Def Jam says it is deeply saddened by death of music mogul who ‘reshaped the soundscape of hip-hop and R&B’

Irv Gotti, the chart-topping producer and music label executive who was instrumental in the careers of Ja Rule, Ashanti and DMX as the co-founder of Murder Inc Records, has died at the age of 54.

The Grammy winner died on Wednesday in New York City, his family told media, but they did not reveal his cause of death. Gotti’s representatives had confirmed last August he had suffered a “minor stroke” in early 2024, saying at the time: “He’s been successful in making a full recovery.”