Chris Lighty

NEW YORK (AP) - A hip-hop mogul who managed Sean "Diddy" Combs, 50 Cent and Mariah Carey was found dead in his New York City apartment Thursday in an apparent suicide, police said.

Chris Lighty, 44, was discovered at his home in the Bronx with a gunshot wound to the head, and was pronounced dead at the scene, police said.

No note was recovered, but a .9-mm handgun was found at the scene and there was no sign of forced entry, said Paul Browne, chief spokesman for the New York Police Department.

The medical examiner's office will determine a cause of death, but authorities say the shooting appears to be self-inflicted.

Lighty was behind some of rap's leading figures, helping them not only attain hit records but also lucrative careers outside of music. He had been a part of the scene for decades, working with pioneers like LL Cool J before starting his own management company, Violator.

Twitter was abuzz with condolences on his death just hours after the body was found.

"R.I.P. Chris Lighty," Fat Joe posted on his account. "The man that saved my life!"

"Today, we lost a hip-hop hero and one of its greatest architects," wrote Russell Simmons.

Lighty was raised in the Bronx and ran with a group called The Violators, the inspiration for the name of his management company, according to the company website. He was a player in the hip-hop game since he was a kid DJ. He rose through the ranks at Rush Management (Simmons' first company) before eventually founding Violator Management in the late 1990s. (Mona Scott and James Cruz are partners).

His roster ranged from Academy Award-winners Three 6 Mafia to maverick Missy Elliott to up-and-comer Papoose and perpetual star Carey. He made it his mission not so much to make musical superstars, but rather multifaceted entertainers who could be marketed in an array of ways: a sneaker deal here, a soft drink partnership there, a movie role down the road.

In a 2007 interview with The Associated Press, Lighty talked about creating opportunities for his stars - a Chapstick deal for LL Cool J, known for licking his lips, 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.

COLLEEN LONG, Associated Press


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