Shakir Stewart, the Universal executive who took over the President job at Def Jam from Jay-Z earlier this year, has been found dead in Atlanta. It's believed he committed suicide, though specifics about the A&R man's death are as yet sketchy.
Stewart became President of the Def Jam label in June when Jay-Z left his executive role at the major. He took on the new job in addition to his existing Universal role as Senior A&R VP for the whole of the Island Def Jam Group. Prior to joining IDJ, Stewart worked for Hitco Music Publishing, and among other things was responsible for signing Beyonce Knowles to the publishing outfit.
Confirming Stewart's death, a statement from the Universal Music Group issued yesterday read: "LA Reid and all of us at Island Def Jam Music Group are deeply saddened by the passing of our dear friend and colleague Shakir Stewart. Shakir was an amazing man in every sense of the word. 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 that had the privilege of counting him as a friend. Our hearts and prayers go out to his family at this very difficult time".
A second statement issued on behalf of Shakir's fianc‚, Michelle Rivers, and the couple's families read: "We would like to thank Shakir's friends for the tremendous outpouring of love and support we have received during this difficult time. It has helped us to cope with our overwhelming grief and sadness. It is difficult to express or explain in words what led to the tragic occurance on Saturday. 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. Please remember Shakir for who he was... a wonderful father, partner, son and friend".