Darrell Steven Lighty, commonly known as Chris Lighty, was a famous American film and record producer, as well as a music executive. To the public, Chris Lighty is perhaps best known as a founder of a record label and multimedia entertainment conglomerate called “Violator”. Founded in the 1990s, the company is known for employing such famous artists as Mariah Carey, Sean “P. Diddy” Combs, Q-Tip, Swizz Beatz, Tony Yayo, Twista and Missy Elliott, who also serves as one of the producers on “Violator”. Among its former artists are 50 Cent, LL Cool J, Big Pun, Fat Joe and Olivia to name a few. The record label rose to prominence on the release of several popular singles, including “Say What” performed by LL Cool J, “What It Is” by Busta Rhymes and Kelis, N.O.R.E.’s “Grimey” and “Vivrant Thing” by Q-Tip, which peaked at #7 on the R&B music chart. In addition to that, “Violator” has released two studio albums, which included songs from its artists, namely “Violator: The Album” and “Violator: The Album, V2. 0.”. Chris Lighty served as the founder and CEO of “Violator” until his death in 2012.
Chris Lighty Net Worth $30 Million
A well-known music executive, how rich is Chris Lighty? According to sources, Chris Lighty’s net worth is estimated to be $30 million, the majority of which he accumulated through his involvement with the “Violator” record label.
Chris Lighty was born in 1968, in New York, United States, where he spent most of his childhood and teenage years. He grew up in the Bronx River Housing Projects, which is a low-income neighborhood. Instead of enrolling in college, Lighty decided to become involved in the music industry instead. He started out by working for the well-known disc jockey Kool DJ Red Alert, until he was given an opportunity to work for “Rush Management”, a company established by the famous business magnate Russell Simmons.
Around the same time, Lighty decided upon opening his own company, as a result of which he established “Violator”. His contributions to the company, as well as its artists were immense. Lighty’s “Violator” succeeded in securing an endorsement deal with “Mountain Dew” company for Busta Rhymes, helped develop an endorsement for A Tribe Called Quest with “Sprite”, and contributed to LL Cool J’s appearance in the “Gap” commercial. In 2004, he secured a profitable deal with “Vitamin Water”, and in 2007 signed a $4.1 billion contract with the “Coca-Cola” company. In 2006, “Violator” contributed to the release of Christopher Morrison’s, known as Mink, action film entitled “Full Clip”, in which the main characters were portrayed by Bubba Smith, Xzibit, Busta Rhymes, and Mark Boone Junior.
Among Lighty’s many achievements was “The Violator AllStar DJs” creative outlet for disc jockeys, as well as a website called “pleaselistentomydemo.com”, aimed at helping new artists. Over the years, Chris Lighty made his company one of the most successful businesses in New York.
Unfortunately, in 2012 Lighty’s dead body was found in his house in New York, with an apparently self-inflicted gunshot wound to his head.
