Busta Rhymes and Mona Scott-Young Pay Tribute to Chris Lighty for Hip-Hop’s 50th Anniversary
variety.comJem Aswad Executive Editor, Music Bronx-born Chris Lighty founded Violator Management with Mona Scott-Young in 1996 — and within months they had one of the most powerful firms in the hip-hop business, with a roster that grew to include 50 Cent, LL Cool J, Busta Rhymes, Missy Elliott, A Tribe Called Quest and many more.
During those years, Lighty negotiated 50 Cent’s deal with Vitaminwater — which ended up netting the rapper a reported $100 million — and over the course of his career worked at Rush Management and Def Jam, Jive and Loud Records, before his death in 2012.
Scott-Young left Violator in 2005 to branch into the television world — although she continued to co-manage Busta and Missy, the latter to this day — and her production company Monami Entertainment hit the jackpot with “Love & Hip Hop,” which has spawned a slew of spinoffs and launched stars like Cardi B.
As part of Variety’s “50 Greatest Hip-Hop Executives of All Time” feature, Busta and Scott-Young both remember Lighty, him with a written piece (with his distinctive voice loud and clear) and her in a Q&A.
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