New York DJ Hip-Hop Icon Mister Cee has died at 57

Calvin LeBrun, known in New York as the legendary DJ Mister Cee, has died at the age of 57. Hot 97 broke the news, citing his family confirmed his death. HiHot 97's Peter Rosenberg took to X to pay tribute to his former colleague.

“We have lost the iconic Mister Cee. I heard him yesterday and I am in complete shock. He was a dear friend to us all, a wonderful person and one of the most influential and impressive DJs of all time. I love you Cee” wrote Rosenberg.

In the station's official statement on his death, New York's Hot 97 said, “As a family at HOT 97 and WBLS, we are deeply saddened by the passing of our beloved Mr. Cee. He wasn't just a DJ. he was a mainstay of our stations, bringing joy to countless listeners with his legendary Throwback at Noon and Friday Night Live.” Cee, who was his helm Set Off Show on Sirius XM's Rock The Bells radio, was also famous for DJing parties throughout the tri-state area for decades.

Along with being a legendary radio host, the Brooklynite known as “The Finisher” was the DJ behind Big Daddy Kane's Long live Kane debut album and also had a hand in the early chapters of the late Notorious BIG's career. Late Brooklyn DJ 50 Grand received Notorious BIG's initial demo and introduced him to Cee, who said Rock the Bells on meeting Biggie just last year:

“The first time I met him was when his DJ 50 Grand, rest in peace, brought Big to my house. The plan was we were going to re-do the underground demo they made with 50 Grand,” said Mister Cee. “Big was very shy. He always talked with his head down and said, “But man, don't promise me anything, man. If you say you're going to do something, do it.' And I'm like, “Nah, we'll do the demo again.”

The revamped demo was then uploaded to the The sourceMatteo Glen Capoluongo aka “Matty C” who wrote about Biggie in the magazine Unsigned Hype column. Soon after, Bad Boy President Sean “Puff Daddy” Combs signed Biggie and Mister Cee became the associate executive producer on Ready to die debut.

In 2014, Cee was the first person to play Fetty Wap's “Trap Queen” on the radio, fueling the New Jersey artist's meteoric rise. “I want to make this record before it comes to town, because it's going to come to New York.” exploded at that time.

This is an evolving story…