Music producer and mogul Irv Gotti, who helped propel Ashanti and Ja Rule to prominence and collaborated with the likes of Jennifer Lopez and Kanye West, has died. He was 54. A cause of death has not yet been confirmed for the Queens-born co-founder of Def Jam imprint Murder Inc.

Irv Gotti, the producer and music industry mogul who launched the careers of Ja Rule and Ashanti, has died at the age of 54, according to the Hollywood Reporter and sources close to the situation. A cause of death has not been confirmed, although sources tells Variety that he had suffered a series of strokes in recent months.