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.

Famed music executive Irv Gotti, founder of hip-hop label Murder Inc. which produced superstars including Ashanti and Ja Rule, has died at the age of 54, according to the record’s distributor Def Jam.

RECORD producer Irv Gotti has died at the age of 54. Gotti, the founder of Murder Inc Records, died  around one year after he suffered a stroke. Reports surfaced that Gotti, real name Irving