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Rb Hip Hop

Mister Cee, Legendary New York DJ, Dies at 57

The DJ was instrumental in the career of the Notorious B.I.G.

"The Finisher" DJ Mister Cee spins at S.O.B.'s on May 21, 2015, in New York City.

"The Finisher" DJ Mister Cee spins at S.O.B.'s on May 21, 2015, in New York City.

Johnny Nunez/WireImage

Calvin LeBrun, better known as the legendary DJ Mister Cee has passed, according longtime employers Hot 97 and WLBS.

Known as “The Finisher,” Mister Cee has been a fixture on New York City radio waves for over 25 years, helming the “Throwback at Noon” block on Hot 97 where he played classic old school hip-hop records. Most recently, he took over the same noon time slot on NYC’s 94.7 The Block, where he would also play classic hip-hop and R&B songs.


LeBrun got his start when he met Big Daddy Kane at Brooklyn’s Sarah J. Hale High School and eventually started DJ’ing for the rap legend. He was featured on Kane’s debut album Long Live the Kane on the track “Mister Cee’s Master Plan” where he can be heard scratching on the record.

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However, Mister Cee’s claim to fame wasn’t being Kane’s DJ or even being a member of the legendary Juice Crew, it was for helping discover arguably the greatest rapper of all time in the Notorious B.I.G. The Finisher was introduced to Biggie by his friend DJ 50 Grand and passed along Big’s demo tape to Matty C over at The Source magazine which eventually got the Brooklyn MC into the magazine’s influential Unsigned Hype column. It was his inclusion in that column that led to a meeting with with Bad Boy Records’s Puff Daddy. And the rest, as they say, is history.

Younger generations may remember Mister Cee from his appearance in Grand Theft Auto IV where he played the co-host of The Beat 102.7 along with DJ Green Lantern.

LeBrun’s cause of death has not been revealed. He was 57 years old.

This article was originally published by Billboard U.S.

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Drummer Frank Beard of American rock band ZZ Top at their concert in Munich, Germany 1986.
Fryderyk Gabowicz/picture alliance/Getty Images

Drummer Frank Beard of American rock band ZZ Top at their concert in Munich, Germany 1986.

FYI

Obituaries: Tributes to ZZ Top's Frank Beard, Actor/Singer Hayden Panettiere

This week we also acknowledge the passing of Hall of Fame blues/R&B singer Latimore and legendary Australian music industry veteran Johnny Young.

Frank Lee Beard, drummer with Texan rock greats ZZ Top for 56 years, died on Aug. 17, at age 77.

A press release from longtime band publicist Bob Merlis confirmed his passing, stating that Beard was “in hospice care when he passed away at his ranch in Richmond, TX with family members at his side.”

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