It’s not the news I wanted to start my Thursday morning, but I’d be remiss not to share it with all of you. Hip-Hip has lost another icon as Lord Sear passed away on March 11th. A New Yorker to the death (not sure I’ve ever seen one picture of him not rocking NY sports apparel), the man born Steve Watson first got on my radar through his appearances on The Stretch Armstrong and Bobbito Show in the 1990’s. It wasn’t surprising to hear him make cameos on records by other rappers closely associated with the show, let alone releasing his own records like “Alcoholic Vibes” through Bobbito’s Fondle ‘Em Records.

And it’s no coincidence that if you’re a fan of the late Daniel Dumile, you know Fondle ‘Em was the first label to believe in Zev Love X being reborn as MF DOOM. Seeing their names together in a cipher or session on or off the air was not a surprise. The friendship ran deeper than most people might suspect though, as you can hear Sear on records with Earthquake, DOOM and Kurious going all the way back to unreleased KMD tracks like “Smokin’ Dat Shit.” Well — almost unreleased. By the year 2000 the “Black Bastards” record that Elektra never released was being put out by Dumile on his Metal Face imprint.

But aside from his own records and friendship with the likes of Dumile and Bobbito, Lord Sear’s career continued to rise in the 2000’s he became part of Eminem’s Anger Management Tour; this in turn transitioned to him being a regular DJ/host on Shade 45 XM when the channel launched in 2004. To call him synonymous with Shade 45 would be an understatement. I don’t think I could get in the car and turn on Shade 45 without hearing from Lord Sear at least once while driving. It’s the sort of thing you take for granted until it’s gone, you know? Lord Sear was just always there, introducing you to music and chopping it up with the legends of the game.

Lord Sear even found his way into video games as a result, becoming an on-air deejay in Grand Theft Auto III and IV, reprising the role he was already so well known for in the culture. Steve Watson touched a lot of lives over the years and was consistently described by friends and fans alike as a fun loving dude. That’s even how he described himself and The Lord Sear Show on Sirius XM. “I really like doing my show. I have fun doing it because it’s what I wanna do. I play what I wanna play and I talk my shit, give people credit, and still have fun. It’s good for me, it’s good for my heart, it’s good for my soul.” That heart and soul is what we’re all going to miss. RIP Steve Watson.