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Anthony “DJ Roc Raida” Williams, has reportedly died on September 19. The announcement came from Busta Rhymes via Twitter.

“I am sorry 2 say that on this day at 2:05 Sept 19th we lost another incredible life…Dj Roc Raida died 2day my personal Dj is gone… I just wanna thank everyone 4 ur love and support and ur prayers…We will never let ur name die Roc…We love u and will 4ever miss u…RIP.” ~Busta Rhymes’ Twitter

The Legendary Grand Master Roc Raida was a member of the New York-based crew the X-Men who later became known as the X-ecutioners. Champions of furthering the turntablist movement, the X-Ecutioners made their reputation by utilizing the techniques of beat-juggling; the manual alteration between individual kick and snare sounds to create original drum patterns in real time.

DJ Roc Raida was one of the pioneers in the underground art of Turntablism. His style was aggressive and determined in a turntable battle. He pushed the limits and raised the standards for all those that competed with them.

“yesterday i shouted out dj’s across the world, dj am and dj jam master jay, today i say rest in peace to a close friend dj roc raider!!!! dj roc raider was a real beast at his talent, and a very humble soldier, i will miss the homie, im deeply sadden, god bless his soul.” ~Kid Capri’s Twitter

His impressive finishes in some of the premier DJ battles; first place in the 1991 “As One”; second place in the “Superman Battle”; and second place in the 1992 DMC US Finals were just the beginning. In 1995 Raida, was crowned the DMC World Champion in front of a massive London audience.

Two years ago on a panel at the Rock-n-Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Raida was appointed “Grandmaster,” by some of Hip-Hop’s founding fathers. Raida was also inducted into the DMC Hall of Fame at the 1999 DMC World Finals in New York City.

He was also Busta Rhymes DJ as recently as 2 weeks ago. DJ Roc Raida, a longtime practitioner of mixed martial arts, was recently in a related accident and there are reports of a spine injury. The legend was said to be on the mend, in physical and in good spirits therapy before dying suddenly.

By all accounts DJ Roc Raida was a great and humble guy and will be missed by many in the Hip Hop community. Hiphopwired.com will keep you posted with more details as they become available.