Artists We’ve Lost in 2012: Chris Lighty

The hip-hop mogul, whose fingerprints were all over the hip-hop, R&B and urban genres, was found dead of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound on Aug. 30. Light was just 44 years old at the time of his death. At the time, details of his suicide were a bit cloudy.

While you may not have known Lighty by name or by face, there is no doubt you knew him by his work, since he had a hand in the careers of some of the biggest pop and urban artists. After building his own record label, Lighty went on to work with everyone from 50 Cent to Busta Rhymes over the years, and even acted as Diddy's manager.

It was rumored that Lighy had major tax issues (owing the IRS $5 million) when he turned the gun on himself, making his death that much more tragic.

Lighty, who was the founder and CEO of Violator Entertainment, was loved by the industry, as his death sparked an outpouring of tweets, expressing shock and sadness at his passing.

His impact on the genre will never be forgotten. Neither will he.