Legendary hip-hop artist DJ Kay Slay has died following a months-long battle with COVID-19. The musician, real name Keith Grayson, passed away on Easter Sunday, April 17, four months after being hospitalized with the virus. He was 55. Well-known hip-hop promoter Van Silk confirmed the East Harlem native’s passing to HipHopDX shortly after rumors of DJ Kay Slay’s began to circulate on social media.
In a statement, Silk confirmed, “Hip Hop lost a real gem. My dear brother is gone.” Reflecting on his relationship with the late artist, Silk continued, “‘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.” Silk shared that he and DJ Kay Slay “last talked in December because we were finishing up the ‘200 Rolling Deep’ project.” At the time, according to Silk, the 55-year-old was gonna do his video part with MC Sha-Rock.”
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“From the mixtapes to helping him launch Straight Stuntin’ magazine and the whole What The Science project, the world not only lost a real dedicated person to the culture of Hip Hop but a source of bridging the gap in Hip Hop,” Silk continued. “I’m gonna miss my little brother.”
DJ Kay Slay was initially hospitalized with COVID in December, with Wack 100 sharing in a Dec. 21 Instagram post that the musician had “been 14 days fighting Covid and he’s just be put on a ventilator” while asking for prayers and support. Shortly after, however, the musician’s brother, Kwame Grayson, contradicted that report, telling DX that his brother was “definitely not going to die” and was in “a recovery state.” Grayson added that while his brother was on “a machine that was helping him breathe,” it was not a ventilator. Last week, however, Wack revealed that DJ Kay Slay remained in the hospital and was “still fighting.” Wack said the musician had “been off the [ECMO] machine for a couple weeks now.”
Remembered as a pivotal figure in the hip hop community, DJ Kay Slay got his start as a graffiti artist, using the tag name “Dez,” according to Vibe. He went on to adopt his Kay Slay moniker as a DJ on the mixtape circuit during the late ’90s, eventually singing a recording deal with Columbia Records. He released his major label debut, The Streetsweeper, Vol. 1, in 2003, the album peaking at No. 4 on Billboard’s Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. His sophomore release, The Streetsweeper, Vol. 2, came the following year. The late musician’s latest album, The Soul Controller, released in December 2021, just before his hospitalization.
