DJ Kay Slay passed away at the age of 55 on Easter Sunday.
His death comes four months after the late star was first hospitalised with COVID-19, according to DX.
Hip Hop promoter Van Silk confirmed the New York City DJ and graffiti writer's death to the same publication - stating that the world has "lost a real dedicated person to the culture of Hip Hop."
"My dear brother is gone. I’ve known him since he was 16 years old. He was my little brother. I introduced him to many and we did a lot of things together," he told the site.
"We last talked December because we were finishing up the 200 rolling deep project. He was gonna do his video part with MC Sha-Rock."
Reports of DJ Kay Slay's death first began to circulate on social media, with one tweet reading: "Legendary NY DJ, DJ Kay Slay has reportedly passed away, according to Wack 100. He was reportedly still recovering after being hospitalized for COVID-19 in December. RIP DJ Kay Slay."
Speaking in December 2021, the late star's biological brother explained how the DJ had come close to death.
"He’s definitely not going to die. That right there…I’m not going to lie, I was jumping around. I was definitely happy. Kay Slay is a private dude and he didn’t tell anybody in the hospital who he was, and we was kinda getting average treatment," he told DX at the time.
"When they found out who he was, that’s when everybody stepped up treatment. He was slowly fading away, but God didn’t let that happen. Everything in time and when they found out who he was, they got him powered up again. So he’s up and going. He’s like in a recovery state, but he’s definitely not going to die. You can trust me on that."
Prior to his death over the weekend, DJ Kay Slay had released four studio albums and was described the the New York Times as "Hip Hop's One-Man Ministry of Insults".
Over the years, the late star worked with artists such as Busta Rhymes, T-Pain, French Montana and Ray J.
"Can’t believe I’m typing this. Rest in power DJ Kay Slay. Legend. F**k," Statik Selektah took to Twitter to write as the news broke.
Dart Adams also paid tribute, tweeting: "Rest in eternal peace to DEZ AKA DJ Kay Slay AKA The Drama King
"This is a sad day for Hip Hop culture & Rap fans the world over."
Lupe Fiasco added "RIP DJ KAY SLAY", while DJ First Class wrote: "F****** [sad-face emojis] RIP DJ KAY SLAY! 55 Years Old Man SMH."
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