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Mister Cee, a disc jockey who was an integral figure in New York City\u2019s booming 1990s hip-hop scene and was an early champion of the Notorious B.I.G., has died. He was 57.<\/p>\n
His death was confirmed on Wednesday<\/a> by Skip Dillard, the brand manager at WXBK 94.7 The Block NYC, where Mister Cee had a show. No cause was given.<\/p>\n Mister Cee, whose head-bopping mixes reverberated on New York radio for decades, was a hit D.J. on New York City\u2019s Hot 97 for more than 20 years before leaving the station in 2014. He was the executive producer of the Notorious B.I.G.\u2019s debut album, \u201cReady to Die.\u201d<\/p>\n Born Calvin Lebrun in August 1966 in Brooklyn\u2019s Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood, Mister Cee grew up at his grandparents\u2019 home and took to the turntables under the mentorship of an uncle who was a D.J., he told Rock The Bells, a satellite radio show, in November.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n He added that his early influences came from the radio, listening to the likes of the hip-hop acts World Famous Supreme Team and Awesome Two.<\/p>\n \u201cThis turned into my passion for deejaying and having that dream that one day I wanted to be on the radio,\u201d he said.<\/a><\/p>\n Mister Cee lived out the dream on Hot 97 before leaving the station, citing the station\u2019s new musical direction.<\/p>\n \u201cI might be the answer for now, but I don\u2019t think I\u2019ll be the answer five or 10 years from now,\u201d he told The Times in 2014.<\/a><\/p>\n Chris Green, a promoter at Capitol Musical Group who had known the D.J. since the mid-90s, said in an interview with The New York Times that year that Mister Cee \u201cwas the glue between the old and the new\u201d on Hot 97.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Mister Cee first resigned from the station for a brief period in 2013 after it was revealed that he had solicited the services of transgender prostitutes.<\/p>\n Questions about his sexuality rankled the hip-hop community, which has long struggled with homophobia. He briefly returned to the station before ultimately leaving in 2014.<\/p>\n Mister Cee, still a highly-respected figure, continued spinning records in clubs and on other radio programs. Before he died, he had his own show playing throwbacks on 94.7 The Block NYC.<\/p>\n After his death was announced Wednesday, the station honored Mister Cee by playing a recording of his 2022 mix paying tribute to the Notorious B.I.G. for what would have been late rapper\u2019s 50th birthday.<\/p>\n Before the Notorious B.I.G., the D.J. had worked with Big Daddy Kane. Mister Cee is also credited with helping promote the careers of 50 Cent and other rap stars.<\/p>\n A full list of Mister Cee\u2019s survivors was not immediately available.<\/p>\n