DJ and longtime Shade 45 host Lord Sear has passed away at the age of 53.
The news broke on Wednesday (March 11), and was confirmed by Shade 45 in a social media post.
“WE ARE SAD TO REPORT THAT OUR DEAR FRIEND AND HOST, LORD SEAER HAS PASSED AWAY AT AGE 53,” the social media statement reads. “SEAR WAS MORE THAN A VOICE ON THE RADIO – HE WAS A FORCE, A FRIEND, AND FAMILY TO SO MANY OF US! IN HIS HONOR, PLEASE TUNE IN TOMORROW FROM 12–4PMET/9AM-1PMPT ON SHADE 45, WHERE FRIENDS WILL COME TOGETHER DURING HIS SLOT TO SHARE MEMORIES.
In continues: “REST EASY, LORD SEAR. YOUR FAMILY, FRIENDS, AND ALL OF US ON SHADE 45 WILL NEVER FORGET YOU.”
No further details were released. Several members of the hip-hop community have reacted to the tragic news on social media.
“R.I.P. (Remain In Power) our good friend,” De La Soul shared on X. “We will miss you.”
Former Hot 97 radio host Peter Rosenberg remembered Sear fondly.
“Rest Easy Lord Sear,” Rosenberg wrote on X. “The man embodied hip hop in every way. I had been trying to get him on Juan Ep the last couple of years. I am so so sad we never got to have that conversation. Thank you for everything you gave to the culture Sear. You will not be forgotten.”
Mickey Factz, DJ Evil Dee, KXNG Crooked, Skyzoo, Glasses Malone and others have also shared their thoughts.
Lord Sear was a staple in New York’s hip-hop radio scene, dating back to his work with Kurious in the 1990s and on The Stretch Armstrong and Bobbito Show. Sear toured with Eminem on the Anger Management Tour in the early 2000s. For the past 20 years, he was a major figure on SiriusXM’s Shade 45.
See Hip-Hop Artists We Lost in 2025
