Shade 45 DJ Lord Sear Dead at 54

Prominent Shade 45 DJ and host Lord Sear has died at 54 years old. Shade 45 confirmed Sear’s (real name Steve Watson) death in a statement on Wednesday (March 11).

Details surrounding Lord Sear’s death remain unknown. Shade 45 will honor and celebrate Sear, who also went by Stak Cheda, with a tribute episode on Thursday from noon to 4 p.m. ET on SiriusXM.

“It is with heavy hearts that we share the passing of Lord Sear. He was more than a voice on the radio — he was a force, a friend, and family to so many of us,” Shade 45 shared in a post to social media. “Rest easy, Lord Sear. The culture will never forget you.”

Fans and peers of Lord Sear paid homage on social media once news of the legendary hip-hop DJ’s death became public on Wednesday, including E-40, Hit-Boy, Fat Joe, Mickey Factz, Rapsody, Tony Yayo, 9th Wonder and Skyzoo.

“God bless i know him my whole career love you sear,” Fat Joe commented on IG.

Lord Sear got his start as part of the hip-hop group Kurious. He joined the iconic Stretch Armstrong and Bobbito Show in the ’90s and was on Eminem’s Anger Management Tour that took him across the globe in the early 2000s.

Sear also completed side quests, lending his voice to Grand Theft Auto III and making a cameo on Big Pun’s 2000 Yeeeah Baby album intro.

Lord Sear co-hosted the All Out Show with Rude Jude on Shade 45 and has continued to be a staple of the Eminem-founded SiriusXM station for two decades. Up until his death, Sear hosted The Lord Sear Special on Shade 45.

The veteran DJ was a culture shifter and hilarious storyteller who played a unique mix of classic rap and R&B.