The producer helped shape rap and R&B after founding the label Murder Inc., which launched artists like Ja Rule and Ashanti.

Irv Gotti, the producer and music industry mogul who launched the careers of Ja Rule and Ashanti, has died at the age of 54, according to the Hollywood Reporter and sources close to the situation. A cause of death has not been confirmed,

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,