Busta Rhymes broke his silence on the death of music industry veteran Chris Lighty during an interview on Drink Champs. The Extinction Level Event 2 rapper sat down with hosts N.O.R.E. and DJ EFN to discuss his new album and some legendary industry stories when the topic of Lighty’s death came up.
“I was hearing things, I was seeing things,” Busta Rhymes said. “I ain’t disclosing all of that on this interview. But, what I do know is that what it was doing to him, it wasn’t good.”
The day that Lighty died, Busta said he was called around 9 A.M. when he was told that “something happened to Chris.” He wasn’t told that he died, but instead was told by a representative at Violator Management that “Chris hurt himself.”
After a conversation with Lighty’s partner Mona Scott-Young, Busta rushed to Lighty’s house in the Bronx to find the music executive in a body bag being placed in a hearse. “The Purge” rapper appeared devastated as he shared the story in the crowded Drink Champs room.
“This is a horrible day,” he said of the day that Lighty passed. “What fucks with me the most about this shit is because being the first Violator artist Chris never came to my studio sessions.”
Busta goes on to lament that he was bothered by Lighty not coming to his studio sessions, although the high-powered executive would appear at sessions for the other artists. Lighty would eventually start coming to Busta’s sessions in 2011, but would die a year later.
One interesting fact that Busta revealed is that he started his latest album ELE2 in 2009, a decade before its release. Before Lighty passed, he had the opportunity to hear some tracks from the album.
In tears, Busta revealed that he was going through all kinds of things while making the album, including losing two important figures in his life, Lighty and his father. When N.O.R.E. asks whether Busta believes Lighty took his own life, he admitted that he didn’t want to.
“What we know of Chris won’t allow us to accept that possible reality. But, what he was going through, I don’t know if we understood the significance of how serious it was neither, feel me,” Busta said. “So, I don’t have the answer for that, but I’ma leave you with that and you can take that and walk with it and figure out what it is that you think I might be saying. But, what I am saying is they’re ain’t no statue of limitations to murder, neither. So, I ain’t going to stop until I get to the bottom of it.”
Lighty was found unresponsive with an alleged self-inflicted gunshot wound to his head in his Bronx home on August 30, 2012. His storied career included a stint at Russell Simmons Rush Artist Management before co-founding his own company with manager-turned-TV producer Mona Scott-Young. In 1996, Violator Management was born.
Lighty and Scott-Young would build the artist roster to include LL Cool J, Missy Elliott, Mariah Carey, 50 Cent and Busta Rhymes. Known for brokering major deals for his artists, Lighty went on to work with several major companies. One major deal he brokered was 50 Cent’s massive $100 million sell of Vitamin Water to Coca-Cola.
