noah | November 3, 2008 1:30 am

Atlanta police have confirmed that Shakir Stewart, Jay-Z’s successor as executive vice president of Def Jam, died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound on Saturday. His fiance and family released a statement shortly after his death saying, in part, that “over the past several weeks, Shakir’s behavior was inconsistent with the man we all know and love. As much as we all tried to help him, Shakir was in deep pain and largely suffering in silence.” Stewart was responsible for bringing Young Jeezy and Rick Ross to Def Jam during his ascent through the label’s ranks. He was 34. [MTV]

Tags: