Def Jam Label-Head Committs Suicide!

MTV.com reports that Def Jam's executive vice President (Shakir Stewart, 34) committed suicide on Sunday in Atlanta (according to the APD).He died of a traumatic self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. he was found in his bathroom on Saturday night, and by the time he was transported to the hospital, he was pronounced dead. Stewart was credited for putting a lot of Atlanta talent on the map through Def-Jam, including super-producer Jazze Pha. He shot up the ranks recently after Jay-Z's departure. He leaves behind his fiancee, Michelle Rivers, and many loved ones. MTV had more to say:

One of Stewart's long time friends, Christopher Hicks, said he last spoke to Stewart about a week ago. "Whatever happened over the past 24 hours is not a testament to who we all know," Hicks told the Journal-Constitution on Sunday. "He was a one-of-a-kind individual. If you looked on his Blackberry [stamp] it said, 'One of one.' ... I mean, Shakir is the kind of guy who would get dressed up for a party none of us were invited to. ... He had no doubt he was getting in. He was a 'Where there's a will, there's a way' kind of guy. Always."

Stewart's fiancée, Michelle Rivers, released a joint statement with his family on Sunday in which she said that "over the past several weeks, Shakir's behavior was inconsistent with the man we all know and love. As much as we all tried to help him, Shakir was in deep pain and largely suffering in silence."

Sad.