Executive Decision: Shakir Stewart

Shakir Stewart was a famous record executive for a number of companies. Stewart was raised in Oakland, California and attended Morehouse College in Atlanta. He made money from throwing parties in college and ended up building his own studio. Stewart worked with several up and coming Atlanta artists and producers during this time.

L.A. Reid eventually took notice of Stewart and saw him as someone who knew how to recognize talent, especially in the Atlanta scene. L.A. Reid was looking to branch out to different markets with his new music publishing company, Hitco, and decided to hire Shakir as a creative intern. One of Shakir’s first signees to Hitco Music Publishing was Beyoncé in 2000.

Shakir was also appointed as an A&R Consultant at LaFace Records until 2004 where he eventually signed Ciara. With his massive success in the early 2000s, Shakir became the Executive Vice President of A&R for Def Jam where he replaced Jay-Z. At Def Jam, he was responsible for acts such as Young Jeezy, Nas, LL Cool J, and Rick Ross.

In 2008, Shakir was discovered dead in the bathroom of his home with a self-inflicted gun shot wound. Many of the artists he worked with speculated his death and didn’t believe that he would’ve committed suicide. In 2014, a documentary trailer about Shakir’s life appeared online, but the film has yet to be released.

Watch the Trailer Here: