The Queens native responsible for some of hip hop's biggest acts reportedly passed away Wednesday in New York City.

A founder of Murder Inc. Records, he helped launch the careers of Ja Rule and Ashanti and was credited as a producer on 28 records that made the Billboard Hot 100.

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

Irv Gotti, the Def Jam record executive behind the Murder Inc. label, has died. He was 54. In a statement posted to Gotti’s Instagram, his family wrote that “It is with heavy hearts that we announce the passing of our beloved father,

Irv Gotti, a famed music producer and founder of the hip-hop label Murder Inc., died. He was 54. "It is with heavy hearts that we announce the passing of our beloved father, Irving 'Irv Gotti' Lorenzo,