Michael J. Payton, producer/ director of The Murder Inc. Story has always been destined for success. From Jay-Z’s foundation putting him through school to working with Irv Gotti, he was bound to win.
What was it about filmmaking that made you want to pursue it as a career? How did you get started?
I started off as a rapper and producer, and later I started shooting music videos. I fell in love with filmmaking from there. I started creating short documentaries on things and individuals that inspired me, one being Irv Gotti and Murder Inc., which led to me making a YouTube documentary about them, and which ultimately turned into the 5-part docuseries on BET!
Jay-Z, the most successful rap artist of all-time, played a part in your personal story. In what ways did he help you and your career?
Jay-Z’s Shawn Carter Foundation helped to put me through undergrad at San Francisco State University, where I studied TV and media broadcasting. That was from 2009 – 2015. Years later, I got a chance to interview Jay-Z for the Murder Inc Story, which is crazy because he was a part of Murder Inc and Irv Gotti’s early rise. Real full circle moment!
Let’s talk about the documentary. Better yet, how did your relationship with Irv Gotti begin?
I created an unauthorized doc on Irv and his label and put it on YouTube in 2018. It ended up going viral, and Irv caught wind of it. He made a HUGE post about it on Instagram and told his followers he wanted to work with the guy who made his unauthorized documentary. Social media put us together, and the rest is history!
Producing and directing The Murder Inc Story is an amazing accomplishment. How do feel about its reception?
I am just overwhelmed with all the love and great feedback that we’ve received from the documentary. From casual fans to some of my hip-hop heroes, so many folks have had nothing but great things to say about the series, and I am just so proud that we were able to deliver something that means so much to fans and the culture.
Before this documentary, you created a short about Murder Inc. Why did you choose Irv’s label over so many other New York based imprints?
Growing up, Murder Inc was the very reason I got into the music business. I wanted to be like Irv and own my own label and have artists that I produced. Life would lead me in a different path, but when I started thinking of stories that I would love to tell and that had an impact on me, Murder Inc was right there at the top of my list. And as fate would have it, I ended up with his opportunity. Dream come true!
In the media run to promote this project, Irv made a lot of controversial statements regarding Ashanti. What were your thoughts?
What Irv and Ashanti did together as far as music was historic and groundbreaking. Families fight, so I won’t get into what’s between the two of them. But what I do know is that I personally reached out to Ashanti to offer her the opportunity to tell her side of the story, which she declined to do. But no one can deny the history that was made when Ashanti was on Murder Inc.
So many of hip-hop fans who were born in the 70s and 80s lived through the label’s rise as fans of the music. Give us an example of something they might not have known.
I don’t think a lot of folks realized just how influential Irv was to some of my favorite artists. From Jay-Z to DMX and obviously Ja Rule and Ashanti. But I don’t think people realized how important he was to keeping Def Jam alive in the 90s and early 2000s, which ended up giving us some of our favorite artists like Rihanna, Jeezy, Kanye, etc. Irv played a big role in keeping that label alive.
How did you determine what made it into the final product?
There was so much material that we could have used, but we were dealing with a 40 min time limit because it was on TV. So, we determined what went into the final product by what we felt was the most important aspects of the story to keep fans engaged and drive the story forward. But there was so much more I wish we could have got in!
With the success of The Murder Inc Story behind you, what’s next?
I am directing and producing more documentaries. I am looking for projects that really inspire me and hopefully spark conversations around social change. I believe that hip-hop culture has so much reach and power, and there is so much going on in the world. I hope to use that power to push topics that really matter to our community and make people take action. That’s how I plan to use my platform.
Be’n Original
