The Comeback Kid

The rise and fall of Irv Gotti has been well documented. He spent the early years of this decade basking in the success of the Murder Inc. empire he built around Ja Rule and Ashanti—but then things got difficult. When rapper-of-the-moment 50 Cent engaged Gotti and Ja in one of the most intense off-the-wax beefs hip-hop has ever seen, the label's approval rating dropped like Dubya in his second term. Insult got added to injury in 2005, when Irv and The Inc. got caught up in a money laundering investigation that potentially meant a 20-year federal bid. While Gotti was ultimately acquitted, the road back to where he once was has been long. Now, with his hit VHI reality show Gotti's Way, and new projects from Ja Rule and Ashanti coming down the pike, IG is looking for 2008 to be a comeback year. And he sat down with us to build on the new show, the current status of Murder Inc, the rumors behind Ashanti and Irv's sexual relationship, and how he feels the Internet has fucked the music industry. It's Murder.

Complex.com: You were hesitant to do Gotti's Way at first. What did Chris Abrego (Executive Producer) do to convince you?
Irv Gotti: He approached me and at first I was reluctant to do it. It took like two or three months to convince me. But then he said this wouldn't be like Flavor of Love or The Surreal Life or any other reality show. This was going to be real. And after we shot the pilot, I saw his vision and was like "Alright, let's do it."

C: A major theme present in the show is that cheating broke up your marriage...
Irv Gotti: [laughs] Well, there are two parts of the show and it's the tale of two families: the music family, me with my artists and my company and trying to get us back to dominance, and then my family at home and the uniqueness of that family. Me and Deb are actually best friends, we're not together, but we're raising our kids. It's kind of unique that you see that on television: people who are not together, but who get along real well.

C: Are you worried about the effect that your cheating might have on your sons when they go back and watch the show?
Irv Gotti: Anything that they're seeing is nothing that they don't know already. What people need to understand is when they see the show, that's a reflection of me being out of the house. I've been out of the house for six or seven years.

C: What do you think drove you to cheating?
Irv Gotti: What draws any man to cheating? Just wanting to fuck other chicks. I mean that's just the bluntness of it. He sees another chick and he wants it.

C: You're pretty open to keeping it real on the show, but at one point, you kicked the camera crew out of the room because it got so personal. What was it that was going on in that situation?
Irv Gotti: It was me and Deb having talks with Sonny about me and her getting a divorce. Next thing you know, Sonny's crying, and then Deb starts crying. I didn't want that for the show, so I got very angry. I was basically like, "You're going to have to get the fuck out of here." I didn't want the show to be that ? to the point where my family is crying. So I kicked them out. That was the fastest breakdown of a set. If you were to watch the whole footage of that, before I kick them out I'm looking around. I'm actually looking for a stick or a bat or something to break the camera. But I couldn't find anything in the house.

C: Was the money-laundering trial Murder Inc.'s biggest setback?
Irv Gotti: Oh, definitely. Through the money laundering trial I lost my deal, I lost my funding, it was just a huge setback. I was facing 20 years; when you're facing 20 years, you have to worry about getting everything back. So I got everything back, and now this is the whole process of getting me back rolling. It takes a little time.

C: How did you convey to your artists that everything would be straight?
Irv Gotti: I wasn't guilty. I never felt that I would be convicted. I never felt guilty. I told them, "I'm innocent, so there's not reason to think that we're not going to be good, because I didn't do any of this shit."

C: A lot of people would say that 50 was the main reason for the label's fall, more specifically Ja Rule's career, do you think that's fair?
Irv Gotti: That's fair to say. He was definitely riding on us. It was just a whirlwind, though. The combination of a lot of things that just hit us all at one time. But he definitely played a part, because he became the biggest rapper in the world and he didn't like us. But we'll get past all of that. It's all part of the game we're in. We have to accept all of it.

C: In the beginning, did you think that Ja could successfully go back at him?
Irv Gotti: Well he was the newest rapper and the hottest rapper, and it's hard to go against that. The thing about me is that I've been a part of three different movements. I was a part of Rocafella, I was a part of Ruff Ryders, and I was a part of Murder Inc. I know about when you're the new rapper on the rise. It's like you can do no wrong for like two or three years. So if you're saying the sky is green, everyone would say, "Yeah, the sky is kind of green today." So it's just sitting back and riding his wave out, and just keep doing what we do.

C: Now 50's beefed with a ton of people, but with no "real issues" but with you and Ja he makes it clear that you three could never be friends. Why do you think that he holds such resentment?
Irv Gotti: Unlike other rappers, we've had physical altercations with this guy. We whipped his ass and he sued us. So, it's deeper than just words with me and him and Ja and him. It's a real beef.

C: Do you think that your association with Supreme has a lot to do with it as well?
Irv Gotti: It could or it couldn't. I really don't give a fuck. 'Preme is my brother. If he doesn't like me because of that, it really doesn't fucking matter. It's basically like this: he's over there; we're over here. We'll co-exist, because I'm not going anywhere. He's got his little money and he's not going anywhere. All good. We're going to have to just co-exist.