Following the funeral service at the Frank E. Campbell Funeral Chapel in Manhattan, the founder of Violator Management is laid to rest at the George Washington Memorial Park.
- Sep 6, 2012
AceShowbiz - Chris Lighty's funeral drew a slew of hip-hop biggest artists on Wednesday, September 5. Celebrities namely LL Cool J, P. Diddy, Missy Elliot, 50 Cent, Busta Rhymes, Q-Tip, Russell Simmons, Mary J. Blige, Lyor Cohen and Grandmaster Flash were blending with family and friends to pay final respect to the late music manager at the Frank E. Campbell Funeral Chapel in Manhattan.
The funeral service began at around 9 A.M. and the attendees only started to come out shortly after 1 P.M. Met outside the chapel, LL told MTV News, "He was a jewel and a treasured person in the community. Just one of the architects of our culture and he was my friend." Busta exited at around 1:30 P.M. and shared hugs with other mourners.
Following the service, Chris' casket was loaded into a hearse. His wife and two kids left shortly after. The Hip-Hop mogul was later laid to rest at the George Washington Memorial Park wearing a dark-colored suit and surrounded by white flowers.
Chris was found dead 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.
His widow Veronica recently denied that their marital issues and financial woes led to his suicide. She admitted to have filed for divorce last year, but retracted it two days before Father's Day. "That was my gift to him," she said.
Veronica also said they no longer owed $5 million in tax to IRS. According to The Associated Press, Chris used the the proceeds from the sale of their Chelsea apartment to pay off most of the IRS debt, but he still owed more than $330,000 in state and federal taxes.
Still, Veronica admitted, "Chris had a lot of weight on his shoulders."
