Yesterday, The Inc. moved from its 9th Ave office, symbolizing the end of a business partnership between the label and Def Jam. The Inc. was first asked to leave the Def Jam's offices following 2003's raid because other tenants in the building felt unsafe. They first briefly moved to another NYC office before settling into 440 9th Avenue; while Def Jam continued paying their rent.


Reports of Irv "Gotti" Lorenzo and The Inc.'s departure from Island Def Jam (IDJ) first surfaced this past May. The two parties were negotiating a deal to dissolve their joint venture.

At the time, sources said that Gotti had scheduled meetings with Warner Music Group and EMI to secure his label's distribution. Now industry insiders have revealed that WMG has indeed offered Irv the president position at Atlantic Records.

The Inc.'s move stems from an investigation alleging that Irv, with support from Queens drug lord Kenneth "Supreme" McGriff, laundered over $1 million in drug money to launch the label formerly known as Murder Inc. Industry insiders have speculated that Def Jam wanted to sever ties with The Inc. because the imprint's troubles were tarnishing the company's reputation. Now, a close source has revealed to SOHH.com that IDJ gave The Inc. its walking papers as part of an agreement to avoid federal authorities from probing them as well. Def Jam was likely to be investigated because it contributed $500,000 to Murder Inc's Crime Partners soundtrack; a film co-produced and co-written by McGriff.

Under the agreement, the feds, despite pressure from journalists, refused to specifically named Universal Music Group and Island Def Jam when revealing the indictment on the Gottis in January. Instead, the indictment referred to the two labels as "the other companies."

Back in January 2003, the federal authorities raided the Manhattan offices of The Inc., then known as Murder Inc. The task force went into the offices and seized computers and documents as part of an investigation to see whether Irv had financial ties to McGriff.

In addition to money laundering, the probe also looked to get evidence on gang ties and a series of violent attacks in the rap industry. The violent attacks include the feud between 50 Cent and The Inc.'s flagship artist Ja Rule; the 2002 murder of Jam Master Jay, and the 2001 murder of aspiring rapper, E. Money Baggs. Only a few months after the raid, IDJ demanded that Murder Inc. leave its offices pending more development in the FBI investigation.

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