Shakir Stewart (April 12, 1974 – November 1, 2008), a native of Oakland, California, was a US record executive in a number of companies, the latest being

Def Jam Def Jam Recordings (also simply known as Def Jam) is an American multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It is based in Manhattan, New York City, specializing predominantly in hip hop, contemporary R&B, soul and pop. The ...

. At the time of his death he was the Senior Vice President of

Island Def Jam Music Group The Island Def Jam Music Group (IDJMG) was an American recording music unit, formed on New Year's Eve 1998 by the Universal Music Group. It consists of labels devised and consisted under the basic operations of Island Records and Def Jam Recordin ...

and the Executive Vice President of Def Jam.

Biography

After graduating from

Morehouse College , mottoeng = And there was light (literal translation of Latin itself translated from Hebrew: "And light was made") , type = Private historically black men's liberal arts college , academic_affiliations ...

in Atlanta, Stewart used the money he had made from throwing parties at college to build a small studio with a couple of friends. The group then signed several young producers in the Atlanta area. Stewart's skills as a talent magnet were recognized by Antonio "L.A." Reid, who at the time was just starting the company Hitco Music Publishing, and saw him as someone with "a finger on the pulse of the next generation of hot producers in the Atlanta music scene". At the time Reid was trying to connect to a wholly different market of producers and songwriters and so offered Stewart his first position as an intern-level creative person. In 2000, he was appointed A&R consultant at LaFace Records signing Ciara to the label. He stayed there until 2004. From 2004 he served as vice president and then senior vice president of A&R for Def Jam. He signed Atlanta rapper Young Jeezy and Miami rapper Rick Ross. In June 2008, he was appointed as Executive Vice President of

where he had replaced

Jay-Z Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969), known professionally as Jay-Z, is an American rapper, record producer, entrepreneur, and founder of Manhattan-based conglomerate talent and entertainment agency Roc Nation. He is regarded as one of ...

, a position left vacant since December 2007. In addition to discovering new talent Stewart oversaw various projects as Def Jam VP of A&R, including Nas,

LL Cool J James Todd Smith (born January 14, 1968), known professionally as LL Cool J (short for Ladies Love Cool James), is an American rapper, songwriter, record producer, and actor. He is one of the earliest rappers to achieve commercial success, along ...

, and

Brutha Brutha was an American R&B and soul group consisted of five brothers: Anthony Harrell, Cheyenne Harrell, Grady Harrell III, Jacob Harrell and Jared Overton. The group was formed in 2002 and Brian McKnight first introduced them on the 2003 '' So ...

Death

On November 1, 2008, Stewart was found in the bathroom of his home in the Atlanta suburb of

Marietta Marietta may refer to: Places in the United States *Marietta, Jacksonville, Florida *Marietta, Georgia, the largest US city named Marietta *Marietta, Illinois *Marietta, Indiana *Marietta, Kansas *Marietta, Minnesota *Marietta, Mississippi *Mar ...

with a self-inflicted gunshot wound. He was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital. Def Jam stated that Stewart was "a truly incredible friend and father who was an inspiration to not only our artists and employees, but to his family and the many people who had the privilege of counting him as a friend."

References

External links

AP Obituary
in the

Atlanta Journal-Constitution ''The Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' is the only major daily newspaper in the metropolitan area of Atlanta, Georgia. It is the flagship publication of Cox Enterprises. The ''Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' is the result of the merger between ...

Interview, HitQuarters Nov 05
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stewart, Shakir 1974 births 2008 deaths Record producers from California Businesspeople from Atlanta Businesspeople from Oakland, California Suicides by firearm in Georgia (U.S. state) 20th-century American businesspeople Morehouse College alumni