Beginning his career carrying records for DJ Red Alert, Lighty landed the gig of a lifetime in 1988, when he was hired to work under Russell Simmons and Lyor Cohen at Rush Management. “Chris isn’t just about making deals—he’s about making deals work,” Cohen once said of Lightly.
He was also a tour manager for the Jungle Brothers, dabbled as a rapper, and was a member of the Native Tongue Crew.
“When you’re growing up in the Reagan era, you really learn the value of a food stamp—and you never want to go back there.” -Chris Lighty
In 1989 Lighty founded Violator Management, further making his mark on the success of Hip-Hop as we know it. 10 years later the company released their first of two compilations, Violator: The Album. The project spawned hits like “Vivrant Thing” by Q-Tip, N.O.R.E.’s “Grimey,” and made it to No. 8 on the Billboard 200 charts. The album was certified gold in the same year.
As of 2001 Violator Management had another record under their belt by way of Violator: The Album, V2.0.
