Music producer Irv Gotti died after a stroke Feb. 5. His clients included Jennifer Lopez, Ja Rule, Ashanti, DMX, and JAY Z.

NEW YORK -- Irv Gotti, the famed hip-hop music executive from New York City, has died at the age of 54. Def Jam Recordings shared a message on social media late Wednesday night confirming his death, saying the label is "deeply saddened."

A founder of Murder Inc. Records, he helped launch the careers of Ja Rule and Ashanti and was credited as a producer on 28 records that made the Billboard Hot 100.

Irv Gotti, the music producer who co-founded hip-hop label Murder, Inc., and signed stars such as Ja Rule, Ashanti and Lloyd, has died. He was 54.

Irv Gotti, a music mogul who founded Murder Inc. Records and was behind major hip-hop and R&B artists such as Ashanti and Ja Rule, has died

Z, DMX, Ja Rule, Ashanti, Mary J. Blige, and several more artists. He was the founder of the record label Murder Inc. and an executive at the pa