Chris Lighty facts for kids

Darrel Steven "Chris" Lighty (born May 8, 1968 – died August 30, 2012) was an important American music executive. He helped create a company called Violator. This company was a record label and also managed and marketed many famous hip hop and R&B artists. Some of the artists he worked with include Busta Rhymes, A Tribe Called Quest, Nas, Missy Elliott, LL Cool J, and 50 Cent. The New York Times newspaper once said he was "one of the most powerful figures in the hip-hop business."

Early Life and Background

Chris Lighty was born in the Bronx, a part of New York City. He grew up in a neighborhood called the Bronx River Housing Projects. His mother raised him and his five siblings, including his brother, Dave. Chris went to Samuel Gompers High School. He did not go to college, but he learned a lot about business from his experiences growing up.

Chris Lighty's Career in Music

Chris Lighty started his career in music by helping DJ Red Alert. He would carry heavy boxes of vinyl records for the DJ. Later, he worked for Russell Simmons' company, Rush Artist Management.

Starting Violator Management

After leaving Rush, Lighty co-founded Violator Management in 1996 with Mona Scott-Young. The company was named after a group he was part of when he was younger. Violator helped artists in many ways. For example, they helped L.L. Cool J get his first commercial with the clothing company Gap in 1997.

Big Brand Deals

Chris Lighty was very good at helping artists get deals with big brands. These deals are called endorsements. He helped A Tribe Called Quest get a deal with Sprite. He also helped Diggy Simmons work with AT&T and Busta Rhymes with Mountain Dew.

The Violator Allstar DJs and Video Games

In 2002, Lighty and a DJ named DJ Scrap Dirty started The Violator Allstar DJs. Chris Lighty said they wanted to help DJs who needed more support. In the same year, he appeared in the video game Def Jam: Fight for NY. He was a character in the game named Baby Chris.

Working with Record Labels and Big Deals

Lighty also worked for major record labels like Def Jam, Jive, and Loud Records. He was the chief executive of a company called Brand Asset Group.

In 2004, Chris Lighty helped make one of the biggest endorsement deals in hip hop history. He worked with rapper 50 Cent on a deal with Vitamin Water. When Coca-Cola bought Vitamin Water's company, Glaceau, a few years later, 50 Cent received a lot of money. Chris Lighty also received a large sum for his work on the deal.

Helping New Artists

In 2011, Lighty launched a website called pleaselistentomydemo.com. This website allowed new artists to send their music online. For a small fee, top music executives would listen to their songs. This helped new artists get noticed. (The website is no longer active.)

Later in 2011, Violator joined with another company, Primary Wave. They formed a new company called Primary Violator.

Personal Life

Chris Lighty married his wife, Veronica, in 2003. They had two children together, a daughter named Deja (born in 1995) and a son (born in 2007). Chris also had four other children from earlier relationships, including a daughter named Tiffany (born in 1995).

Death

Chris Lighty passed away in his apartment in South Riverdale, Bronx on August 30, 2012.