a mainstream renaissance for Gotti, who signed Ashanti the following year and released her eponymous chart-topping debut in 2002. He then took a victory lap with “Irv Gotti Presents: The Inc.,” a compilation record showcasing artists from the label including Charli Baltimore, Vita and Cadillac Tah.

Murder Inc.’s vice grip on mainstream music slipped after federal agents raided its offices on suspicion of drug money laundering in Jan. 2003, and took a reputational hit after Ja Rule engaged in a career-bruising beef with 50 Cent. Gotti rebranded the label as The Inc. in Dec. 2003, releasing albums from Lloyd and Ashanti in the years that followed.

Yet, after signing to Universal Motown in 2006, Gotti’s label struggled as artists started leaving the imprint. In Sept. 2013, he rebranded The Inc. as Visionary, and four years later revived Murder Inc. in a partnership with 300 Entertainment. In June 2022, he shared a video on Instagram claiming that he signed a $300 million deal with brand management company Iconoclast to sell them 50 percent of his Murder Inc. masters.

Last year, Gotti suffered a minor stroke related to his years-long struggle with diabetes. During an appearance on Drink Champs, he described how diabetes “starts deteriorating your body” and said that he used insulin from “time to time,” but noted that he did not have his diabetes under control.

Black Sabbath’s original lineup to reunite for Ozzy Osbourne’s final concert: ‘The greatest heavy metal show ever’

Black Sabbath’s original lineup to reunite for Ozzy Osbourne’s final concert: ‘The greatest heavy metal show ever’

Emlyn Travis

February 5, 2025 at 5:53 PM

Alright now! Black Sabbath’s original lineup is coming together to throw one big metal sendoff for legendary frontman Ozzy Osbourne.

Titled Back to the Beginning, the all-day charity concert will see Osbourne, bassist Geezer Butler, guitarist Tony Iommi, and drummer Bill Ward reunite onstage for the first time in 20 years at Birmingham’s Villa Park on July 5. Osbourne will play his own short set at the gig before joining Black Sabbath to take his final bow with his bandmates.

“It’s my time to go Back to the Beginning….time for me to give back to the place where I was born,” Osbourne wrote on Instagram. “How blessed am I to do it with the help of people whom I love. Birmingham is the true home of metal. Birmingham Forever.”

Related: Ozzy Osbourne apologizes to Britney Spears for insulting her dancing, asks her to ‘change a few movements’

They’re not doing it alone, either. The all-day event will also feature performances from metal greats like Metallica, Slayer, Pantera, Gojira, Halestorm, Alice In Chains, Lamb of God, Anthrax, and Mastodon, as well as a “supergroup” of musicians that includes Billy Corgan of The Smashing Pumpkins; Duff McKagan and Slash of Guns N’ Roses; Fred Durst of Limp Bizkit; Scott Ian of Anthrax; Sammy Hagar; Sleep Token II of Sleep Token; Papa V Perpetua of Ghost; Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine; and Wolfgang Van Halen. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg — more artists are expected to be announced in the future.

“This will be the greatest heavy metal show ever,” Morello, who also serves as the concert’s music director, added in a statement.

All proceeds from the event will go to a collection of charities, including Cure Parkinson’s, Birmingham Children’s Hospital, and Acorn Children’s Hospice. Osbourne previously announced that he’d been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease — a progressive nervous system disorder that causes tremors, stiffness, speech changes, or slowing of movement — in 2020.

Related: Ozzy Osbourne used to poop in hotel guests’ shoes

Formed in 1968, Black Sabbath is one of the most revered heavy metal bands of all time, with over 75 million albums sold and a feast of hits that include “Iron Man,” “Paranoid,” “War Pigs,” and “Sweet Leaf.” The Birmingham band’s many accolades include an induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2006 and three Grammys, including a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2019. Osbourne was inducted as a solo artist into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame last year.

Over the last five decades, Black Sabbath’s lineup has shifted often as its members clashed with one another. Back to the Beginning marks the first time that all four founding members will take to the stage together since the band’s Ozzfest tour in 2005.

Tickets to the event will go on sale on Friday, Feb. 14 at 10 a.m. GMT/5 a.m. ET/2 a.m. PT. Visit LiveNation for more details.

Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly

Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds Are Doing Just Fine

Over the past several months, Blake Lively has been locked in a messy legal battle with her It Ends With Us director and co-star, Justin Baldoni. The resulting back-and-forth has spawned a handful of lawsuits and a mind-boggling number of leaked texts — and this week, Baldoni followed through on his threat to create a website of “evidence” he claims clears his name. Amid all the drama, sources have clarified that Lively is still BFFs with Taylor Swift. But with Ryan Reynolds’s name popping up in Baldoni’s complaint, perhaps you’re also wondering how Lively and her husband are doing?

Well, if People’s sources are to be believed, the couple are doing just fine. On Wednesday, an insider told the tabloid that Lively and Reynolds, who share four children, are planning to weather this storm as a unified front. “She and Ryan are in it together,” the source said. “They are always a tremendous team. They will get through this as a team, too.”

The source added that Lively has been “surprisingly calm,” and is trying her best to “focus on family life.”

“She’s in constant contact with her team,” they added. “She sees the whole lawsuit drama as a necessary bump, but she’s not letting it take away from her main focus, which is her children.”

This “lawsuit drama” isn’t going away anytime soon — a trial is currently scheduled for March 2026. But it sounds like the actress isn’t too worried about her eventual day in court: TMZ reported that after she met with the judge presiding over the case on Monday, Lively is as confident as ever that her allegations will overshadow Baldoni’s “sideshow.”

Gisele’s New Baby Is Here

Gisele Bündchen continues to thrive post-divorce. TMZ reports that the supermodel has given birth to her third child, her first with her jujitsu instructor turned boyfriend, Joaquim Valente.

The new parents were last seen on an apparent babymoon, galavanting around Costa Rica — where Bündchen owns property and their love story flourished. While the start of Bündchen and Valente’s romance remains unclear, People claims they turned from friends to lovers in June 2023. When their pregnancy was announced, a source told People: “Gisele and Joaquim are happy for this new chapter in their life and they’re looking forward to creating a peaceful and loving environment for the whole family.” Cheers to that.

Bündchen already has two children, Vivian, 12, and Benjamin, 15, with her ex-husband, Tom Brady, who she filed for divorce from in October 2022. While Brady went rogue and posted a sunset image with “Landslide” playing in the background and three heart emojis after Bündchen’s pregnancy was first announced, his socials are currently dark. Someone check on him, please.

Meghan Markle Wore Sweatshirt With Her Children’s Names

Meghan Markle honored her children by wearing a sweatshirt with their names on it.

In an Instagram Reel posted on Tuesday, February 4, Markle, 43, can be seen wearing a black crewneck with the words ‘Archie & Lili’ embroidered in white cursive around the neckline.

The Duchess of Sussex paired the sweatshirt with casual jeans and wore gold bangles on her wrist. She wore her hair down with natural makeup.

It’s not the first time Markle has honored Archie, 5, and Lili, 3, with her wardrobe. The duchess has worn several pieces of jewelry personalized with her children’s initials and names in recent years.

For example, she wore a gold Ariel Gordon pendant necklace with Archie and Lili’s names on it during a visit to Colombia in August 2024.

In Tuesday’s video, Markle thanked Billie Eilish for donating signed merchandise to a fan who lost a shirt from the singer’s concert in the California wildfires.

Markle said she met the teenager and her mom while visiting a community that had been affected by the fires in January.

“I said, ‘Well, I don’t know Billie Eilish, but I’m gonna figure out how to get you this shirt,’” Markle recalled.

“So I thought of everybody that I knew, and I made a voice note. And I was like, ‘Please, can someone get this voice note to Billie Eilish? Here’s what I’m asking.’”

Markle said she connected with the lead singer of Maroon 5, Adam Levine, and his wife, Behati Prinsloo, who “helped get this over the line.”

“A huge thank you, Billie Eilish. This is going to mean so much to her,” Markle gushed. “To everyone who is showing up for people in big and small ways, to get through what’s happened in California, just thank you so much.”

Is Irv Gotti OK? We Might Have Some Answers…

News of Irv Gotti and the state of his physical well-being has some fans up in arms and now we’ve finally got a clue as to what he may be dealing with. Unfortunately for him, things aren’t looking too good.

As we told you back in Aug. 2024, Gotti opened up about his years long struggles with diabetes and revealed that he’d suffered a stroke related to the disease just six months prior. Though he was doing well in the immediate aftermath, the effects of the stroke made it to wear he had to walk around with a cane for awhile.

Now it looks like he’s fighting to get well again as a source close to him shared with All HipHop that he’s suffered yet another stroke and is allegedly “not responsive” as a result of a brain bleed. This update was also shared on Wednesday morning’s episode of “The Breakfast Club.”

While we can’t confirm that those reports are true nor do we know exactly where Gotti is (whether in a hospital or rehab facility), his reps have also ultimately decided to stay silent about the matter — at least for now. However, that’s not stopping people like Russell Simmons from sending their well wishes.

“Praying for Irvs full recovery, such a fun inspired good hearted person, such a beloved person. People keep up the prayers,” Simmons wrote in a post to Instagram. “To the people my age and younger, we are seeing the effects of toxic food and a toxic enviornment pray for our brother and try to make the necessary changes in your and your familes diets and lifestyles[sic].”

It’s also not stopping folks like 50 Cent from trolling his long-time feuding partner. As evidenced by his own post to Instagram on Tuesday, 50 reposted a screenshot of Gotti with the rumored news about his ailing health with the caption: “”Damn I wanted him to see my new shows yo!”

While 50 will more than likely always be a troll regardless, if Gotti is in dire straits, here’s hoping he makes a full recovery soon.

The Scientists Haven’t Learned in Jurassic World Rebirth

Those dinosaur scientists sure keep pushing it. Jurassic Park is back with a new crew in Jurassic World Rebirth — and this time, they’re heading back to the original Jurassic Park research facility. A totally sane idea! Scarlett Johansson leads this new mission, alongside Jonathan Bailey as a paleontologist and Mahershala Ali as their guide. (Yes, Fiyero even cares for the animals outside of Wicked.) They’re trying to get dinosaur DNA to help with some medical breakthrough, but they quickly find out the island is home to all the reject dinosaurs that didn’t make it to the actual park. Like, uhh, whatever that scary mutant in the red tank is. “We put ourselves in a place we don’t belong,” Bailey says in the trailer. “Survival is a long shot.” No kidding! Except, of course, for the fact that they’ve got a new trilogy to helm.

‘Self-destructive’ Emilia Perez Oscars scandal explodes

The controversy surrounding this year’s most-nominated film at the Academy Awards, Emilia Perez, shows no signs of slowing down, with the film’s director now giving an extraordinary interview speaking out against his lead actress.

Spanish actress Karla Sofia Gascon plays the film’s titular role, and is nominated for the Best Actress Oscar at this year’s ceremony – making her the first openly transgender person ever nominated for an acting Oscar.

But since last week her Oscar campaign has been in tatters, after many of the star’s offensive past tweets resurfaced on social media. In the tweets – some posted as recently as a couple of years ago – Gascon makes disparaging remarks about different races and ethnic groups, about a past Oscar ceremony, and about celebrities including Miley Cyrus and her future Emilia Perez co-star, Selena Gomez (whom she referred to as a “rich rat”).

Now, the film’s director Jacques Audiard has given a jaw-dropping new interview to Deadline, distancing himself from the woman at the centre of his film.

“I haven’t spoken to her, and I don’t want to,” he told the outlet.

“She is in a self-destructive approach that I can’t interfere in, and I really don’t understand why she’s continuing. Why is she harming herself? Why? I don’t understand it, and what I don’t understand about this too is why she’s harming people who were very close to her,” he continued.

Karla Sofia Gascon has not stayed quiet as the backlash against her swelled. She’s released several public apologies that were not well received – in one, she insisted the old tweets had resurfaced due to a “campaign of hate and misinformation” against her. She later sat down for an emotional hour-long interview on Spanish CNN to defend herself.

And it appears she’s gone on this ill-advised publicity tour without the backing of Netflix, the studio responsible for making Emilia Perez.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the streaming giant has removed the actress from its Oscars campaign, despite the star being up for the Best Actress among the film’s 13 other Oscar nominations, including Best Picture, Best Director for Audiard and Best Supporting Actress for Zoe Saldana.

With Oscar season in full swing, Gascon was expected to attend several industry events in the coming days, including tomorrow’s AFI Awards luncheon in Los Angeles and Saturday’s Critics Choice Awards.

However, THR reports that in the light of Gascón’s problematic comments, Netflix has “no great interest” to cover her transportation costs from Spain or locally in the US, her accommodations, or to facilitate her attendance at any of the events leading up to the Oscars next month.

“There is no great interest on the part of Netflix to provide the usual courtesies afforded by a studio to an Oscar contender, such as transportation and accommodations, to facilitate her attendance at the remaining awards season gatherings,” the outlet reported.

One picture, circulating on social media, reveals the divide between the star of Emilia Perez and the rest of the cast and crew, clearly still hoping to salvage a few Oscar wins as voting for the awards remains open.

A newly-released For Your Consideration poster for Emilia Perez, used to tout the film among Academy voters, contains 11 separate shots from the movie – none of them featuring its lead actress.

In fact, Gascon has been entirely scrubbed from the poster, which highlights Saldana’s Best Supporting Actress nomination over her co-star’s Best Actress nod.

Saldana said she was “still processing” the controversy during a recent Q&A session about the film in London.

“It makes me really sad because I don’t support and don’t have any tolerance for any negative rhetoric towards people of any group,” she said.

Blake Lively sued again for defamation over “It Ends With Us” dispute

Blake Lively faces a second defamation lawsuit after the actor alleged she was sexually harassed while making the movie “It Ends With Us” and subsequently targeted by a coordinated smear campaign.

Jed Wallace, the owner of crisis public relations firm Street Relations, filed the complaint against Lively Tuesday in federal district court in Texas. It claimed Wallace suffered “millions of dollars in reputational harm” as a result of Lively’s widely-reported legal battle with Justin Baldoni, who directed and starred opposite her in the film. Wallace is seeking at least $6 million in damages.

Lively named both Wallace and Street Relations in an initial civil rights complaint that she filed in California before ultimately suing Baldoni and his production company Wayfarer Studios in New York federal court at the end of last year.

Her complaint and lawsuit accused Wallace and his firm of participating in a retaliation scheme to intentionally damage Lively’s reputation and disincentivize her from speaking out — allegations Wallace formally denied in his defamation action this week. Neither Wallace nor the firm are defendants in Lively’s lawsuit against Baldoni.

“Wallace and Street were widely reported to be defendants in the Formal Lawsuit although they were not, the confusion having been sown by the Precursor,” the defamation lawsuit read.

In her New York lawsuit, Lively alleged that Baldoni’s public relations team hired Wallace and Street Relations to orchestrate a digital campaign in order to turn public opinion against her. It suggested Wallace “weaponized a digital army around the country from New York to Los Angeles to create, seed, and promote content that appeared to be authentic on social media platforms and internet chat forums,” with the intention “to eviscerate Ms. Lively’s credibility.”

On Jan. 21, Lively filed a petition for deposition in Hays County, Texas, against Wallace alleging that she believe he was a subcontractor for a PR firm Baldoni is accused of hiring for the alleged smear campaign against her.

Wallace’s lawsuit said that Lively later filed to dismissed the petition because “she knew of no facts to support the allegations against Wallace or Street.”

CBS News has reached out to Lively for comment.

Lively first came forward with sexual harassment allegations against Baldoni in a December interview with The New York Times. Baldoni has since sued the publication and Lively for defamation. The latter sought $400 million from Lively and her husband, actor Ryan Reynolds, accusing them of civil extortion, defamation and invasion of privacy, while again attacking the Times.

“This lawsuit is a legal action based on an overwhelming amount of untampered evidence detailing Blake Lively and her team’s duplicitous attempt to destroy Justin Baldoni, his team and their respective companies by disseminating grossly edited, unsubstantiated, new and doctored information to the media,” said Baldoni’s lawyer, Bryan Freedman, in a statement to CBS News after filing the second suit.

A spokesperson from the New York Times called Baldoni’s allegations “meritless” in a separate statement and “recycled from equally baseless claims” included in Baldoni’s earlier complaint against the newspaper.

Lively’s legal team characterized Baldoni’s counter lawsuit as “another chapter in the abuser playbook.”

“This is an age-old story: A woman speaks up with concrete evidence of sexual harassment and retaliation and the abuser attempts to turn the tables on the victim. This is what experts call DARVO. Deny. Attack. Reverse Victim Offender,” the team said in a statement. “In short, while the victim focuses on the abuse, the abuser focuses on the victim. The strategy of attacking the woman is desperate, it does not refute the evidence in Ms. Lively’s complaint, and it will fail.”

Gisele Bündchen, 44, gives birth to third baby with Joaquim Valente

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The former Victoria’s Secret Angel recently gave birth to her first child with boyfriend Joaquim Valente.

According to Page Six, both mum and newborn are “healthy”, but details regarding the baby’s name or sex have yet to be revealed.

The pair had planned to wait until birth to find out if they were having a girl or a boy, TMZ reports.

Bündchen’s representative has not responded to requests for comment.

The 44-year-old supermodel has two other children, son Benjamin, 15, and daughter Vivian, 12, who she shares with ex-husband Tom Brady.

When Bündchen married the NFL star in February 2009, she also became the stepmother to his son Jack, now 17, from Brady’s previous relationship with Bridget Moynahan.

She has consistently referred to Jack as her “bonus” son and has continued to share moments of their bond on Instagram since her split with Brady in 2022.

Following her divorce from Brady, Bündchen moved on with Valente who is her jiu-jitsu instructor.

The couple has been training together since 2021, with Bündchen maintaining that her relationship with Valente did not begin until after her marriage ended.

Their romance was made public in February 2024 with sources telling Page Six they became an item in June of the previous year.

Bündchen and Valente were first linked in November 2022 after the workout instructor joined the model and her kids on a trip to Costa Rica just weeks after her divorce was finalised.

Brady has since been linked to models Irina Shayk and Brooks Nader.

Bündchen was spotted debuting her baby bump in October 2024, amid speculation about her pregnancy, yet she chose not to make any public comments about her growing family.

Brady also refrained from discussing the matter, although a source revealed that the Super Bowl champion “never imagined” Bündchen would have children with someone else.

“At the end of the day, Tom’s sole focus is on his children and his career,” the insider told Page Six. “What Gisele decides to do with her own life is really none of his business.”