STARS GATHER IN NY FOR FUNERAL OF CHRIS LIGHTY

*Hip-hop idol: Chris Lighty, pictured in his New York office on February 28, 2007, was found dead in his Bronx apartment last week with a gunshot wound to the head

Rapper 50 Cent led the mourners at the standing-room-only funeral service on Wednesday for music industry mogul Chris Lighty, 44, following his tragic death.

Hip-hop royalty including LL Cool J, Sean 'Diddy' Combs, Missy Elliott, A Tribe Called Quest's Q-Tip, Russell Simmons, Busta Rhymes, Lauryn Hill, Macy Gray and Grandmaster Flash joined the music executive's wife Veronica, and his two teenage daughters at the Frank E. Campbell Funeral Chapel.

Speakers at the funeral, who included family members as well as LL Cool J and Busta Rhymes, didn't allude to the circumstances of Lighty's death.

Instead they stressed his legacy in the music world and his life as a family man.

In mourning: 50 Cent, real name Curtis James Jackson III, was seen leaving the chapel

One last goodbye: A casket is carried out of the chapel following the service

In memory: A sign with flowers is loaded onto a car along with other floral arrangements following a service for Lighty at the Frank E. Campbell Funeral Chapel in New York on Wednesday

Gone too soon: Darrell 'Baby Chris' Lighty, tributes poured in after the music executive's tragic death

Lighty, 44, the founder and CEO of Violator Management, killed himself last month after a heated argument with his estranged wife Veronica outside their Riverdale townhouse, police said.

The medical examiner ruled it a suicide, but his family has asked for a second autopsy.

Mourners filed past the flower-bedecked coffin where Lighty was laid out in a dark suit. A slideshow depicting his life appeared on a screen.

By the time the service started, the chapel had become crowded, with security guards adopting a one in one out policy.

Rapper Busta Rhymes paid tribute to his longtime friend which ended with a rap: 'You were the light in a lot of lives... It ain’t no coincidence that your last name was Lighty.'

Tributes: LL Cool J, left and Busta Rhymes, right, leave the Frank E. Campbell Funeral Chapel following the standing room only service

Russell Simmons who hired Lighty to work for his former company Rush Management recognised his contribution in helping 'create a cultural revolution'.

LL Cool J said: 'He grew up to be in so many ways a true leader in our hip hop world... We didn’t thank him enough. I know I didn’t', and rapper Q-Tip called him 'an honorable man.'

Lighty’s 17-year-old daughter Tiffany sobbed through the ceremony. 'I know my dad was a popular guy', said her 16-year-old sister Deja.

His widow Veronica was at the funeral but did not speak. However she has insisted that their fight did not trigger his suicide.

The couple were in the midst of a divorce and Lighty had been having financial and personal troubles.

Peers: Chris Lighty worked with some of the biggest names in the music industry, such as Sean 'Diddy' Combs and Lauryn Hill before they were famous

Saying their goodbyes: Macy Gray, left, and Russell Simmons, right, were also in attendance

Veronica confirmed in a recent interview: 'We had a passionate relationship. We fought all the time.'

However she said she said called off the divorce proceedings she started last years two days before Father’s Day.


And on his money troubles, Veronica said Lighty had paid the IRS the $5 million he was reported to owe.

The music executive had been a part of the hip-hop scene for decades, and built his reputation working with rappers who became superstars like LL Cool J before starting his own management company.


As well as building the careers of 50 Cent, Missy Elliott, Mariah Carey, Busta Rhymes and Foxy Brown, Lighty will be remembered for his pioneering work in which he successfully paired hip hop's most famous faces with household brands.

In memoriam: The Order of Service for mourners, left, and a remembrance card, right

He negotiated 50 Cent's deal with Glacéau's Vitamin Water which made the rapper $100 million and brokered LL Cool J's commercial with the Gap in the late 1990s, as well as Busta Rhymes and A Tribe Called Quest's early deals with drinks companies.



In a 2007 interview, Lighty talked about creating opportunities for his stars - a Chapstick deal for LL Cool J, known for licking his lips, and a vitamin supplement deal for 50 Cent.

'As music sales go down because kids are stealing it off the Internet and trading it and iPod sales continue to rise, you can't rely on just the income that you would make off of being an artist,' he said at the time.

Attending the service: Nick Cannon, far left, Lloyd Banks, left, with Tony Yayo, far right, gathered at the memorial\

A player in the hip-hop game since he was a child disc jockey, Lighty rose through the ranks at Rush Management, Simmons' first company, before eventually founding Violator Management in the late 1990s.

His roster ranged from Academy Award-winners Three 6 Mafia to Elliott to up-and-comer Papoose and perpetual star Mariah Carey.

He made it his mission not so much to make musical superstars but rather to create multifaceted entertainers who could be marketed in an array of ways.

Lighty's brother Dave has said he wants a full investigation of his brother's death, which he isn't sure was a suicide.

A floral tribute reads 'I Love You Chris 'Violator 4 Life' - Chris named his management company after a group he used to be close to

Forensic pathologist Michael Baden, the former head of the city medical examiner's office, said Wednesday that he performed a second autopsy at the request of the family and was awaiting test results.

Baden is paid to give independent opinions on deaths and has testified in several high-profile cases including the O.J. Simpson trial.

Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said the department is still investigating and will wait until the full toxicology report is back, but he reiterated that the medical examiner's office has said it's a suicide.

Grandmaster Flash referred to medical examiner's findings outside the chapel.

'Whatever the pressure was that made him take his life had to be tremendous pressure,' he said. 'I just wish that Chris would have reached out and said, "Flash, I need some help, man." ... He didn't reach out. It's really sad.'

Simmons posted an online appeal to the music industry Wednesday to fill the void left by Lighty by mentoring young hip-hop artists.

'Chris was a shining example of playing the game, while always keeping it real,' he wrote.