By now, you have seen and heard the reports. You’ve read the transcripts. You’ve viewed the web pages and scrolled through the kind words of honor and condolences. I wish you would not have had to, but there’s no denying or getting around it: Chris Lighty, Bronx native, founder of successful Hip Hop and music management firm Violator Management, and Hip Hop business mastermind, took his own life last week.

It was indeed a sad day for many of us that have been supporters of Hip Hop for a while now. Danyel Smith, Lighty’s friend and former editor of Billboard and Vibe magazines, wrote a stirring and poignant piece on NPR about the man and his accomplishments. A piece on all that Chris Lighty did to bring Hip Hop from into not only the pop music mainstream, but into the boardrooms and corporate offices through strategic branding and marketing, was printed just 2 days ago in The New York Times. And the passing of Lighty has been covered and reported on pretty much any and everywhere you can think of in terms of reputable music magazines, blogs and websites.

But the fact is, even if you didn’t know him (which many of us cannot say that we did), you could tell that with Chris Lighty, it was more than just about the music and the business. Sure, he was savvy enough to act as the architect behind LL Cool J’s GAP deal in which the Queens MC subliminally name dropped F.U.B.U. in a national television ad. And he helped 50 Cent, at least temporarily, become the biggest and most branded name in Hip Hop with revolutionary endorsement deals, including the famous Glaceau/Vitamin Water deal that essentially made Fif a millionaire hundreds of times over. Even before those historic cross pollinations between Hip Hop and corporate America, Lighty was forging a path by working with artists like Mobb Deep, Busta Rhymes, N.O.R.E. A Tribe Called Quest (in earlier days), and coming up under the mentor ship of both Russell Simmons and Lyor Cohen. So it’s safe to say that the man had a plan to make not only himself relevant, but to make Hip Hop a powerful change agent and ambassador.

Chris Lighty wanted Hip Hop to be more than a genre of music that was getting paid for slapping the faces of its stars on brand name products. He wanted Hip Hop to be in control of those products and the brands they represented. Many have and will still say that it’s because of how he came up as a hustler in NYC that gave him his business acumen. But the truth is, it takes a whole lot more than that to run with the big boys and come out successful. And not only did Lighty gain his much-heralded business savvy and mind for deal making from his hustling days, but he also had a clear sense of focus, purpose, an unrivaled set of networking skills and continuous goals for himself, his business and for the genre of music he dedicated his life to.

There’s lots of speculation on how Lighty passed, as it was confirmed that he died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. There are several reports of him having a ton of financial struggles this year, as well as a marriage that was on the rocks. But none of us can know truly what the man was going through, and we shouldn’t try to understand, because they were his personal battles to fight.

Instead, we should be thankful of everything that Chris Lighty did for Hip Hop. So many “purists” continue to believe that Hip Hop is not what it used to be, that it’s too obsessed with money, with pop stardom, with remaining relevant in a music world that is ever evolving. But one thing that was taught to us by Chris Lighty is this: you don’t have to compromise everything to be successful. And that’s still at the heart of Hip Hop to this day.

Rest in Peace and Power, Mr. Lighty, and thank you.