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Irv Gotti’s Funeral: JAY-Z, Ja Rule & More Pay Their Respects 

Irv Gotti
By: London JennnCategory: News

Hip-Hop heavyweights and loved ones gathered in Queens to bid a heartfelt farewell to Irv Gotti and honor his life and legacy. 

Irv Gotti was laid to rest in a private funeral service in NYC on Wednesday (February 19), surrounded by family, friends, and industry peers. 

Ja Rule delivered a heartfelt eulogy to his late friend and former label boss during the ceremony at the Greater Allen A.M.E. Cathedral of New York in Jamaica, Queens, the borough where Gotti launched his career as DJ Irv.  

Video footage captured an emotional Ja Rule struggling to find his words as he paid tribute to his late friend.  

“Irv is my brother,” he said with a shaky voice. ” It’s the biggest honor you can give somebody who is not your blood brother is to say they’re your brother. He deserves to have respect. We started this journey together a long time ago. The man changed my life.”  

Ja continued, “Irv, I love you. Everyone in this room loves you. You touched everybody in your own way, and I know everybody has their moments of that with him.”  

Fighting back tears, he concluded, “We’re all here in celebration of your life because it will live on forever. I love you, my brother. See you when I get there. ” 

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Hip-Hop & R&B Stars Come Together At Irv Gotti’s Funeral

JAY-Z sat in the front row alongside Gotti’s family, while Murder Inc. artists Ja Rule, Ashanti, Lloyd, Charli Baltimore, and Vita came together to pay their respects, per TMZ. 

Also in attendance were Fat Joe, Steve Stoute, Hype Williams, Benny Boom, Angie Martinez, the Ruff Ryders, and other notable figures from the industry mourning the Murder Inc. co-founder’s sudden death. 

After the ceremony, Gotti’s family and friends honored him with a procession through his Queens neighborhood. The final sendoff reportedly included stops at his childhood home and other locations that held special meaning to him. 

Irv Gotti died on February 5 at the age of 54, days after suffering a massive stroke. He is survived by his children Angie, Sonny and Jonathan Wilson, his brother and Murder Inc. co-founder Chris Gotti, mother Nee Nee Lorenzo and sisters Tina and Angie.