PAYING RESPECTS:A tribute in flowers to Chris Lighty (above) arrives yesterday at the impresario’s funeral, which was attended by top hip-hop stars including Sean “Diddy” Combs, Lauryn Hill and 50 Cent.
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Hip-hop royalty descended on a Manhattan funeral home yesterday to pay tribute to Chris Lighty, who managed some of rap’s biggest acts before his shocking suicide last week.
With stars like Sean “Diddy” Combs, Lauryn Hill, Missy Elliott, 50 Cent, Q-Tip, LL Cool J, Russell Simmons and Grandmaster Flash on hand, the only thing missing from the Frank E. Campbell chapel on the Upper East Side was a red carpet.
Struggling to pay huge bills, Lighty, 44, shot himself last Thursday after an argument with his wife, Veronica, who filed for divorce last year. He was preparing to move out of their West 232nd Street home at the time.
But mourners who remembered Lighty as a generous family man spent more time talking about how he lived.
“He called when he could have e-mailed,” said music and fashion mogul Simmons.
“He set up meetings when he could have called. He was always there for people.”
Simmons paid a special tribute with an online “love letter.”
“He was the bridge that protected the culture, while shaping and curating the truth that was born from it,” Simmons wrote.
“These street kids were mostly without father figures (or at least successful father figures) and many looked to Chris to make sense of their success. Somehow he made it look easy.”
It was anything but easy. Friends said Lighty was obviously struggling in the days before his death.
Hip-hop pioneer Grandmaster Flash said he wished Lighty had reached out to him for help.
“It’s really sad,” he said.
Hundreds of mourners filled the Madion Avenue chapel, and dozens more spilled into the street.
Guests, including Mary J. Blige, Busta Rhymes and the reclusive Hill, filed past Lighty’s open casket.
“I wasn’t surprised at this turnout,” Lighty’s daughter, Deja, said. “My dad was a popular guy. I’ll remember him as a big kid and a goofball.”
Rapper Papoose said he’ll remember Lighty as a caring exec.
“He meant a lot to me,” he said. “He’s the guy I sent my tapes to, and he helped me get a record deal. When you work hard on your own, Chris sees that and gets you across the finish line.
“He was a backbone to hip-hop. He was the best person to go to for advice. He would always respond to a phone call or e-mail.”
Meanwhile, forensic pathologist Michael Baden said yesterday that he performed a second autopsy at the request of relatives, who suspect the death was not a suicide.