The “untold tale of the rise, sudden fall and redemption” of Murder Inc. Records, Irv Gotti’s record label, will be the focus of a new BET original docuseries, Billboard reports. According to the outlet, the five-part series, which is slated to arrive this summer, will feature archived footage and be executive produced by Gotti and label veteran Ja Rule.
“I got to start my record label with Ja Rule by my side. My life was filled with great lows, but I’m not ashamed of those lows,” Gotti explained in a statement on Wednesday (March 2). “It all helped make me the person I am today. With this documentary series, I plan to tell the truth and nothing but the truth.”
“Pain is love,” Ja added, referring to his third studio album that was released via the label. “We endured the pain so others could feel the love.”
After finding success as an executive at Def Jam Recordings, Irv co-founded the Murder Inc. imprint in 1998 with his brother. The label went on to push several chart-topping acts, such as Ashanti, Ja, Lloyd and more.
However, the label’s quick rise to fame was followed by years of feuds and scandal, including federal agents’ raid of company offices in 2003 on suspicion that the label was laundering drug money.
Irv rebranded the label as The Inc. in 2003. Then, in 2017, he ushered in a new chapter for the imprint by partnering with Kevin Liles and 300 Entertainment.
“Music is in our DNA. We thank our longstanding partner Irv Gotti and the many talented artists at the iconic label for trusting our brand to tell their personal and inspiring stories,” Tiffany Lea Williams, the executive vice president of BET Unscripted Programming, said of the series in a statement. “We look forward to bringing viewers a compelling music documentary series that reveals how this label consequently changed the music industry forever.”
Gotti also posted about the upcoming series on Instagram, writing, “Are y’all ready? Coming soon on [BET] The Full Story of Irv Gotti and Murder Inc Records. It’s Dope y’all. All my Murderers. Y’all gonna love this. A lot of big announcements coming. Stay Tuned.” See his post below.