The famed longtime industry exec shaped the careers of Ja Rule and Ashanti and was pivotal in Def Jam's late Nineties revival

Irv Gotti, a record executive, music producer, and entrepreneur best known as the founder of Murder Inc. Records, has died, The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed. The cause of death is as yet unknown.

Irv Gotti, the Murder Inc. Records founder and music producer who worked with DMX, Aaliyah, Kanye West and Jay-Z, has died. He was 54. The Grammy winner reportedly died on Wednesday in New York City,