Busta Rhymes and Mona Scott-Young Pay Tribute to Chris Lighty for Hip-Hop’s 50th Anniversary
Jem Aswad Executive Editor, Music Bronx-born Chris Lighty founded Violator Management with Mona Scott-Young in 1996 — and within months they had one of the most powerful firms in the hip-hop business, with a roster that grew to include 50 Cent, LL Cool J, Busta Rhymes, Missy Elliott, A Tribe Called Quest and many more. During those years, Lighty negotiated 50 Cent’s deal with Vitaminwater — which ended up netting the rapper a reported $100 million — and over the course of his career worked at Rush Management and Def Jam, Jive and Loud Records, before his death in 2012.