Def Jam Exec. Vice President Shakir Stewart Dead at 34

Def Jam Executive Vice President Shakir Stewart reportedly committed suicide this weekend in his Atlanta home. He was 34. Stewart was tabbed to replace Jay-Z's role at Def Jam after the rapper left after signing a deal with Live Nation. Prior to filling the EVP position, Stewart signed multi-platinum artists like Young Jeezy and Rick Ross. According to reports, Stewart was found in his Atlanta home, a victim of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. He was transported to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead. In a statement, Stewart's fiancée Michelle Rivers said "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." Island Def Jam also issued a statement, saying, "Shakir was an amazing man, in every sense of the word. A truly incredible friend and father who was an inspiration to not only our artists and employees, but to his family and the many people who had the privilege of counting him as a friend. Our hearts and prayers go out to his family at this very difficult time."

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Song Stories

“Piano Man”

Billy Joel | 1973

Billy Joel’s first hit, “Piano Man,” was – ironically – an autobiographical lament about how his first album wasn’t a hit. When Cold Spring Harbor didn’t take off, Joel briefly became a lounge pianist in Los Angeles, and this song, about that experience, expressed his frustrations and fears at the time: “And they sit at the bar and put bread in my jar/And say, ‘Man, what are you doing here?’” “It was all right,” Joel said later, about the gig. “I got free drinks and union scale, which was the first steady money I’d made in a long time.”

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