Vice -President of Def Jam Records Found Dead

The music industry has lost one of its talented executives. New York City-based Def Jam Records says that its executive vice president Shakir Stewart, has died. The cause of death could not immediately be confirmed.

Stewart succeeded, Shawn Carter, better known as Jay-Z, as the head of Def Jam last June. He also served as Senior Vice President of A&R at Island Def Jam and is known for signing recent acts like Rick Ross and Young Jeezy the label before being named VP last June. Stewart oversaw the development of new talent, managed producers and guided the label's vision. Def Jam was founded in the mid-1980s by Russell Simmons and Rick Rubin.

"L.A. Reid and all of us at Island Def Jam Music Group are deeply saddened by the passing of our dear friend and colleague Shakir Stewart. Shakir was an amazing man in every sense of the word. A truly incredible friend and father who was an inspiration to not only our artists and employees, but to his family and the many people that had the privilege of counting him as a friend. Our hearts and prayers go out to his family at this very difficult time." - Official Def Jam statement

The Oakland, California native first made his mark on the industry at Atlanta’s Hitco Music Publishing, where he began as an intern, then creative director and later senior VP of creative/GM. His first major splash was signing singer Beyonce Knowles to the label. Billboard.com reported Stewart's death as a suicide yesterday, however, details about the tragedy are still sketchy. There are some reports that say he was found dead of what is reported to be a self inflicted gun shot wound.