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

A hip-hop music legend best known for his work with DMX, Ja Rule and Ashanti is dead at age 54.

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,