Divorce has rocked hip-hop impresario Chris Lighty. The longtime manager of 50 Cent, Diddy, Mariah Carey and Busta Rhymes has separated from his wife of seven years, Veronica, who played an active role in his talent management company Violator. Veronica filed for divorce shortly after a merger was announced between Violator Management and Larry Mestel’s Primary Wave Talent Management to form Primary Violator Management in September. “It’s a bit of a culture shift,” a source said. “The vibe of his company is hard-core hip-hop, and Primary is very corporate.” Some suggest that Lighty, who brought over only a handful of employees and was named COO, may have been compelled to sell his business to music publisher Primary Wave to cover his impending divorce settlement and existing financial issues. Mestel insisted, “It was absolutely not a sale. Chris and I sat down about three months ago and said let’s get into business together.” Some were shocked to meet a gloomy Lighty his first day on the job last month. “He introduced himself to the staff saying, ‘My name is Chris Lighty. I’m not in a good mood right now. That’s all I’m going to say,” a source said. “It sucked every ounce of oxygen in the room.” Lighty, known for his lavish spending, in more fruitful times was known for buying two Chelsea condos for $5.2 million in 2008. A rep for Lighty declined to comment.