Murder Inc. (rap group)
Murder Inc. | |
|---|---|
DMX (left), Jay-Z and Ja Rule (right) backstage at Beyonce's Formation World Tour finale in New Jersey 2016 | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | New York City, U.S. |
| Genres | |
| Years active | 1995–2000 |
| Labels | |
| Formed by | |
| Past members | Jay-Z DMX (deceased) Ja Rule |
Murder Inc. was an American East Coast hip hop supergroup composed of Jay-Z, DMX, and Ja Rule, formed by record executive Irv Gotti in 1995. They first appeared in tandem on fellow New York-based rapper Mic Geronimo's 1995 song "Time to Build." After each gaining commercial success, the trio later appeared on the cover for the June 1999 issue of the hip-hop magazine XXL.
"Murder Inc." was rebranded by Irv Gotti to a namesake record label that he co-founded in 1998; Ja Rule was signed to the label and served as its flagship artist. Shortly afterward, the group disbanded in 2000 due to internal conflicts.