Michael 'Blue' Williams remembers the late music manager 'a warrior in the fight for hip-hop legitimacy.'
- Sep 1, 2012
AceShowbiz - Chris Lighty's business acquaintance Michael "Blue" Williams pleaded with fans to have his friend's memory and soul left in peace. The late Hip-Hop mogul, who shot himself with a handgun, reportedly dealt with financial woes, including owing $5 million to the IRS, but Blue believed the debt was not the one which led him to hit rock bottom.
Blue told MTV News, "Managers get in debt sometimes and you got to dig yourself out when your artist gets hot." He also said, "Chris' debt is probably less important than the pressure that he was under. What people are missing and what people don't see and what Chris is an example of is how much, as black men, we carry around and don't always communicate."
Blue believed Chris' personal woes with his wife whom he reportedly had argument with before he committed suicide played part in his depression. "No one can fight in the streets all day and then go home and fight all night, no matter what you do for a living, not just being specific to [Chris]," he reasoned.
Regardless, Blue wanted his late friends to be remembered for his works in music community. "Chris to me is just as important as the Russells and Puffs and Lyors and those people whose names are synonymous with hip-hop," he gushed. "We lost a solider, a warrior in the fight for hip-hop legitimacy."
The founder of Violator Management was found with a gunshot to the head in his Bronx apartment in New York City on Thursday, August 30. There was no sign of foul play and his death was ruled a suicide by the New York Medical Examiner. He was 44 and left behind two children.
He handled the likes of Mariah Carey, 50 Cent, Ja Rule, Mobb Deep, Missy Elliott and LL Cool J. His friends and colleagues in Hip-Hop community, including Rihanna, P. Diddy and Nicki Minaj, flooded Twitter with prayers and condolences to his family.
