I met Shakir Stewart back in 2005 during my first year at ro. Shakir was working as an A&R at Def Jam and was on the verge of breaking Young Jeezy after the Trap or Die mixtape. I interviewed Shakir and he talked about how he grew up in the Bay Area and the opportunities that he saw in Atlanta after moving to the city to attend Morehouse. He also discussed working odd jobs and paying his dues to make a name for himself in the music industry. He seemed to have a thirst to achieve and I wasn’t surprised when I heard that he was taking over Jay-Z’s old job as the VP of Def Jam a few months back. In a matter of time, I could see dude as the next powerful mogul in hip-hop.
So when I heard of his death that occured Saturday afternoon, I was extremely shocked. According to Atlanta Police, Shakir died of a self-inflicted wound. More should be made known about the case, but Shakir didn’t come off as a guy who would do this to himself. At the same time, I’m not sure what he was going through personally. I hope that his family will be able to discover more answers soon. Shakir will be sorely missed in the music industry and by all who knew him.
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