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Hip-hop mogul Chris Lighty killed himself Thursday after a heated argument with his estranged wife in the Bronx, police sources told the Daily News.
Lighty (a longtime manager who worked with the likes of 50 Cent, Busta Rhymes, Diddy, Ja Rule and Mariah Carey) walked away from the argument after declaring “I’m tired of this,” before shooting himself in the head behind his South Riverdale home about 11:30 a.m., the sources said.
Cops found Lighty, 44, the founder and chief of Violator Management, lying faceup on the basement patio in a pool of blood with a 9-mm. pistol at his side – the sources said.
The shocking suicide followed a wild spat between Lighty and his 36-year-old wife, Veronica, who filed for divorce last year.
Moving trucks were at the home, as the veteran music manager prepared to move out of the three-story townhouse – sources said.
Law enforcement sources said Lighty’s wife of seven years told police he was facing financial woes that include a $5 million debt to the IRS. However, The Associated Press reported that Lighty paid off most of what he owed by selling a Manhattan apartment for $5,6 million in October.

Chris Lighty.

Twitter was abuzz with condolences just hours after the body was found around 11:30 a.m.
“R.I.P. Chris Lighty” – Fat Joe posted on his account. “The man that saved my life!” Diddy wrote – “In shock.” Rihanna posted – “Rest peacefully Chris Lighty, my prayers go out to family and loved ones! Dear God please have mercy.” And Mary J. Blige wrote – “U never know what can send a person over the edge or make them want 2 keep living. take it easy on people.”
50 Cent said in a statement issued through his publicist that he was deeply saddened by the loss.
“Chris has been an important part of my business and personal growth for a decade” – he said. “He was a good friend and advisor who helped me develop as an artist and businessman. My prayers are with his family. He will be greatly missed.”

Mr. Lighty was born in the Bronx, one of six children by a single mother. He grew up in the Bronx River projects and, like Jay-Z and other giants of the rap world, he often said that he learned the basics of business surviving on the streets.
“I got my M.B.A. in hell” – Mr. Lighty said in an interview with The Daily News in 2007. That year his company announced that its clients had sold a total of 80 million records.
After getting his start carrying crates of records for the D.J. Red Alert, he was hired by Rush Management, where he learned the ropes from Mr. Simmons and Lyor Cohen, now the chief executive of recorded music at the Warner Music Group. By the early 1990′s Mr. Lighty had his own management and record company, which he named Violator after his old gang in the Bronx.
Over the years, in addition to working as a manager, he held executive positions at the record labels Def Jam, Jive and Loud, and later also served as the chief executive of the Brand Asset Group, a joint venture with Warner Music charged with seeking sponsorship and other branding deals. Last year Violator merged with Primary Wave, another artist management group with a focus on branding, to form Primary Violator.
Survivors include his wife, Veronica, from whom he was estranged.