Violator is a group of artists formed as a collective to make a multi-media record label, management and marketing agency comprising the likes of Busta Rhymes, Mariah Carey and Missy Elliott. Founded by Chris Lighty in the 1990s, they released two compilation albums in 1999 and 2001 respectively.
The first release, 'Violator: The Album' reached the top ten of the Billboard 200, and featured the first solo single for Q-Tip of A Tribe Called Quest in the form of 'Vivrant Thing'. 'Violator: The Album 2.0' followed in July 2001 and followed up the success of its predecessor by having similar chart success and contributions from the likes of LL Cool J on 'Put Your Hands Up' and Busta Rhymes and Kelis on 'What It Is'.
Violator closed in 2012 following the death of founder Lighty.
