Irv Gotti, Russell Simmons and Dr. Benjamin Chavis held a press conference today at the Rihga Royal hotel in Manhattan to announce a name to change to Gotti’s record label, Murder Inc.Gotti said the name change is meant to shed any negativity surrounding his business. He revealed that he initially intended to name the label Lockdown Records.When Gotti saw the story of the real Murder Incorporated gang on television, he decided to use it, hoping to create a name he could brand, such as Death Row or Bad Boy.After speaking with Minister Louis Farrakhan and Russell Simmons, Gotti decided a changing of the name would be best for his company.”I’m like damn we just made a classic record and they just want to focus on that word murder,” Gotti said. “We want to be good people. You gotta do what’s in you’re heart and you gotta do what’s right.”Gotti said that he wouldn’t drop the Gotti from his name because the name was bestowed upon him by Jay-Z.”Hopefully people will try to give us some of the kudos we deserve, not the negative bullsh*t” Gotti said as Ashanti and Ja Rule looked on. “When I say they…I mean the masses..its really the people outside of the hip hip world that don’t get it.”When fielding questions, a reporter asked Gotti’s opinion about Eminem and the ten-year-old tapes that recently surfaced featuring the multi-platinum rapper using racial epitaphs to describe black people.”I’m a defender of black women,” Gotti said. “You can listen to our records. Everything that we do is about a man and woman riding for each other, so I can’t give him no pass. Those words (his apology) are far worse than the tape. I aint riding with that. People know that we got probems with them. Where is C. Delores Tucker? Where is Dionne Warwick? It makes me question my faith in my people”Gotti’s statements contrasted Simmons’, who accepted Eminem’s public apology. Simmons’ acceptance of Eminem’s apology put him at odds with The Source and prompted the magazine’s co-owner, Dave Mays, to resign from the board of Simmons’ Hip-Hop Summit Action Network.The magazine invited Simmons, Gotti and representatives for Def Jam to a discussion on race and hip-hop, which Simmons accepted.
