Seth Browarnik/startraksphoto.comChris Lighty has been laid to rest.
Friends and family members of the rap mogul gathered at a Manhattan funeral home on Wednesday to say their goodbyes, six days after Lighty's shocking suicide at the age of 44.
Some of the biggest luminaries in hip-hop including Diddy, Lauryn Hill, LL Cool J, 50 Cent, Missy Elliot, Russell Simmons, Grandmaster Flash, and Mary J. Blige attended the memorial service at the Campbell Funeral Chapel where Lighty's body, dressed in a black suit, rested in an open casket.
Lighty was found dead in his five-story Bronx townhouse last Thursday with a gunshot wound to the head. The New York Medical Examiner's office subsequently ruled his death a suicide.
According to MTV, speakers at the Violator honcho's funeral included Warner Music executive Lyor Cohen and Busta Rhymes and Q-Tip, who shared some favorite memories of Lighty and the impact he had on their careers.
At the time of his death, reports surfaced that the more than $330,000 Lighty owed in state and federal taxes and bickering with his wife, Veronica, may have played a role in his decision to take his life. But his widow told the New York Daily News on Tuesday that financial and marital woes were not to blame—despite the fact the couple were on the verge of divorce before she retracted her petition in June.
"Chris had a lot of weight on his shoulders," she said. "Let him die proud, at peace because that's what he needed and that's he wanted. He just wanted peace and he wanted to relieve all that stress."