Ashanti is setting the record straight about her alleged relationship with Irv Gotti. “Let’s clear this up,” Ashanti told Angie Martinez on the IRL podcast on October 26. “We dealt with each other, but was Irv my boyfriend? Was I his girlfriend? Never. Irv had several girlfriends, so I’m a little confused by the label and the description.”

Murder Inc. Records founder Irv Gotti has died at 54. He helped launch careers for talent such as Ashanti, DMX and Ja Rule.

A founder of Murder Inc. Records, he helped launch the careers of Ja Rule and Ashanti and was credited as a producer on 28 records that made the Billboard Hot 100.