Chris Lighty, the veteran hip hop manager who guided the careers of Diddy, Busta Rhymes, Q-Tip and Mariah Carey among many others, passed away today at the age of 44 from a self inflicted gun shot wound.

Lighty had been a central figure in hip hop for more than 20 years, first as a member of RUSH Management with Simmons and Lyor Cohen and later as co-founder of Violator Management, whose roster included 50 Cent, Swizz Beatz and Missy Elliott. Last year, Lighty merged Violator with management company Primary Wave to form Primary Violator.

Wow! R.I.P.