Lord Sear — a legendary DJ in the world of hip hop who also worked closely with Eminem on his radio channel, Shade 45, has died.

Eminem honored Sear’s death in a Wednesday post on social media, saying … “SEAR WAS MORE THAN A VOICE ON THE RADIO – HE WAS A FORCE, A FRIEND, AND FAMILY TO SO MANY OF US!”

Sear worked for the station as a DJ since its inception in 2004. He also joined the rapper on the Anger Management Tour in the early 2000s. A cause of death was not released.

He first got noticed as a DJ while on tour with rapper Kurious. Then, in the ’90’s, he landed a gig as a central voice of WKRC’s iconic “Stretch Armstrong and Bobbito Show.” The show is credited with introducing Jay-Z, Nas, Wu-Tang Clan and other major rap artists to the world.

Sear created his own rap music, appearing on albums by the Beastie Boys, Big Pun, MF DOOM, The X-Ecutioners and Statik Selektah.

In addition … Sear lent his distinctive voice to video games such as Grand Theft Auto III and Grand Theft Auto IV.

In the 2000s, Sear joined SiriusXM satellite radio, co-hosting “The All Out Show with Rude Jude” on Eminem’s Shade 45 channel. He branched out to host his own program, “The Lord Sear Special,” also on SiriusXM, where he remained until his passing.

Sear was 53.