Shakir Stewart (April 12, 1974 – November 1, 2008[citation needed]), a native of Oakland, California, was a US record executive in a number of companies, the latest being Def Jam. At the time of his death he was the Senior Vice President of Island Def Jam Music Group and the Executive Vice President of Def Jam.[1]
After graduating from Morehouse College in Atlanta, Stewart used the money he had made from throwing parties at college to build a small studio with a couple of friends.[2] The group then signed several young producers in the Atlanta area.[2]
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".[2] 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.[2]
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.[3] He signed Atlanta rapper Young Jeezy and Miami rapper Rick Ross. In June 2008, he was appointed as Executive Vice President of Def Jam where he had replaced Jay-Z, 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, and Brutha.
Death
On November 1, 2008, Stewart was found in the bathroom of his home in the Atlanta suburb of Marietta 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
^"Shakir Stewart: Def Jam's New Hope (or, The Guy Replacing Jay-Z)". AllHipHop.com. June 9, 2008.
^ abcd"Interview With Shakir Stewart". HitQuarters. Nov 14, 2005. Retrieved Jun 22, 2010.
^Murray, Sonia; Derrick Mahone (November 2, 2008). "Record exec Stewart dies from self-inflicted gunshot". Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved 2008-11-15.
shakir, stewart, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, november, . This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Shakir Stewart news newspapers books scholar JSTOR November 2008 Learn how and when to remove this template message Shakir Stewart April 12 1974 November 1 2008 citation needed a native of Oakland California was a US record executive in a number of companies the latest being Def Jam At the time of his death he was the Senior Vice President of Island Def Jam Music Group and the Executive Vice President of Def Jam 1 Contents 1 Biography 2 Death 3 References 4 External linksBiography EditAfter graduating from Morehouse College in Atlanta Stewart used the money he had made from throwing parties at college to build a small studio with a couple of friends 2 The group then signed several young producers in the Atlanta area 2 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 2 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 2 In 2000 he was appointed A amp 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 amp R for Def Jam 3 He signed Atlanta rapper Young Jeezy and Miami rapper Rick Ross In June 2008 he was appointed as Executive Vice President of Def Jam where he had replaced Jay Z a position left vacant since December 2007 In addition to discovering new talent Stewart oversaw various projects as Def Jam VP of A amp R including Nas LL Cool J and Brutha Death EditOn November 1 2008 Stewart was found in the bathroom of his home in the Atlanta suburb of Marietta 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 Edit Shakir Stewart Def Jam s New Hope or The Guy Replacing Jay Z AllHipHop com June 9 2008 a b c d Interview With Shakir Stewart HitQuarters Nov 14 2005 Retrieved Jun 22 2010 Murray Sonia Derrick Mahone November 2 2008 Record exec Stewart dies from self inflicted gunshot Atlanta Journal Constitution Retrieved 2008 11 15 External links EditAP Obituary in the Atlanta Journal Constitution Interview HitQuarters Nov 05 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Shakir Stewart amp oldid 1123183168, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
