Stars attend NYC funeral of hip-hop mogul Lighty; Grandmaster Flash calls death ‘really sad’

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LL Cool J, foreground right, shares an embrace with another as he leaves the Frank E. Campbell Funeral Chapel following the service for hip-hop mogul Chris Lighty, Wednesday Sept. 5, 2012 in New York. Mourners in the packed chapel Wednesday included Sean "Diddy" Combs, Missy Elliott, Q-Tip, LL Cool J, Russell Simmons, 50 Cent and Grandmaster Flash. Lighty, the 44-year-old hip-hop mogul was found dead in his Bronx apartment last week with a gunshot wound to the head. (AP Photo/Tina Fineberg)

NEW YORK, N.Y. – Some of music’s biggest stars have gathered for the New York City funeral of hip-hop mogul Chris Lighty.

Mourners in the packed chapel Wednesday included Sean “Diddy” Combs, Missy Elliott, Q-Tip, LL Cool J, Russell Simmons, 50 Cent and Grandmaster Flash.

The 44-year-old hip-hop mogul was found dead in his Bronx apartment last week with a gunshot wound to the head. The medical examiner ruled it a suicide.

Speaking outside the chapel, Grandmaster Flash said he wished Lighty had reached out to him for help. He says Lighty must have been under “tremendous pressure,” adding, “it’s really sad.”

Lighty was laid out in a dark suit, surrounded by arrangements of white flowers. A slide show depicting his life appeared on a screen.

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