Today, Atlanta police confirmed that Senior Vice President of Def Jam Records, died of a self inflicted gunshot wound over the weekend.  The 34-year-old was found in a bathroom in his Atlanta-area home on Saturday and was transported to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

He graduated from Atlanta’s Morehouse College and got his start as a music executive at Hitco Music Publishing where he signed Beyoncé. In 2000, he was appointed A&R consultant at LaFace Records signing Ciara to the label. He stayed there until 2004. In June 2008, he was assigned as Executive Vice President of Def Jam where he had replaced Jay-Z, a position left vacant since December 2007.

In addition to discovering new talent Stewart oversaw various projects as Def Jam VP of A&R, including Nas and LL Cool J.

Depression is a deadly disease. Our thoughts and prayers go out to Shakir Stewart’s family. The funeral is expected to be held next week.