Records co-founder Irv Gotti on Wednesday (Feb. 5), tributes poured in from the hip-hop world, including from the label where he got his start, Def Jam. Gotti started out in A&R at the hip-hop label,

Gotti, born Irving Domingo Lorenzo Jr. on June 26, 1970, was a key figure in the sound of ‘90s and 2000s hip-hop, when brash lyricism and outsized personalities blended seamlessly with pop hooks and R&B tenderness.

Irv Gotti, a music mogul who founded Murder Inc. Records and was behind major hip-hop and R&B artists such as Ashanti and Ja Rule, has died. He was 54.