Mister Cee, Brooklyn, death, DJ, hip hop, Notorious B.I.G.
by Cedric 'BIG CED' Thornton

April 10, 2024

Legendary Hip-Hop DJ Mister Cee Dead At 57

DJ Mister Cee, known as "The Finisher," was the DJ for Big Daddy Kane and helped discover the Notorious B.I.G.

DJ Mister Cee, known as “The Finisher,” who was linked to two of Brooklyn’s most legendary emcees, Big Daddy Kane and the Notorious B.I.G., died April 10 at the age of 57.

SiriusXM, where the DJ hosted his show, “The Set It Off Show w/ DJ Mister Cee,” was one of the many outlets reporting that the New York City DJ passed away. No cause of death has been reported.

The hip-hop audience was first introduced to DJ Mister Cee nee Calvin LeBrun when he debuted as the DJ for Brooklyn emcee Big Daddy Kane after meeting the lyricist in high school in the 1980s. While Kane was slaying the microphones in the studio and on stage, Mister Cee was doing his thing on the turntables as Kane released his debut album, “Long Live the Kane,” in 1988.

Before making his mark on the radio airwaves, he was behind another Brooklyn icon when he was an up-and-coming emcee. Christopher Wallace, who became the artist known as Biggie Smalls and then The Notorious B.I.G., had Mister Cee in his corner from the inception of his burgeoning career and was partly, if not wholly, responsible for Biggie’s signing to Bad Boy Records.

In an interview with Rock The Bells last November, he talked about knowing that the “Ready To Die” rapper was going to be a problem (in a good way) in the music industry.

“I knew he was dope. I didn’t think he would become what he would before passing away. All I did at the time was try to get anybody and everybody to listen to him. Big Daddy Kane and Masta Ace, I would try to force Biggie down their [throats] like you gotta hear this guy. Had we had the wherewithal we do now as grown men, Masta Ace and I could have put Biggie out or Kane and me?”

After producing records, performing worldwide, and DJing many events and parties over the years, he has been a mainstay as a radio DJ. He’s worked for Hot 97, RADIO 103.9, Rock the Bells Radio, and 94.7 The Block. “The Set It Off Show” gave Mister Cee the chance to showcase classic hip-hop songs from the ’80s, ’90s, and ’2000s every Monday through Thursday, while he did the same for The Throwback @ Noon Monday through Friday.

Once the news was made official, many of his contemporaries paid tribute to him on social media.

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