Tyler, The Creator and Questlove pay tribute to late DJ Clark Kent
From MCs to producers, many icons have emerged in hip-hop culture over the years. Still, very often, rap forgets about its DJs, and on October 24th, one of hip–hop’s most overlooked legends, DJ Clark Kent, passed away following a long battle with colon cancer.
Following his death, the DJ’s family released a statement disclosing how “Clark passed away Thursday evening surrounded by his devoted wife Kesha, daughter Kabriah and son Antonio.”
Following his tragic passing, many of the genre’s greats decided to pay tribute to the DJ for his work and contributions to the culture. Two highly notable figures who came out to share their sorrow at his demise were Tyler, The Creator, and Questlove.
Questlove of Philadelphia group, The Roots, shared that DJ Clark Kent showed him support long before the fame, unveiling that Kent helped him “WAY before Things Fall Apart -Made-A-Name-For-Myself period.”
Questlove even revealed that some of his earliest breakthroughs in the music business were because of Kent, stating, “Some of my earliest DJ gigs in the industry were because of Clark. Clark is the reason Nike hired me to design shoes… I’m not even gonna start with the HUNDREDS of times he hooked me up in the world of sneaker collecting.” Tyler, The Creator, followed up by writing, “Safe travels DJ Clark Kent.”
New York DJ and turntablist Rob Swift recalled how Clark Kent’s collective Supermen DJ was the sole inspiration for his own group, the X-Men crew, which eventually morphed into The X-Ecutioners.
Remembering the impact Kent had, Swift posted, “DJ Clark Kent founded the Supermen DJs (DJ Scratch, Daddy Rich, Plaztic Man, etc.) in the 1980s. At that time, they were the world’s most loved, envied, and, to a degree, hated DJ crew (not because they sucked but because they were so good).”
He continued, “The fun fact is that Steve Dee and Sean C formed the X-Men (later known as the X-Ecutioners) solely because we saw the Supermen as our rivals! We wanted to battle Clark and his crew with a passion. That healthy (and sometimes no-so-healthy, if I’m being honest) competition was what inspired me to come up with routines like my ‘Nobody Beats The Biz’ because to be the best, you have to beat the best!”
He concluded, “Thank you for teaching me how rivalry motivates me to be a better version of myself… I’m blessed that the energy that made us rivals ultimately transformed us into great friends.” Texas native and icon Bun B called Kent “[His] cultural mentor… My OG. My friend.” Other notable rappers also paid tribute to the late DJ.