Mr. C, a disc jockey who was a key figure in New York City's burgeoning 1990s hip-hop scene and an early champion of the famous BIG, has died. He is 57 years old.
His death Confirmed on Wednesday Mr. See was hosted by Skip Dillard, Brand Manager of WXBK 94.7 The Black NYC. No reason was given.
Mr. See, a fixture on New York radio for decades, spent more than 20 years as a successful DJ at New York City's Hot 97 before leaving the station in 2014. He was the executive producer of the famous BIG's debut album “Ready to Die.”
Born in August 1966 to Calvin LeBrun in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn, Mr. Seay grew up in his grandparents' house and took to the turntables under the tutelage of an uncle who was a DJ, he told Rock the Bells, a satellite radio program. November.
He said his early influences came from the radio, listening to hip-hop acts such as the world-famous Supreme Team and the Awesome Two.
“This turned into my passion for deejaying and my dream of one day being on the radio” he said.
Mr. C dreamed of Hot 97 before leaving the station, citing the station's new music movement.
“I might be the answer now, but I don't think I'll be the answer five or 10 years from now,” he told the Times in 2014.
Capital Musical Group's promoter Chris Green, who has known the DJ since the mid-'90s, said in an interview with The New York Times that year that Mr. C was “the glue between the old and the new” in Hot 97.
Mr Chee initially resigned from the station for a short time in 2013 after it was revealed that he had solicited the services of transgender prostitutes.
Questions about his sexuality rankled the hip-hop community, which has long struggled with homophobia. He returned to the station briefly before eventually departing in 2014.
Mr. See, still a highly regarded figure, continued to tour and record in clubs and other radio shows. Before his death, he had his own show playing throwbacks on 94.7 The Black NYC.
After his death was announced Wednesday, the station honored Mr. C with a tribute to his 2022 mixtape in honor of what would have been the rapper's 50th birthday.
Before Notorious BIG, DJ Big worked with Daddy Kane. Mr. C is also credited with helping boost the careers of 50 Cent and other rap stars.
A full list of Mr Sea's survivors was not immediately available.
In an interview On the Kitchen Talk podcast Released in 2021, Mr. See showed the presenters a picture of himself holding the 45 rpm record at age 3. He noted that his father had given him the photo before he died in 1993, the same year Mr Sea joined the hot 97.
He added: “He said to me, 'I know what you're going to do.'
