The Inc
| Murder Inc Records | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Parent company | Universal Music Group |
| Founded | 1997 (as The Inc. Records) New York City, New York, U.S. |
| Founder |
Irv Gotti Chris Gotti |
| Status | Active |
| Distributor(s) | Def Jam |
| Genre | Hip hop, R&B, Rap |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Official website | www.theincrecords.com |
Murder Inc. Records (formerly The Inc. Records) is an American record label.
After helping Def Jam Recordings with the success of DMX & Ja Rule, Russell Simmons gave Irv Gotti his own label under Def Jam. While watching Biography on A&E during gangster week a Murder Inc. logo appeared on the screen which gave Irv Gotti an idea what to call his label. He got the inspiration because Murder Inc. put out hits and Irv wanted to put out hit records. In 1999, Murder Inc. released its first album, Venni Vetti Vecci by Ja Rule. The album featured the hit single "Holla Holla" and soon went platinum, which made Ja Rule and Murder Inc. among the most popular labels in the industry, respectively.
In 2000, the label began to associate themselves with Lil' Mo, who would record two popular duets with Ja Rule, "Put It on Me" and "I Cry". That same year, Irv Gotti released the first Murder Inc. compilation, Irv Gotti Presents: The Murderers.
They would sign Charli Baltimore and Ashanti during that year. Also in 2001, their friendship with Lil' Mo would grow sour because her tracks that were set to be released on Ja's third album were cut and replaced with duets with Ashanti and Jennifer Lopez.
This would cause a minor feud with Lil' Mo as she cut ties with the label. The label would soar to new heights from mid 2001 to early 2003. Not only did Ja Rule release his multi-platinum selling album Pain Is Love, that release was soon followed up with Ashanti's multi-platinum debut, Ashanti, which broke Guinness World Records and spawned three hits on the Billboard charts.
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