LOS ANGELES (AP) – Mr. C, one of hip-hop’s pioneering DJs and a New York City radio personality who played a key role on Notorious BIG’s debut album, has died. He was 57 years old.
The famous disc jockey’s death was confirmed on Wednesday by Skip Dillard, brand manager at 94.7 The Block NYC, where See had a show. The cause of death has not been announced.
Tupac and Biggie: Rap’s biggest rivalry remains a top unsolved mystery
“We have lost one of the most important people in our industry,” 94.7 The Block said in a social media post.
Mr. C was a mainstay in the rap community. He is a former Big Daddy Kane DJ and executive producer of Notorious BIG’s breakthrough 1994 debut, Ready to Die.
The New York native also served as a radio personality on Hot 97 in his hometown, but he briefly quit his job in 2013 after being arrested in connection with soliciting prostitutes. Audio of one encounter was leaked online.
Mr. C, one of hip-hop’s pioneering DJs and a New York City radio personality who played a key role in Notorious B.I.G.’s debut album, has died. (Photo by Johnny Nunez/WireImage)
After this last incident, Mr See denied trying to solicit the man for sex and said a masked female police officer approached him. He also denied being gay.
However, Mr. C soon reappeared in an interview with Ebro Darden on Hot 97, in which he confessed in a tearful interview that he had had encounters with prostitutes and homosexuals. However, he also said that he does not consider himself gay or bisexual.
During the interview, Mr. See was worried that his hospitalization would hurt him. “Will I ever be looked at the same way again?”
But Mr. C received support from some in the hip-hop world. This was surprising at the time, given that anti-gay lyrics by some of hip-hop’s biggest stars were often branded as homophobic.
“No matter what Mr. C does in his personal life, he has more power,” Roots leader Amir “Questlove” Thompson said in a 2013 interview. “He shouldn’t be ashamed of it. We all have to grow up eventually.”
After Darden persuaded him to stay on, Mr. See ultimately decided not to quit his job at Hot 97 and to undergo therapy. At the time, he worked with the AIDS Health Foundation to develop the “New Sexual Revolution” campaign, encouraging others to open up about their sexuality and take advantage of protection.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
However, Mr. Cee’s return to the station did not last long. He left the company in 2014.
Over the years, Mr. C maintained his respect within the rap industry, continued to work on other radio shows, and was spinning old tracks on his show on 94.7 The Block before his death.
Dillard said on social media that she was “truly honored to have known him.”
