Intern Chick

Sadly, not a lot of people even know who Shakir Stewart is, but unless you've been living under a rock, you're well aware of his influence on the music industry and most importantly, hip-hop.  He started as a promoter and became so successful that he caught the attention of Hitco Publishing in Atlanta.  At Hitco, he signd R&B powerhouse, Beyonce Knowles and turned Atlanta into a hip-hop haven.  As a result of his success at Hitco, he got an offer from LA Reid to be an A&R consultant at LaFace Records.  Shakir then moved on to Island Def Jam as VP of A&R and after only 18 months was promoted to Executive Vice President filling the position Jay-Z left vacant last December.  Shakir signed acts like Ciara, Young Jeezy, Rick Ross, A&Red projected for Nas and LL Cool J, and worked on countless other chart topping projects (including Usher's "Yeah," Outkast's "The Way You Move," and Destiny's Child's "Survivor.")

Unfortunately, this past weekend, Shakir Stewart was found dead in his Atlanta home after committing suicide, he was only 34 years old. 

 I've always looked up to Shakir, not only for the successes he's had, but because of his commitment to mentoring young executives in the industry.  He's said his goal was to develop "new, young executives...The hot executive who's 21, 22 years old and has a serious passion or music and the desire to work 27 hours a day.  That's where I was at that time in my life.  And that's who I'm looking to mentor.  I don't see many people like that.  Instead, I see a lot of kids who wants to live the lifestyle but don't want to put in the work and do what it takes"

Shakir Stewart truly was "one of one" and the music industry lost an amazing man this week.