Irv Gotti, a music executive who founded Murder Inc. Records with his brother and built a hip-hop empire that produced some of the biggest rap and R&B albums of the early 21st century, has died at 54.

Irv Gotti, the music producer who created hits for Ja Rule, Ashanti, DMX and Jennifer Lopez, has died at the age of 54. Best known as the founder of the record label Murder Inc., his signature style of blending hip-hop beats with smooth R&B melodies shaped the sound of the charts in the late 90s and early 2000s.

Records co-founder Irv Gotti on Wednesday (Feb. 5), tributes poured in from the hip-hop world, including from the label where he got his start, Def Jam. Gotti started out in A&R at the hip-hop label,