Gotti died at age 54 after cofounding Murder Inc. Records with his brother, Chris, in 1998. Irv Gotti, the influential music executive who cofounded Murder Inc. Records — the label that helped launch Ja Rule,

Irv Gotti, the music executive, songwriter and producer behind the reign of hip-hop and R&B stars Ja Rule and Ashanti in the early 2000s, has died. Gotti, the music mogul who co-founded Murder Inc. Records, was 54.

Murder Inc. Records founder Irv Gotti has died at 54. He helped launch careers for talent such as Ashanti, DMX and Ja Rule.